Week 54

Busy weekend, busy week and another busy weekend ahead. I'll be making the best choices I can in instances that are not in my control.

I was up .2 yesterday which didn't surprise me at all, or perhaps I should say I was surprised it was only .2 pounds up. 

I know why this happened but I also know this isn't the beginning of a bad trend. I've come to far for that to happen. I have a feeling if I had weighed in today or tomorrow, I would have been the same or down on the scales, but that is life, right? Not every day gives you what you'd like, but you can almost always make the day a better one.

Onward and downward, even in the whirlpool of life in June!

53rd Week

Another good week!

I recently told someone that I'm sure the reason for my success this time is my mind set. It isn't just wanting to lose weight, I've felt that most of my overweight years. It has been the conscious decision to eat better and be healthier. How has that differed from before? Most often my drive before was to lose X amount of pounds and get to a certain weight or dress size. Once there, I relaxed and began slipping into old ways. Maybe not immediately, but slowly 5 extra pounds became 10 and so on.

I can honestly say that I have not felt deprived of anything this past year. Not once! It helps that some of the fruits that used to have a point value (bananas) don't have them now. As Suzanne (WW leader) once said, many people might have a control problem with a bag of potato chips but has anyone bought a bunch of bananas and ate all of them in one sitting? Not that I know of. 

Before, I would reach a goal along with the way and treat myself with a splurge of food. I don't do that now. I don't mean that I haven't had something that was a splurge before, I just don't look at it as a "treat". I either plan for it or if I ate it at an unexpectedly*  I scaled back on consumption for the rest of the day and made sure not to dip further into my 49 extra weekly points. 

*What do I mean by unexpectedly?  Saturday I had a class from 10 am-1:00 pm at a location that should be 40 minutes away. Construction completely closed down an expressway that would have been my most direct route. Unexpected construction on a surface road near the venue made the trip twice as long. I had planned to come home from class and have lunch. I knew I would be overly hungry ("hangry" as a current commercial  for Snickers says) and there was a McDonald's on the corner as I was leaving for home. I had an 8 pt plain cheeseburger and diet Coke before hitting the traffic jam that was worse heading home than in the morning. That 8 pt cheeseburger is my safety food when I'm out and need to eat quickly. Is it the most nutritious thing? No, but it is easy and I know how to count it. I don't get out of control with that choice.

Later that afternoon I had some fruit to hold me over until a later than usual dinner at a wedding reception. I had more meat than I would normally have at home, but I had more tossed salad and vegetables than I used to eat at wedding receptions. It really was good, not a penance, and it certainly helped fill me up. The dessert table looked beautiful but....another HUGE difference....I knew that I wasn't at all hungry. It was easy to admire it and walk away empty handed. Heck, I can admire a $10,000 necklace without thinking I can afford it, need it or be tempted to try it on, and now I can look at desserts that way too. I don't need them. Sometimes they are tempting so I have to think of my WW budget. Can I afford them? Sometimes I can. Sometimes they aren't worth the price. 

I was down another .8 pounds on the scale at weigh in for a total of 70 pounds gone!  Here I am, dressed for the wedding and holding my month old granddaughter.

Onward and downward!

One Year!!

When you aren't ready, you can come up with so many reasons why you simply can't start changing your life today. Lord knows I was there and still am about a few things. The best advice I can give is to start. 

Just start. 

Forgive yourself when you slip up. Keep starting. As many times as necessary. 

This photo is from Christmas 2013, six months before returning to Weight Watchers.

I returned to WW on June 2, 2014. I've been to a meeting every week since with the exception of the week we were on vacation in February.

This photo was taken two weeks ago. I am, as of today, 69.2 pounds lighter. 

 

Do I look like I'm smirking? I was trying to look badass but the urge to laugh at myself was too strong. I have wanted a jean jacket for years. Decades! Whenever I found one that fit, it looked terrible. I seem to be living in this jacket now. It is a symbol for me. Also Michigan is still having cold weather even though it is now June 1st. 

What has this loss done for me so far?

• I move better
• I don't feel like I am sinking into furniture and worry about getting up 
• I don't crave the foods that I once did
• I no longer take blood pressure medication
• I have fun shopping for new clothes and shoes
• I have more confidence
• I like how I look and love how I feel

I am not at goal yet but I'm not worried about getting there. I KNOW that I will do this. My goal isn't actually the number that will eventually become my "normal weight". Any of us can reach that number if that is all we aim for. It is maintaining that number that can be the much harder goal. How do I know it will be different for me this time? Because my relationships with food and with my body have changed.

