Well, here it is, my New Year's resolution. Like every year, I'm resolving to lose weight. But this year I need to take it a little more seriously cuz I am back again at my heaviest weight ever. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but I gained 20 pounds over the course of the last 6 months. That's pretty bad, so now I have to work hard to reverse that and see what I can do from there. It would be nice to feel a little cuter in my clothes again!
So, as I get started, a little background....
The Diet
I am using Weight Watchers. I have tried several different ways of dieting over the years, but WW is the one that makes the most sense logically to me and it's the one on which I've had the most success. The first time I really worked on dieting I did use WW and lost 42 pounds. Wow, that felt great! I like that you can eat your own food and it really is all about teaching you how to make smart choices that fit within a real person's lifestyle. Other people may be able to do those prepackaged food diets or the ones that involve serious cooking and planning, but that's not for me. I don't go to meetings, but I do use WW Online for my journaling and weight tracking, and I also like using their message boards. I'm going to post this blog on my WW profile, so I hope that I get some visitors from the WW world.
The History
I've been overweight since I was in the first grade. I have all those sad stories of low self-esteem and examples of surprising cruelty from both kids and adults, so y'all know how that can affect your psychology, which also affects success in weight loss. It's something I work on a lot.
I come from a family that has always struggled with weight. We're short but solid Midwestern stock. And my family lived for huge portions. I was amazed over the holidays, actually, to see just *how much* food those family members of mine eat. My dad eatws every meal off a platter! Not a plate, a platter! My brother often goes in for full 2nd helpings of the whole meal. I felt sick after a few days being home cuz I was just eating so much more food than I normally do. (I hope that has something to do with the extreme of today's weigh-in, not reflective of my own normal behavior.)
So I've been a bigger girl my whole life. I never really dieted until I was an adult. There was one year in college when I lost about 15 pounds because my dorm and my main academic building were on the tops of two opposite hills and I did a lot of walking... but then I moved off campus the next year and drove everywhere. The weight came back. In April 2000, I decided to try out Weight Watchers and I did it all on my own. That's when I lost 42 pounds and really learned about what works for me. But, after about 6 months I started to feel like I knew what I was doing and could be a little more lax. The weight slowly but surely has all come back - plus some - since then. I've fitfully stopped and started WW again several times, plus one experiment with the South Beach Diet (hello constipation). I also spent a year as a vegetarian, which ended up being a really bad decision for my weight. I'm not by nature a very domestic person, and I do'nt really experiment with cooking. A year of pasta, chips, DiGiorno 4 Cheese Pizza, french fries and grilled cheese was not good.
The Plan
So, here I am. I need to do this for my health and for my happiness. I have started to worry about my health because it's no secret that I'm getting older. I'm watching my Dad have health problems relating to his weight and I need to do what I can to stave those off for myself.
I will be tracking my daily progress on the WW site, and weighing in before breakfast every Monday morning. I'll share details on those WI's here, and I'll probably be posting about my challenges and successes throughout. I would love to hear words of support and cheerleading cuz that really does help keep me motivated. Largely, it helps me feel accountable. If I'm telling everyone that I'm doing this, well, heck, I better really do it. Whatever works, right?
So, there it is. Wish me luck!
9 comments:
Good luck- I'm very proud of you!
I'm usually a solitary exerciser, but let me know if you'd like to try some fun dance classes (belly dancing, Bollywood dancing, African dance...) It could be fun to do that with a buddy!
Girrrrl! Good for you. I am a lifetime WW member. I still weigh in once a month at regular meetings so I can continue my lifetime status (and not have to pay).
I was the largest I've ever been over July 4 weekend 2004. I came home from a sailing trip with my then-fiancee and looked at a photo of us together... I looked like a middle aged fat lady and he looked like my son (of course, some of that had to do with the elastic waist "fat" pants and big ugly sunhat I was wearing!)
I started WW the next week with my mom. We needed the actual meetings. Shortly after, I got engaged and people were like "oh, you're losing weight for your wedding" and my mom and I were like "NO! We're doing it for ourselves!!" We both lost about 50 pounds by March 2005.
I gained back about 7-9 lbs. by about September 2005. I used to be 10 pounds under my WW goal, now for the past few months when I go to my monthly weigh-in I am very frighteninly on or slightly above my goal (but still "legal" - haven't had to pay yet!) And PS, I chose a pretty high goal weight - the top of the chart for a woman of 5' 6".
My mom put on 7 pounds just over Christmas.
So now - and I just saw my mom today - we are both like "OK - BACK ON THE WAGON!!" Tonight I'm going shopping with my now-husband - and I think my "last supper" will be Taco Hell. I don't know why I love that crap, but I do. I have been a total pig over Christmas and New Years - it's time to be good again.
So, I'm so excited someone else is motivated! Tomorrow will be my Day 1. I need motivation too!
Go go go!!!
(oh, and I love the website too - that's how I track my points and I post a lot on the Newbie board).
Brunette: Those dance classes sound intriguing! Let's talk more!
Lade B: I didn't know you were doing WW, but I knew that you looked great! I can't remember the last time I saw you (could it really be the wedding last year?) but I have seen recent pics, too, and you really do look fantastic. Good for you on maintaining and staying so dedicated. Let's be mutual cheerleaders! :-)
This is a very positive move. Having a very public blog where your current blogger friends plus your W.W. compatriots will see, you are serious woman. You are determined for this, aren't you? Good luck.
There are many ways to do this, if WW works for you, great. Stick with it!
My friend did WW and when I told her I gained 15 lbs. she said, "Well, it was a quality weight gain, wasn't it?"
Yes it was...
Hey Velvet - thanks for stopping by! Yeah, one thing I learned about myself is that it's best for me to *talk* about it. If I try to diet secretly or quietly, it's a lot easier to just quit. But if I've been flapping my big mouth about it, well then people will expect things of me, and that's a good motivator. So I'm hoping this big public statement about it helps me keep on track.
Clearly, I've just recently checked my e-mail, as you'll see three posts from me today. But one last thing - don't weigh yourself every day - there are so many things that can affect your weight on a daily basis (hormones, water retention, hormones, your menstrual cycle, hormones...). Try setting a day for yourself and do a weigh-in once a week. When you go to WW meetings, even if you go to more than one a week, they still only let you weigh in once a week - for that very reason, if I'm remembering correctly. (It's been a while, but I really did like WW. A very sensible approach.)
Oh, I definitely only weigh myself once a week, Monday before breakfast. The first time I did WW I weighed myself every day, but that was more just out of curiosity to learn what those cycles were. But now it's just once a week "come to Jesus" time. :-)
Good luck! Your story sounds very similar to mine, except I didn't start putting on weight until high school. I'm doing WW as well and agree that it's awesome. I too lost 40 lbs and then somehow gained it back. (Boo). Anyway, good luck!!
Hey Anandi, thanks for stopping by. Good luck to you, too. Keep stopping in and let us know how you're doing!
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