12 weeks

June 1st is when I decided I had to go back to Weight Watchers. June 2nd was the day this journey began.  August 25th, marked 12 weeks of following program. Twelve weeks that have flown by, 84 days of tracking, and countless minutes of feeling better.

I've said before that I didn't get the smug feeling I've had before when I started WW or any other plan, all gung ho with an attitude that said "look at what I'm doing? Aren't you proud of me?". This time I've been quiet and enjoying my success personally without fanfare. My husband tells me he is proud of me which is very nice to hear. A few people who are very close to me and realize what I'm doing have made encouraging comments. Some haven't figured out what is different but have said that I look good, as in rested or happy. I smile and thank them.

When I said there have been countless minutes of feeling better I mean actual physical reasons for feeling better. Less sodium (virtually no canned or packaged meals) means no swollen ankles at night. Less weight means less stress on my joints. I am moving more easily, not feeling stuck in the seat of an upholstered sofa that is deeper than usual or a bit lower. I have more energy and have tackled some jobs around the house that I've been avoiding.

I don't have any secret knowledge as to why I am successful this time. We've all heard to take a day at a time in any endeavor, but don't we often ignore that and look at how much lies ahead and become discouraged? If someone had told me on June 2nd that I would weigh 25.9 pounds less in 12 weeks, I wouldn't have believed them. Not that it isn't possible but every Monday was going to be a new beginning, yet nothing changed in all those previous weeks, months or years.

My leader said today that we need to do 4 things to be successful in any positive changes we hope to make in our lives. They are:

• Affirm it
• Practice it
• Repeat it
• Believe it

I think I began doing this from the beginning without putting it in these words. I am eating to live, not living to eat. I didn't think I was living to eat before, but the thought of dessert was more exciting than an entree or side dish. Social gatherings always include food and I thought it wouldn't be polite not to eat what someone else had made or brought. A huge light bulb moment occurred last week when I was out with my once-a-month dinner buddies. Dessert has always been part of our night out. We ate at a place with a limited dessert menu. Nothing appealed to me. I asked if they had ice cream which is sometimes available but not on a menu. They did not. I passed on dessert and lived to tell about it!

While I am thinking about choices I am not thinking about being deprived, mainly because I am not. Last night for dinner we had BLTs. We don't have bacon often but when we do, we splurge. I had two BLTs made with reduced calorie bread, non-fat mayo, and three pieces of bacon each. The bacon was 8 points, the bread slices came to 5 points. The produce and fat free mayo were free. Were those two sandwiches worth 13 points? Absolutely. I had figured out the points early in the day and ate breakfast and lunch with this in mind.

I can't tell anyone to do this because I say so, or because it is working for me. I've tried this before but I wasn't really ready and the results, or lack of, showed it. I do think of all the months that I "was going to do something" about my eating habits but didn't and three months later the scale would show the same number. This time, three months has flown by and the loss has been...dare I say it?....easy.

Onward and downward.