The day has finally come.....

I Made Goal!!
55.8 lbs lighter than 7.5 months ago!

Slideshow of my Weightloss

50 pounds gone forever!!

Yes, you read it right, I have lost 50+ pounds! I got my 50 pound award about 3 weeks ago. I remember the first WW meeting I attended, another gal there had lost 50 pounds and I just thought...Wow, she is amazing. Then I thought could that be me? I had the same plan as her, I had the same support system as she did... I was determined that yes, it could be me if I stayed on plan and patiently watched the numbers on the scale go down and down.

Here I am; 50+ pounds lighter. I wonder if anyone at the meeting the night I got my award determined to do the same; I hope so.

down about 35 pounds

Down to size 14 jeans and an Large top. Started out wearing 18 jeans and 1X tops.

What I had to give up...

Eating the "Weightwatchers way" has really not changed my life that much. When I think about it, I really was already doing the basics of the Core Plan. I have always eaten plenty of fruit, vegetables, whole wheat bread and pastas, and brown rice. So what changes did I make:

1. I had to switch from whole-fat dairy products to fat-free dairy products, which was not a problem for me. The only dairy I noticed a difference in was the milk and after drinking fat-free milk for a few days I got used to it and it seemed normal.

2. I quickly realized that there was seven foods I was eating way too much of: bread, nuts, butter, cheese, peaunt butter, candy, and icecream. All of these foods, except candy and icecream, I considered to be healthy foods and never worried about how much of them I ate. But, as soon as I started eating them in moderation, I started loosing weight.

3. I had to quit grazing. The first day on WW, I was constantly having to stop myself from tasting while cooking and eating food as I was putting away left-overs. I had no idea how many little bites I was taking and how the calories add up.

4. I had to learn to substitute. Eating only the foods on the Core list can get boring after a bit and the 35 extra points do not go very far. I usually use my points for bread, cheese, butter, and fat-free fudge bars. So in order to spice up my meals, I had to learn how to substitute. At the WW meetings you get lots of great ideas of how to do this. Here are a few examples: I make my own fat-free "cream of" soup, I buy the high fiber wraps that are only one point, and I buy a zero calorie/zero fat butter spray for popcorn.

5. I had to learn to stop eating before I felt stuffed. I remember eating "seconds" all the time and I never left food on my plate. I can't even image now how I ate all that food. I think the problem was that I learned years ago that dieting was bad and that you should never let yourself get too hungry or you will end up stuffing anything in your mouth and making poor food choices. This is true, but I went overboard and ate way more than I really needed. I often felt uncomfortable after a meal due to over-eating. Now I eat until I start to feel satisfied and then I stop, knowing that when I get hungry again, I can eat again. You don't have to starve yourself, but you don't have to stuff yourself either.


So there you have it; that's really all I had to change to lose weight. Sometimes I feel bored or like I just want to go back to the old habits, but I remind myself how far I have come and how easy it really has been. On occasion, I feel left out when everyone else is pigging-down on the yummy stuff, but most of the time it really doesn't bother me. It has really helped that my family is eating healthier too. We do not have nearly as much junk in the house as we used to. The health and energy that I feel, the way I look, and the compliments I am starting to get far out-way the few changes and choices I have had to make.

25 Pound Ring

I got my 25 pound ring two weeks ago, on October 17th! Last week I weighed in at -29.4 pounds. I feel like I have lost a bit more this week and I am hoping to at least hit -30 and get another star. Can't wait to get my 50 pound ring!

Goals I have meet...

Well, I have to admit, I am getting a bit bored of this weight loss journey and I need to get the move on again.... I made some small goals awhile back and these are the ones I have meet...

1. Five pound stars: at the time I made the goal, I had 2 five pound stars, as of now, I have 4 and I am .4 pounds away from getting the fifth star. Also, I will get the 25 ring to go on my key chain at the same time.

2. 10% key chain: I got it!

3. Get below 200 pounds: that happened last week, the scale said 199 which made me feel great!

4. Wear size XL/14: I am wearing a size 16 jeans today and they are practically falling off.... I officially wear a size XL/14 now.

5. Jog instead of walk: I measured the distance I usually walk and it is 1.4 miles. I started really pushing myself to jog more the last few weeks and I am jogging about a mile of it now. I hope to jog the 1.4 miles within a week or two.

And another great thing that happened: I now can get out of the tub and wrap a standard size towel around me and actually cover everything up!

I know I want to keep going and get to goal and stay at goal....I'm just going through a bit of a slump right now. Not that I am totally pigging-out or anything, I am eating a few more things like crackers and peanuts. I make sure the crackers are high fiber though. I also eat treats on occation, but I make sure I eat only the serving size which is not much.

I havn't been counting my points the last couple weeks. What I really want to do is get to where I listen to my body rather than counting points, but the last week, I really have not been doing either. I think it is natural to drop some pounds, start to feel better, and ease up on your efforts. Need to get going again....

Just one pound!

All I lost last week was one pound! Take a look at this picture of one pound of body fat and tell me that just one pound is not a major accomplishment.

Just think, I have lost more than 23 of these big blobs over the last 2 months. Never again will I feel discouraged for losing only one pound!

