meeting – Page 13 – This Crazy Life of Mine

Tag: meeting

21
Jan
2013

Before & After: 2006

categories: #expectamazing, accountability, after, before, food, goal, healthy, lifetime, meeting, running, scale, TaeBo, walking, weigh-in, Weight Watchers 360, willpower, WW

I was recently going through some photos, a trip down memory lane, and I came across my before and after photos from the very first time I did Weight Watchers. After hitting my goal and making lifetime in 7 months with a 30 pound loss, I made a little photo album of my success. Why I ever put the photo album away makes no sense to me because it should have been kept out as a reminder of how far I had come, and how I never wanted to go back that place before. Ironically, not only did I go back to that place, but I went even farther, as you know since I revealed my starting weight in Saturday’s weigh-in post.

To date, there are two times in my life when I have lost a lot of weight. Back in 1997, I lost 43 pounds strictly eating low-carb, going from 173 pounds to 130. I will never ever do low-carb again. Yes, it worked, but I was miserable. I’m Italian, I can’t give up entire food groups. The whole theory of telling me I can’t have a certain food just does not work and I am not sure how I did it back then.

By the time I joined Weight Watchers in January 2006, I was 156 lbs… Not to discount any of the hard work I have ever done to lose weight, I almost have to laugh at the fact that I was so unhappy at 156 lbs.. What I would give to weigh that now. But, there is no sense in going there. Everything happens for a reason and if I felt strongly enough about it at the time, then it was important that I do something about it. And Weight Watchers is a FANTASTIC program, I can never say enough about it.

What prompted my decision to join Weight Watchers in 2006 was seeing a photo of myself. When I first put saw it, I put it away. Months later it came out again, and within weeks I joined Weight Watchers. This is the picture…

Worst photo ever, I thought. That can’t be me. There’s no way. I can’t even stand looking at it. And off I went… At the time, there was a Weight Watchers in the shopping center around the corner from our house, right next to the Publix we shop at. Talk about accountability. I knew it was right for me the minute I walked in. Everyone was very welcoming and the meetings were great. No one was telling me I couldn’t eat pasta or bread. Getting on the scale every week was enough of a motivator for me.

For 7 months, I went to meetings, followed the program, and stuck to the points like my life depended on it. I never felt deprived. I worked out. Hard. Often times, twice a day. I did TaeBo and turned my walks into runs. I was a machine. Shortly after making Lifetime, I took a new picture of myself.

Quite a difference. I was so proud of myself. I went from a size 14 to a size 6. I felt much better that time around than when I did the low-carb diet years before. Amazingly, shortly after hitting goal, my family opened an Italian restaurant and for much of our time there, and I STILL kept the weight off. I would allow myself one day a week to have whatever meal I wanted (and would make it myself since my mom and I were the cooks!).

So here we are, 2013 and I am working the program again. Three weeks in and I am down almost 8 pounds. It’s not all going to be easy and I will have a week where I gain. It happened the first time around, I know it will happen again. But I am not going to give up this time. I can’t keep giving up. Starting this time around 22 pounds heavier than the last time is just not acceptable. I’m not going to keep asking myself how I got to this place, how I let it go so far because I wasn’t ready before. It wasn’t the right time. I wasn’t mentally prepared to tackle it. But I am now, and that’s what’s important.

I have a new before picture picked out for this time around, this one from New Years Eve, the day before I went back to Weight Watchers. I was not comfortable in my dress, but I wore it anyway because I wanted to dress up. Here it is…

I can’t wait to be able to post an after photo. I want to dress up comfortably. I don’t know how long it will take, but it will happen. I will get there – you can #ExpectAmazing.

Do you take before and after photos as part of your weight loss journey?

19
Jan
2013

WW Weigh-In #3

categories: #expectamazing, accountability, meeting, scale, weigh-in, weight, Weight Watchers 360

Hi everyone! Despite the dreary morning here this morning, I am pretty darn happy. I went to my WW meeting this morning, only five minutes late after waking up 27 minutes late. Since I am always early to EVERYTHING, I hate being late so I was a little discombobulated. Add to that some stress over getting on the scale. You know those times when you know you did your best for the week, but you feel it wasn’t good enough? That maybe those couple of days you were on the road all day and didn’t bring enough snacks could have been your downfall? That’s exactly how I felt this morning. Add to that the awful bloating I had yesterday and this morning (sorry, TMI) and I was fully expecting a gain.

