Okay I know there are commercials on TV that are currently taking subtle jabs at Weight Watchers (Kirstie Alley!!) and tracking. And maybe you don't want to have to track every single bite of food that goes in your mouth. But WHY NOT! It works people, it really works. I admit, I still do it the old fashioned way, by writing it down on paper. But there are other options for the electronic crowd. Online with eTools or the iPhone app. I think there is even an option where you can just snap a photo of your meal. Tedious? Maybe. But so was homework in high school, and where would we all be now if we hadn't spent hours and years learning to spell or writing out our multiplication tables.
I am posting about tracking today because I am happy to report that with it, my weight has finally started to move in the right direction. Although I've been exercising like a crazy person since James started traveling, I haven't had much good news to report as far as my weight. Now I can say after weighing this morning, I have officially lost 12 pounds since June 1st- James' first day on the road. I have to backtrack and state that, right before he left, I had gained a few extra pounds- uhm, like five- because we had a few weekends out of town. And one massive fancy steak dinner at Del Frisco's Grill courtesy of a $100 gift card that only paid for half of the meal. So I was "up" more than normal anyhow when he left for his first week of travel.
For the first half of June, I was simply getting on the treadmill every day and trying to eat lighter, and to eat right. But I wasn't tracking. For three weeks, only those errant five pounds came off. I became frustrated, especially on days when I would log 6 miles on the treadmill and not see any results. So last week I started tracking, and tah-dah, seven pounds disappeared that quickly. My weight is the lowest it's been for 2015, and I finally feel as though all the hard work is paying off.
It was eye-opening to say the least, once I started tracking and realized that wow, I was still overeating. I was not measuring proper portions, and I was too heavy-handed with the condiments. All those things add up easily. Weight Watchers has come up with the points system scientifically, so every time I heap a tablespoon of something extra on my food, those are extra points. Extra points equal extra pounds. Yep it's a pain in the butt to measure out mayo every time I want to make a sandwich, but it's a bigger pain to watch my waistline expand more and more each year.
Some of the things I was eating that I thought were healthier alternatives, well, once I started calculating the points I had to step back. My high fiber cereal was shockingly high in points, and frankly I didn't want to burn almost half my daily allotment on a bowl of cold cereal that tasted like cardboard to begin with. When I decided to switch to toast instead, I quickly realized that our normal bread of choice was also very very high in points. So even though I felt I was eating lighter, in terms of the amount of food, I was choosing things high in points. And that's why the weight wasn't budging.
Although I do have a few trackers I bought at my meetings, I instead found a nice big spiral notebook and have since turned it into my own version of a tracker. Instead of just three months, like the book from WW, this notebook is big enough to track for two years! I've jazzed it up and made it fun to track by using colorful pens and stickers left over from my scrapbook supplies. Anything to keep me calculating and writing it all down.
I'm still on that path of gaining over the weekend, when we go out and when I tend to be less active, but I seem to be gaining less and seem to be losing it quicker come Monday. Part of it is James' current schedule- he's working nights right now so he's leaving on Sunday at lunch. I have less time to overeat with him and more time to get back on the treadmill.
Right now I will continue with what I'm doing- the treadmill, tracking my points, using my Fitbit to get in my steps. I think on their own, each component is certainly important but it's going to take all of it together to be successful. I'll post again next week!
SANDY
I have a friend who is doing the Weight Watchers at work program. She, along with most of the people in her group, is kicking butt. She started less than a year ago, and she's already lost close to 40 pounds. There are ladies at her meeting who have lost 60 or more pounds. I am so very proud of her, my dear friend. It was the first time she joined WW, after hearing me talk about it for so many years. And now I feel like a fraud.
It made me realize that I'm not investing enough time or energy into the program. I haven't tracked in months, and although I've been getting on the treadmill every day lately, it has been so very inconsistent that it seems pointless. I know with January looming, we will have the annual influx of new members at the meetings. Trust me, I know. The first time I joined WW was in 1993, and for most of those years, I was always a chronic "reoffender" as my leader calls it. In other words, I would go for awhile, then drop out, then start coming again. And it's true.
All except for this time. Once I started going back to WW last year after I stopped working, I haven't "quit". But, like my exercise routine, my dedication to WW has been spotty. And so are the results. I decided to document the truth:
- I rejoined WW at the end of April of last year.
- My weight was 219.6 pounds.
- Since that time, there have been 84 weekly meetings.
- I have attended only 46 meetings.
- My current weight is 208.2 pounds.
Of course some of those weeks we were on vacation or gone for holidays, but the sad reality is that I am only half-assing the program. And so my results are just as pitiful as my attendance. At one point earlier this year, I was down to 194.8 and was working on my 25# award. Back in October, after skipping meetings for almost 6 weeks (and going on a cruise), I came back with a gigantic 15 pound gain that I am now, during the holidays, struggling to overcome. Having said that, I am not dismissing the 11 pounds that I've lost. If you told me I would shed 11 pounds every year, I would be ecstatic. It may not be much, but think of the alternative- gaining 11 pounds every year!! I am trying to continue to stay positive and not beat myself up for just having a "small" loss over the last year and a half.
But I'm optimistic after the past few weeks- coming back from our Florida vacation with a loss, and surviving Thanksgiving with another loss. If I can do that, I can get through the Christmas madness and start January off on the right foot. That is, until we leave on January 17th for our 15 day cruise. That will be another challenge unlike any I've ever faced. Plenty of opportunity to get tons of exercise but also to overindulge. I will just have to make the right decisions every day. More time in the gym, less time on the balcony reading. More water, less cappuccino. And number one for me- stay out of the bread basket that accompanies every meal!
