Woohoo 10#!

So, I hit one of the milestones I that was taunting me.  I am down 10 pounds since starting this journey.  Woohoo!

I was really hoping for something profound to say, but am stuck.  As I was anticipating reaching this mini goal, I thought of what I might say in the meeting.  What am I doing is working?  I am being accountable for what I am putting in my body by logging it in etools.  I am moving more.

Today, when we celebrated my 10 pound loss she asked how activity played a part.  I take my dog for nightly walks.  My dog has lost weight too.  This week I added Zumba.  I try to do more things standing.  I have intentioned myself to move more at work. Mid-way through this week, I realized that I needed to ramp up my efforts.  I dusted off the Zumba Wii game.  In addition to the QT I am spending with my four legged friend, I need to do something more most nights of the week.  My plan is to do Zumba two of those nights.

(head shot of my dog on a hot July day)

  
At the beginning of the meeting we talked about our excuses not to exercise.  Here are some of them that applied to me...
"I have no time."
"I have no energy."
'___ gets in the way"

Then we talked about activities we like to do (again the ones that apply to me):
Play with my kids, scour the internet, dance, read, crafts

Then we looked at what we like to do and discussed how we cold incorporate activity (reframe your mind from doing exercise to doing activities).  Do something active with the family, stand while doing stuff on the computer...

By the way, did you know you burn 3 times as many calories standing as you do sitting?

Leaving the meeting this week we were given the goal of coming up with 3 ways to get more activity in.  What is a way you can get in more activity?

2 Steps Forward and 1 Step Back

Last night, I got a migraine during my Weight Watchers meeting, so I came home and slept it off.


I feel like my weightloss journey is paying homage to the saying of “Two Steps Forward and One Step Back.”  I lose a good portion one week and gain a little the next.  I know a lot of variables go into the result I see on the scale each week. It is so frustrating to see a mini goal so close, and miss it.  It is the proverbial dangling carrot.  Last week took me to a total of 9.6 pounds gone and up to 9 this week…ten is mocking me.  If I can lose 10.4 I will be at my 5% goal.  Two goals are staring me in the face.

When I weighed in the woman weighing me in tried to help me determine the slight increase in my weight this week.    It could have been a variety of things, but the thing that stuck out to me is stress.  The past week has been very stressful for me.  Part of my lifestyle change is realizing all of the unhealthy things I have been doing to cope with the negative things in life.  I don’t think I over ate this week, but I definitely, could have made better choices.  Succumbing to the comfort food only made it worth it that day not a few days later when I was weighing in.  If I had gotten better foods into my diet, I would have felt better and probably handled the stress better.

When you are losing weight, it is healthy to expect your weight to go down, down, up, down, same, because you and your body are adjusting to your way of life.  I have been told the slower the weight comes off the longer and more likely it will stay off.  WW and medical professionals recommend losing 1-2 pounds per week.  I am still within that average.  It still feels like I am making such slow progress, but I am making progress.

Onward and downward is all that matters

This week, I lost 0.2 pounds.  I am actually surprised that I didn't gain this week.  I went into my meeting praying that I would be flat to last week. 

Even though I tracked my food intake, I went over my daily points allowance a few days - causing me to dip into my flex points.  I did not get in as much exercise as the dog or I would have liked. 

I am good with my what I did this week.  I had a lot going on.  It is important to let life happen and not let the plan stand in your way.  Weight Watchers  understands that for members to be successful they need flexibility in their plans.

I am excited that I lost 2/10 of a pound this week.   Anything is better than nothing or a gain.

Realization for the week...

I have a dear friend who is trying to lose weight on a different plan.  She has been very successful, but this week end she commented that she is sick of her plan.  She has been doing this since before Christmas.  My friend didn’t say she wanted to quit her plan, but she is frustrated with it when life gets in the way.  Weight Watchers and life aren’t always compatible for me either.  Her call out helped me realize that I have been cheating on my new lifestyle.  Having her going on a similar journey and seeing her struggle parallel mine is motivating.  We all have moments of weakness.  Weakness looks different for different people. 

I have been doing Weight Watchers for 5 ½-6 weeks.  I said in my previous post I still am motivated to keep going.  This is normally where I lose steam in leading a healthy lifestyle.  And that has happened, but I didn’t recognize it at the time.  I guess I never have recognized it until after I gained weight back.  My dedication is still there, but I have been wavering and finding ways to cheat myself.  I am cheating because I didn’t track everything or I fudged records.  It isn’t that I don’t want to lose weight or be healthy.  It is more so that there are so many temptations in my environment.  I can’t completely clear my house of the stuff that will take me down the path I don’t want to be on.  I have a husband who wants to enjoy food (for lack of a better phrase) and have a skinny wife.  I need to learn how to better deal with the world I live in, and get stronger against the temptation.

What is helping my motivation not completely bottom out is going to meetings, having an encouraging leader, and a support system around me.

Week 5 Update

Last week, I was up 1.8 pounds.  I know it is natural during this journey to go down, up, down, flat, down, up, down...

This week, I got to my meeting, I got on the scale, and my leader looked at me and said, "April, I am so proud of you.  Look at that number."  My weightloss in itself was amazing at 4.4 pounds in one week.  This week's loss puts me back in One-derland and out of the Terrible Twos.  Never again will my weight start with a 2.  I will remain in the 100s.  This is my highest weight loss in one week since I started Weight Watchers.

With the Superbowl and other life things going on, I was aiming to lose the 1.8 that I was up last week.

This week, I left the meeting feeling really motivated.  In the past this is where I have lost steam on the journey.  This time, I feel so motivated to keep on keeping on.  I felt more motivated leaving my meeting this week than I did last week, the week before that, and the week before that.  Seeing my progress and feeling the energy from the meeting was so invigorating.

Vision, Mission, Values

The company I work for just revised it's vision, mission, and core values.  I have been toying around with creating these for myself for awhile now to keep me on track.  The problem with trying to get something in writing was that I wasn't clear on my target.  On Weight Watchers I did set a target weight, but I am not really trying get to a certain weight.  The goal I set was more to keep me on track to revamp my unhealthy lifestyle.  I had to rethink my mindset to come up with a vision.

Vision - In 2-3 years I will be strong, fit, healthy, and energetic.  I will enjoy an active lifestyle.  I will be proud of myself.  I will be a priority to myself.

Mission - I will embark on a healthy lifestyle by eating wholesome foods and exercising often.

Values - I eat food to fuel my body.  I do cardiovascular activities to make and keep my body fit.  I do yoga to keep my body strong and flexible.  I enjoy life. 

Week 4 Update

Things I have learned thus far:
-The number on the scale is not going to be lower because I suck in my stomach.
-What I ate yesterday (or during the week) definitely shows up on the scale.
-The weeks with the biggest loss, I have stayed within my daily Points Plus budget.
-I 100% agree with the adage, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

I gained this week.  I know what I did wrong.  I ate too many flex points.  Those are the 49 extra points everyone gets every week.  The less of those I eat, the better my weight loss is each week.  This week I went crazy...I even did not track my food yesterday.  It really hurt my weightloss effort this week.  I must not beat myself up over it, but learn and move on.