But my fear was all for nothing. So happy about that! Here are the results for this week…. Pretty exciting, right?!

Things I did right this week are:

Tracked everything I ate, counted every point, even when I ate things that I shouldn’t. KEPT MYSELF ACCOUNTABLE.
Water, water, water…. I feel like I float everywhere from all the water I drink.
I ate breakfast everyday. It starts the day right and keeps me in check.
I am not afraid to make myself something different for dinner than what hubby has. He has been eating better as well, but there are certain foods I enjoy that he does not so I make two dinners.

What I will focus on this week:

Add a few more fruits and veggies to my day.
Make homemade salad dressing for the week to save on points.
Try one new WW recipe this week.
Add a protein to my lunch salad.

So now that I’ve been back to Weight Watchers for 3 weeks and I am doing very well with it, I am ready to share with you my starting weight. I am trying not to put everything on the number on the scale, but also how I feel in my skin and in my clothes. I hate being uncomfortable. Hate, hate, hate it. Weight Watchers eTools has a fantastic graph that shows your weight loss. The second I weigh-in at the meeting, it’s updated on my eTools and I can see how far I’ve come that week and since I started. Since I am such a visual person, this works wonders for me.

Keeping myself accountable…. That’s the point of sharing this. On January 1, 2013 I weighed in at 178 pounds. My highest EVER. Six pounds more than my previous highest ever weight that I swore would never happen again. Three weeks later I am down a total of 7.6 pounds. I hope the downward trend of the graph continues. I know there will be weeks where I maintain or gain. It can happen and it will. But at this moment, I am focusing on what I have done in the last 3 weeks. I CAN DO THIS.

When I got home from the meeting, I made myself a delicious breakfast. Two eggs and tomato slices with basil and coffee. Hit the spot and just 6 points!

What helps keep you accountable? What are your meal planning techniques?

05
Jan
2013

Dear Me…

categories: #expectamazing, 2013, choices, Dear Me..., food, happy, healthy, meal planning, meeting, scale, strong, track, weigh-in, Weight Watchers 360

Dear Me,

Just 5 days ago, on New Years Eve, you decided to make a fresh start and go back to Weight Watchers. The minute you went back, you changed your mindset, knowing that doing this for the fifth time meant you had to give it more than the four last times. You had to commit to it like you did the first time you did it – and succeeded.

Since Tuesday, you’ve made your breakfast every day, you’ve upped your water, you made your lunch, included fruits or vegetables in each meal, and even enjoyed a meal out last night. It’s all about making the right choices.

On Thursday, you forgot your lunch. It would have been so easy to not worry about it and just have something else. But something inside made you get back in the car and drive home to get it. That is commitment.

In making the decision to go back to Weight Watchers, you realized that for this to work, you would have to go back to Saturday meetings. Saturday’s are your day, no work or problems coming at you from all angles that interfere with a meeting. You won’t sit through the meeting feeling guilty about the fact that you should be at work or doing about 50 other important things. You know that to succeed, you need to do what works. Don’t set yourself up to fail. Go back to what worked the first time – Saturday morning meetings.

This morning you got up and went to the 6:45 meeting since you decided Saturday will be your regular meeting day. Since you weighed in just 5 days ago and it’s still technically the same week, you had an unofficial weigh-in. That unofficial weigh-in has now set the tone for the weekend and week to come. You know what you need to do and keep doing it. Why? Because you lost 3.2 pounds in 5 days. You didn’t starve, you didn’t feel like you were missing out on anything, you didn’t feel deprived. You jumped back in full steam, tracked every bite you took, measured all your food, and gave it your all.

So anytime you think you can’t do it, remember this. Remember this feeling of being in control, of not letting your body win. You don’t have to be that person who feels so uncomfortable in your skin. That’s not you. Remember, you are stronger than you know. You, my dear, can #ExpectAmazing this year. The proof was on the scale this morning.