Food is no longer a celebration, a consolation, a time filler or an anger manager. Food is what I need to keep to going the way my car needs gas, oil and air in the tires. Some food tastes better than others but that doesn't mean I have to eat a pint of ice cream (gee, can you tell what tastes good to me?). A small amount today tastes good. Another reasonable amount tomorrow or the next day will taste good too. You don't put 30 gallons of gas in a car that has an 18 gallon tank. 

Never has the correlation between what I eat and how I feel been this strong. Maybe my senses were dull until I hit my 60s, but I am proof that Sixty can be Swell, maybe even Sexy....but only if you have a jean jacket. 

Onward and downward!

51, still not done

One year ago today, I had no idea I would be returning to Weight Watchers in one week. I was in Virginia, enjoying my family while we visited friends that are so close, they are family in our hearts.

One year later, the seven members of that family are here in Michigan and we spent yesterday together, all 14 of us. Still happy, all healthy, and with a two week old addition on our side, our granddaughter.

I must admit that it was fun seeing their faces when they saw the "new me" and nice to hear positive comments. What a difference a year can make.

Yesterday would have been my normal weigh in and meeting day, but it was a holiday. I weighed in this morning at an open weigh in. Knowing I can't trust my bathroom scale (and also knowing that I'm not supposed to use that anyway but still do check occasionally), I wasn't sure what I would find today. We had two meals yesterday that were bigger than our usual daily fare, and while I thought I might be tempted to snack and therefore had plenty of healthy stuff out among the chips and dip, I didn't have more than on small pretzel stick given to me by my grandson and a few grapes while washing them.

More than the quantity and unknown point values of some of yesterday's meals, I thought I may be up because of the amount of prepared restaurant food. I suppose my age makes me feel things that I wouldn't have felt twenty years ago, or maybe it is the GMOs and preservatives in so many foods now. I didn't ache this morning, but my joints felt less agile for a few hours this morning. I had more diet Coke than water yesterday. I'm not saying I would do anything different, but I am trying to pinpoint what makes me feel certain ways. As healthy as garlic is for most people, it makes me ill so I avoid it. Now that I'm eating healthier 90% (or more) of the time, I'm noticing what too much sodium (prepared boxed and canned items) does.

So what was my outcome? Down another .9 pounds for a total of 68.2 pounds!

Onward and downward, happier, healthier and in smaller clothes!

Nifty # 50

We've all heard that, right? The problem is acting upon it. A year ago, this wouldn't have meant much to me. I knew those words were true, but I wasn't ready. What made two more weeks different? An incident. A thought process. A photo. I suppose it is similar for everyone but the exact reason why you decide to commit to losing weight will be your personal story.

A year sounds like such a long time when you are looking ahead, but haven't we all looked back and wondered where the last 12 months, 5 years or decade has gone? If you have a lot of weight that you'd like to lose, have you set yourself up for disappointment with unrealistic goals? Did you plan, or worse, expect to lose two pounds or more per week? Sure, it can happen, but it probably won't go that way each week. We're human. We're going to have good weeks and some that aren't so good. Sometimes the scale number doesn't reflect our efforts at all, be it from sodium, prescription medication or a gremlin sitting on your shoulder when you step on the scale.

This time around, I didn't set a timeline goal of a certain number of pounds by a certain date. I just knew I had to get started and keep going. My goal is still a variable. I think I know what the number is but I won't know for sure until I get there, or close to it.  In 50 weigh-ins after rejoining Weight Watchers, I've had one gain and stayed the same once. That in itself is quite an accomplishment. Did I lose two pounds every week? Heck no! But that is ok. Some weeks I lost one point something and many weeks, especially in the past few months,  it has been point-something of a pound. They all add up and that is what matters. After 50 weeks I am down 67.3 pounds!

One year ago I wasn't even ready to start. 50 weeks ago I wouldn't have dared to hope to be down this much. The previous time I began WW (and that would be the last previous time, I've done this multiple times) I wouldn't have been happy with the rate of loss. I'm ready to lose NOW damn it! Weight be gone! < Sigh >  If it only worked that easily....

