My Own Experience in the Weight Loss Battle – I’m Still and Always Will be Battling the Bulge!

My Own Experience

To begin with, I have been on a diet my WHOLE life, and now that I look back on some of my years, I definitely did not necessarily need to lose weight even when I thought I did. Although, I suppose that if I hadn’t been watching my weight and dieting, I very well could possibly be much more overweight than I am today.

I am 51 and I am overweight – with possibly another 60 or so pounds still to lose. With my most recent endeavor with Weight Watchers, I have lost 24.4lbs since I actually started DOING the diet on February 24th of this year. (This is the first time that I have attended the meetings weekly, without missing a week, and have had a consistent weight loss each week.) I signed up AGAIN last November, and was back and forth on the scale and even skipped some weeks when I felt I hadn’t been “good”. So what made me FINALLY start doing the “plan”? I was visiting my sister in Florida and had been at the beach, so when we started taking pictures of me and my two sisters together – I felt OK – (because, unless we’re looking in a mirror or at pictures of ourselves – we look down – and well, we feel that we’re OK I guess). Well, I felt ok, until I saw the pictures floating on my sister’s computer as a screen saver. I immediately told her to PLEASE delete the photo – I thought it looked disgusting! My arm looked like a THIGH! I was on the verge of tears, and decided that when I got home -THAT WAS IT! I AM DOING THIS NOW!

As it was, when I got home, my friend Lisa told me that she wanted to join Weight Watchers too, so it became a motivating factor for me to finally follow the plan. She and I did our weigh in, and talked on the phone during the week. She gave me some ideas for recipes (easy stuff) and I shared with her some of my ideas. I can be very motivating to others, but seem to have trouble (mostly in the past) sticking to a diet myself. I don’t know why I can stick to the program this time and hadn’t been able to in the past. I honestly, have always wanted to be thinner, if not even for appearance sake, then for my health. Adult onset Diabetes runs in my family, my mother got diagnosed with it when she was around my age, and actually passed away at age 60 from a diabetic heart attack. My oldest sister, was also diagnosed with it, and is controlling it mostly with diet and exercise. So, needless to say, I may be destined to get it anyway, but with weight loss and more exercise, my chances of surviving it are greatly increased.

I CAN tell you that I think that part of my current success is due to the fact that I don’t have to lose weight for any upcoming event! Even as I started this diet in November, it was based on the fact that I was going on a 4 day cruise with my “skinny” girlfriends in March. So why didn’t I actually follow the program starting in November?? No matter, I finally did start in February – 2 weeks before I was to go on the cruise. Do you know what the BIG event is on a cruise?? THE FOOD!!! The first week I lost 4.6 pounds (so did Lisa!), and the second week I lost 1.2 pounds – so….. if I went on this cruise and ate and drank to my hearts content, I could possibly come home right back where I started!! I was determined that that would NOT happen! I kept telling myself that this was only one week in my life – I could go and have fun, and make good food choices, and the next thing you know I’d be back at work and back into my REAL life again.

I had the control, and was the one to make the good or bad choices. I was a woman “obsessed”! At dinner I passed up on the rolls – and therefore the butter that I usually like with them. I chose fish or chicken over a beef option, and if I got potatoes with the meal, I only ate half of what they gave me. I did have desert every night with my dinner – but I chose the “sugar free” desert and only ate half. I didn’t have any alcohol drinks until “cocktail hour” (the girls participated daily by the pool) and only had one or two drinks. (This gave me much more control so as to avoid the late night snacking at the hamburger grill.) I also decided that just because I wasn’t “buzzed” like my friends that I would STILL have fun participating in the nightly activities of seeing shows, gambling and dancing in the lounges. I also walked 40 mins for 4 of the six days I was away. Do you know that I just might be the ONLY person to EVER go on a cruise and come back to a 1.5 weight LOSS??? I was SO psyched! But it also got rid of the “urgency” factor for me. No more trips planned, a few holidays, but nothing major to worry about. My sister in Florida has her son’s wedding coming up in October of this year, she is also doing Weight Watchers, (actually started the same week I did and also has a loss of about 20 pounds) and I told her to keep doing what she’s doing – don’t worry about the wedding – it’s only ONE day in her life! If she happens to be slimmer and weigh less when it comes around, then it’s a BONUS! Don’t let the pressure of the “date” cause an eating FRENZY!

I’m feeling better! Some of the clothes I’ve purchased in the past fit until I WASHED them, and then they shrunk! Well, now I’m fitting into those items, and I’ve got lots more “new” clothes to wear in my closet as I continue to lose. Everyone I’m seeing, even friends I see on a weekly basis, are noticing my weight loss. I say “thank you” and secretly PRAY that it won’t just pound itself on again. Even though I feel like I’m in control, and that this will finally be the time that I make it to my goal, I still feel like I’m in a “fragile” state.

Honestly, I feel that Weight Watchers is the ONLY way to go. But before I go any further, I need to tell you something! Years ago, when I was going to Weight Watchers, it was held in a church basement. I used to feel totally disgraced by having to go to that basement every week. I always hoped that I wouldn’t see anyone I knew. But things have changed! Attending Weight Watchers, with their new commercials, showing girlfriends going together and supporting each other and having fun with it, has become a “socially acceptable” thing to do! I recently went to dinner with 10 girlfriends to celebrate one of the girl’s birthday – 8 of the 10 were on Weight Watchers! We all talked about the “point values” of our dinner choices and even “shared” so we’d keep on our weight loss track!

On Weight Watchers, you can actually eat ANYTHING you want, but with limits. There are two plans you can follow, the Core Plan – where you eat from a list of “good” foods with no restrictions except to STOP eating when you feel you’ve had enough. THIS WOULD NEVER WORK FOR ME, although some members do have success following this plan. The other plan, the one I use is the FLEX Plan. Everything you eat has “points” and with an easy way to figure out the point value for all of your foods, you can, again, virtually eat anything your body needs to have.

I’ll share with you some of the RULES that I’ve made up for myself:

1. Avoid the rolls (and therefore the butter)

2. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS weigh and measure my portions

3. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS WRITE IT ALL DOWN!

4. I opt for spray butter on all of my veggies – no points – it’s free!

5. DRINK 6-8 GLASSES OF WATER DAILY! (Whenever I’ve eaten too much or had a bad choice of food – I drink extra water – this helps with “flushing” out.

6. Whenever possible, I have “light” breads for my sandwiches for lunch, English muffins for breakfast or hot dog or hamburger rolls.

7. I also get “wheat” instead of “white”, including pasta. (When it’s cooked, it pretty much tastes the same!)

8. PLAN AHEAD – SHOP DAILY if necessary to have the ingredients and foods that you plan on eating that day. (I usually plan my dinner first – including my desert and late night snack, and THEN plan the rest of the day)

9. Try to get in at least a 20-40 minute walk no less than 3 days per week.

My family has been eating pretty much whatever I prepare, and I haven’t had too many complaints. Hubby is losing and so are the kids! As I continue, I hope this has provided some inspiration for you – I know how hard this can be – and I hope you find your inner strength to finally join the “losing” crowd. Good Luck!

Susan Mercer is a Professional Photographer, mother of 3 and now a Weight Watcher for life. She knows that even when she reaches her goal weight, she will still be attending Weight Watchers meetings to help her maintain her weight loss.
http://walkoffyourpounds.com

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