Love,

01
Jan
2013

A fresh start!

categories: #expectamazing, 2013, a fresh start, accountability, blog, commitment, empowered, food, healthy, meeting, Suzi Storm, The Daily Mel, weigh-in, weight, Weight Watchers 360, WW

It seems like such a cliché to go on a diet on January 1st. How many people resolve to eat better, work out, and live a healthier lifestyle only to go back to their old ways within a few weeks time? Been there, done that.

I walked out of a Weight Watchers meeting back in April and never went back. Why? I had it in my mind that I could do it on my own, despite the fact that I’ve never had success with that before. For the remainder of 2012, I fooled myself into thinking it would all click, that one morning I would wake up and know exactly what to eat and what not to eat to magically lose the weight and never gain it back. If only it were that easy, right?

I have thought a number of times the last several months that I should go back to Weight Watchers, but I had an excuse not to every time. Not the right time, why set myself up to fail, I can’t do it, I can’t commit. Blah, blah, blah. Seriously, I am my own worst enemy when it comes to losing weight.

The beginning of December, a new Weight Watchers program was introduced. New look, new feel, new information. Part of me wanted to go running back to meetings at that moment to get all the new goodies that go along with a new campaign. But the little voice in my head told me I wasn’t ready.

A couple of fabulous women I follow on Twitter, discussed the new program quite a bit. One of them, Suzi Storm, a fellow blogger over at Ok, just one more beer…, has been a part of Weight Watchers campaigns before. In print, on TV, and more. She is a rock star. But she is REAL and has had some struggles this year. And while I am all for a happy-ending weight loss story, I am more inclined to forever follow the story of someone who has the same damn struggles that I do. It’s not always easy, no matter how fantastic the program is. Another blogger has written on her blog in great length about the new program, Mel with The Daily Mel, and I will be the first to admit that the information she gave nearly sent me running to the nearest meeting despite that voice in my head.

The last couple of days, that voice changed. It didn’t tell me I wasn’t ready when I thought of trying it again, for the FIFTH time, rather I had thoughts of succeeding. Of being able to deal with it better, to face it head on. So after a fantastic dinner at Kobe Japanese Steak House on New Years Eve, where I didn’t give a single thought to what I was eating or drinking, I told hubby that the next morning I was going to the 9:30 Weight Watchers meeting to start over again.

Despite the cliché of starting a new diet on January 1, I looked at it as a fresh start. New year, new goals, a chance to focus on ME. No more holidays to sabotage me, no more excuses. So, off I went yesterday morning to Weight Watchers in Largo, arriving just before the center opened.

After buying the new member kit in the fantastically cute bag, a salad bowl, and mini-bars, and signing up for the monthly pass, I got on the scale. This was the part I dreaded. Who doesn’t? I officially weigh 14 pounds more than I did at my last weigh-in back on April 5. I am at my heaviest ever. EVER. How did I get to this point? I know I’ve been through a lot, but my goodness, how did I let this happen? How?!

Despite the shock of the scale, I really enjoyed the meeting. It felt right. It did not feel forced or like I might lose interest tomorrow. I chatted up a storm and took part in the discussion and more. I stayed after for the first of two Power Start sessions. I left there feeling – knowing – that today was the right day to go back.

I KNOW that Weight Watchers works. I’ve celebrated making lifetime before and I kept it up for quite awhile. And yes, it pisses me off that I let life get in the way and derail me from the progress I made. I hate that I let circumstances get the best of me. But I cannot think about that now. All I can do is look forward and start today. I made the choice to go to the meeting this morning and commit to a healthier lifestyle and to the accountability that is Weight Watchers. It’s not a diet. It’s a lifestyle. It’s about change and healthy choices. If I want to make a bad choice, I can. I just need to be held accountable for it.

I will be 41 next month. I want to feel good in my skin and not constantly worry about what I’m wearing or how I feel wearing it. I know what it’s like to be on the other side of that, to not spend half my morning wondering what I will wear to hide whatever part of my body is making me the most unhappy that day. Not to mention, I am registered for five events between now and April – two half-marathons, an 8K, and 2 5Ks. I want to give it my all. Taking better care of myself, eating better, and doing anything I can for me (despite what is going on around me) is the goal for 2013.

I can do this. I CAN DO THIS. I will take it one step at a time. My first goal is 5% if my weight and then 10%. I will take it one day a time. I. Can. Do. This.

Do you follow Weight Watchers? Have you made weight-loss related resolutions for 2013?