One change that has been for the better, is getting the Fitbit. I'm still very satisfied with it, and I'm glad that I got it. I know the new ActiveLink is out, and yes it tracks all this new stuff. But the reason I love the Fitbit is that James decided to get one too, to help him stay on track with his exercise program. And so now it's something we can share. James doesn't follow WW, so the ActiveLink was of no interest to him. The Fitbit has given us a common tool. We send each other challenges, or notes as motivation. His syncs to his iPhone, and mine to my iPad, so we can sit down and compare our stats. He has set daily goals for himself and makes himself meet those goals. He's very competitive and I'm finding that keeping up with him- and his newly found enthusiasm- can only boost my own weight loss.
SANDY
Today at Weight Watchers, we talked about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. My leader Marci passed out a "cheat sheet" listing all the normal holiday fare. Before we knew the points for each food item, we had to be totally honest and mark down what we would normally eat. Then she revealed the points. I didn't do too badly, I was at the lower end of the class spectrum. My total meal was only 21 points. I was honest in my choices- green bean casserole, corn, stuffing- but perhaps not in the scant amounts that were listed. Thanksgiving is not too much of a temptation for me. I don't really like turkey and gravy, I hate mashed potatoes, and I won't touch pecan pie or sweet tea.
Every year we spend Thanksgiving with James' family, and the meal is wonderful. Everyone goes all out and brings their best dishes for a scrumptious pot luck. Last year I promised myself I wouldn't get up and have seconds, and I didn't. This year I intend to do the same, except I plan to spoon up much smaller portion sizes. It's hard, because I love all the casseroles and bread and homemade desserts that only get served annually. I also have to remember that with so many choices available, I won't be able to have something of everything. A friend in the meeting said this is one meal where she is super picky- using her points for only her absolute favorites. She has a good point. I make sides like corn or sweet potatoes for dinner at home- perhaps I could pass those up at Thanksgiving in exchange for a spoonful of gooey baked mac & cheese.
In the past we've had the Thanksgiving meal later in the day. This year, I think for the first time, we're aiming for high noon. And that leaves the evening open for too much nibbling. Although we are staying at a hotel, I am sure very few restaurants and probably zero fast food places will be open that night. I can only imagine that our dinner- even if it's packed up and taken to the hotel- will be leftovers from the big meal. I don't think I want to eat that many calories- no matter how delicious- twice in one day. I may skip dessert after the meal, and wait to have my piece of pie for dinner. I'm an adult, I can do that.
I succeeded in not going overboard on our trip to Florida. In fact I had a two pound loss for this weigh-in, my first week back. But I am also in the middle of shedding the incredible amount I gained on the previous vacation, the cruise. Our receptionist asked me if she owed me a five-pound star today. I said no, I received it already for this particular milestone- this week's loss is still making up for that last big "backslide". And I don't want the holidays to be another backslide.
At the meeting, Marci reminded us that Thanksgiving is just ONE meal. She said not to deprive ourselves, even if we have to use all of our extra points- weekly and activity- to cover that day. But she also made it clear that a holiday is not a license to overindulge. It really is more about being with family than it is eating. The meal is just a good reason to get everyone to sit down at the same table together.
SANDY
I made myself a promise I would get back to the blog. I need something to help me stay focused on my weight loss efforts. Those efforts have drifted off somewhere into the ozone lately, and I'm determined to find them again. So the blog seemed like a good place to start. It seems that many of the blogs I used to read are gone now, and I'm going to seek for new inspiration and motivation out there.
Earlier this year I was humming along, doing great, down in the low 190's for the first time since before I got married. I was dedicated to Weight Watchers- tracking, going to my meetings. I wore my ActiveLink from the time I woke up until I rolled into bed at night, always aiming for those 100% days. I had started back with yoga again at a new local studio. I even started buying up TV show collections on DVD because I was doing over an hour a day on the treadmill.
Everything fell apart this spring. We went on a nice vacation out west. I hurt my knee on the trip, so once we got back home, I stopped going to yoga "until it healed", which has turned into a continued absence. I slacked off on my daily treadmill addiction. The less I moved, the more I started to hurt everywhere, so the less I moved- to a point where I was ready to go to the doctor and ask to be tested for arthritis. The pounds started to creep back up on me. I would miss a WW meeting here and there. Then another vacation at the end of summer, and more weight gain with still less movement. When we got home, I promptly lost my ActiveLink and have been searching under every piece of furniture in the house. I know I lost it at home, because I clearly remember that day and I never left the house. But that was weeks ago, and I haven't yet found it.
So now I'm on week seven of having skipped my Weight Watchers meetings. I haven't tracked in two months. I can't remember the last time I stepped on the treadmill two days in a row. And lately my answer to a hassle free evening has been ordering pizza for our dinner. I am out of control, and surprise, my weight is back up in the 210's. NOT where I wanted to go, but the excuses and the lying to myself have taken me there.
I'm ready to get back to it. I'll return to WW this Friday and face that scale. I will take out my tracker and get back to writing everything down and sticking to my daily points allowance. I'll buy a new ActiveLink and start a new challenge. I will wipe off the cobwebs on the treadmill in the basement, but plan to start walking outside now that the autumn weather is so enjoyable out there. I will absolutely go back to yoga, since I have 15 more prepaid classes to use before they expire in December!
Back to the blog- I will attempt to post every day, at least during the week since our weekends are normally spent out and about. I don't know of any other way to continue on the right path. Weight Watchers has always worked for me, if ONLY I stay on the plan!
SANDY
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