If you are feeling discouraged, don't compare yourself to someone else. Most people with weight issues know people who never seem to gain or lose an ounce no matter what they eat and drink. Perhaps they have a gifted metabolism but we each have gifts that another person might envy. I'm not encouraging envy, but dropping weight from the discussion, what woman hasn't admired someone else's hair or strong nails? Some of that is what we're born with, some of that is a result of how hard we work at it.

My husband golfs. I do a lot of crafts. My husband didn't golf as well as he does now on that first year he played. His expertise developed over the years. Same with my knitting, painting and other crafts. We all seem to understand that practice improves our skills, yet we often envy someone who has what we want without putting forth the effort ourselves, or expecting our early attempts to be on par with someone who has honed their craft.

How does this relate to weight loss? Losing and maintaining your weight isn't a one time thing. It is an everyday thing for those of us who fight this battle. I've lost a lot of weight twice before but didn't stick to maintaining it. Do you know a musician who doesn't practice? A runner who doesn't run between races? Of course not. They work on their skills. If I want to continue to look and feel better, I have to work on this. Repeatedly. Improving a skill set isn't a chore, it is something we desire. Why do we put a negative spin on weight loss?  Change your mind and you can change your life.

Onward and downward!

Forty-Nine and Feelin' Fine

What a wonderful string of days I've had! My son and daughter-in-law are the proud parents of healthy girl who joins her 5-year old brother in being the center of my family's attentions. Yesterday was Mother's Day and brought more pleasant surprises. My sons and daughter-in-law never asked for suggestions this year and came up with perfect gifts that brought tears to my eyes. It isn't what they gave (which would make many people wonder what the heck is that and why did she want them) but that they've listened over the years and knew what would be perfect.

Today was my 49th weigh in and that was good too. I'm down another 1.4 pounds for a total of 66.4. Wheeee!!  The big surprise today that put me over the top of this four day span of wonderfulness was two people, one before the meeting and one after, telling me that I had inspired them. I think I may have stared at them, slack jawed before remembering to smile and say thank you.

Wow.

Today's discussion was great. Mind you, they are all good but human nature being what it is, some discussions don't engage everyone. I think today's topic of getting rid of the weeds in our garden of success got everyone going.

Hard to believe I'm coming up on my one year anniversary at WW. This isn't my first go-round with WW, but I think this will be the last time I re-join. My mindset is so different now and the program is very easy for me. I won't have lost all that I intend to lose in one year, but I didn't regain it all in a year either.

Life is good.
My life is fun.
I no longer think about what I should fix for dinner or what I shouldn't eat. I have healthy choices on hand and decide when I'm hungry what I will fix, not obsess all day about it. Food is becoming just food. Necessary for nutrition and some tastes better than others, but it has a much smaller place in my life.

Here is a before and current photo.

 

Onward and downward!

Weigh in 48: Coincidences that are making me happy

Are there coincidences in life or do we just notice things and call them coincidences? Maybe you call them cowinkydinks if the spirit leads you down a silly path. I'm noticing coincidences between creating and losing weight.

What the heck do these seemingly unrelated endeavors have in common? One thing is that both make me happy. I feel better when I create and I feel better physically with some of my excessive weight gone. I have always thought of myself as a happy person. I accepted how I felt both emotionally and physically as ok, good and normal.

Since taking monthly classes and working, if not harder at least more often, toward creating art on paper or from the points of knitting needles, I have realized how much I enjoy the process. If someone oohs and aahs over the end product, that is well appreciated but the process and my own oohing or uh-oh at the end is what keeps me going and makes me happy. Even the big Uh-Ohs can make you happy if you learn from them, even if the lesson is that you hate working with XXX (product or medium) and will never do that again.

Since re-joining Weight Watchers last June, I have lost 65 pounds to date. I don't think it is boasting to say that I'm proud of what I've accomplished so far, but more important, I am so happy with how I feel physically. I didn't realize before that my previous normal wasn't written in stone.

I don't think my creations will land me in a museum or newsstand, and losing weight won't make me a model or turn any clocks back 30 years, but that isn't my goal. I am the best I can be today and enjoying it. Learning what works, what needs more practice or attention, and what just plain doesn't work for me is an ongoing process.

No matter how long we may live on this earth, life is too short. Don't be afraid to try because someone might not like your creation. Don't be afraid to try because you might not be as successful as you think you should be. Don't be afraid to try because you might create a holy-cow-that-is-an-ugly-mess or might gain instead of lose at a Weight Watcher weigh in.

Encourage yourself, do it and be happy.

* Published also on this date on my craft blog: Gigi's Crafts