Also last week was my daughter Brinya's fourth birthday. I decided to have some cake and icecream to celebrate. Now, in the past, I really believed that a serving of cake and icecream equaled about 4 cups....but now I know that it is more like one cup. I ate the one cup, enjoyed it, and had no desire to eat more. Now, that is an accomplishment for me. I am usually the one who eats one bite of forbidden foods and than says, "what the heck, I blew it, I might as well eat the whole thing"~ not anymore, there are no forbidden foods, only portion control...and feeling in control.

And did I mention, that I am no longer considered "obese"! I am now on the higher end of being "overweight" for my height. Most people are not thrilled about being called overweight, but compared to the word obese, it sounds like heaven. Of course, I look forward to the day they will call me "normal".


Here is my updated Virtual Model, after losing 23.2 pounds. Is she looking great or what?!

Made my 10% goal tonight

Yes!, I lost 22.2 pounds which qualified me for the 10% keychain! I lost 10% of my original weight, what a feeling! I am lovin it! So what now? Just 2.8 more pounds until I get a 25 pound ring to go on my keychain!

Fat Pictures

This is me before I started loosing weight... back when I thought I couldn't do it and would just have to except who I was.

Whoever took this picture of me is in big trouble. Wait a minute, I am sure that isn't even me....

Wow, I can't hardly believe I used to look like that. Weight gain kinda sneaks up on ya. You hardly realize how bad it is until one day you look in the mirror or see a fat picture. I guess I just got busy taking care of everyone else and forgot to take care of myself. I'm ready to take care of myself now so I can take care of others better.

My virtual model

Okay, I keep daydreaming about what I will look like when I lose more weight, so I found this virtual model to help me out:



The first one is me at my starting weight of 224 pounds~yikes, no wonder I never went swimming~ the second one is me at my now weight of 212~looking a little better~ and the third one is me at my goal weight~ yeah!!

Small goals

Last week I lost 2 pounds and this week I lost 1 pound. Not as exciting as losing 3-5.6 pounds, but every little bit counts. The leader was taking about how even a quarter of a pound is a lot. She said to go home and get a stick of butter and put it up to your body and try to decide where you lost that much weight from. I laughed, but when I got home, my kids where kinda teasin' me for only loosing a pound, but I got out a one pound box of butter and showed them just how much a pound was. They changed their thinking after that. I guess I just want all the fat gone now and I don't want to wait. I have to remember that I gained this weight over about a five year period of time, even if it takes five years to get it off, that will be fine. My goal before I joined Weightwatchers was to lose 10 pounds a year rather than gaining 10 pounds a year. I have already surpassed that goal in just 4 weeks. I am going to list my small goals to keep me going and not worry about the end goal.

1. Working on 5 pounds at a time. I already have two 5 pound stars and I am nearly half way to the third.

2. 10 % goal. I have already lost 5 % of my original body weight, all I need to do is repeat this once and I will get my 10 % key chain.

3. Get below 200 pounds. I remember when I was pregnant the last few times, I dreaded to get over 200 pounds, but at least I could use pregnancy as an excuse....no excuse now.

4. Wear a size XL misses comfortable. I am starting to wear size 16 or 14 jeans, depending on the jeans and my 1X tops are feeling a bit large. I estimate that I will wear size XL/14 when I lose my 10%.

5. Jog instead of walk. I am walking/jogging for about 30 minutes now. I want to get where I can jog the whole time.

Well, these are my small goals. I already feel like I have accomplished so much. It is amazing how just losing 11.8 pounds can make such a difference in how you feel. My belly is getting smaller, I can tell, but no one outside my family has commented yet. I guess I am one who needs that attention, cause I can't wait for someone to comment on my weight loss. But for now, I feel thinner, I have more energy, and I am excited to be on this journey.

3rd week on WeightWatchers

I am so pumped! Last week the leader warned me that you might lose a lot one week and than a little the next week, so don't always expect to loose 3+ pounds...I thought okay, maybe 2 pounds....what to my surprise, I lost 5.6 pounds. I love WeightWatches; it wasn't that hard at all. A total of 8.8 pounds. I got my first little five pound star!

2nd week with WeightWatchers

I was so nervous to weigh-in tonight. I did everything I was suppose to do...yes, I used ever point that was given to me, but I had made a lot of changes and made good choices...yet still, I just had no idea what that scale was going to say. I had secretly been hoping for a lose of 3 pounds just to get the ball rolling, but I would be okay with 1 or 2...I just could not bare to work so hard and not drop an ounce. As it turned out, I lost 3.2 pounds. I was so releaved! I started crying...I asked if we where suppose to cry and they said I could if I wanted to. Kinda embarrassing, but I needed a good cry. Then I was pumped and ready to keep going.
Can't wait till next weigh-in.

Day One on WeightWatchers

I chose the Core Plan--where you don't have to measure food or count calories. You just eat the healthy foods on the list until you fill full, but not too full. I really do not like counting calories, writing down what I eat, and measuring portions. The Core Plan works better for me. I don't want to be hungry or suffer any when I am losing weight. I did notice yesterday that there are quite a few foods that I consider healthy that are not on the core list. Such as Bread and Peanuts. Also the dairy products on the list are all non-fat. I went to the store yesterday and could not find any dairy products that where non-fat; there were reduced-fat or low-fat, but no non-fat. Also with this plan, I will have to be prepared with things for me to eat that are on the list. When I make meals for my family, I will have to take out a portion for me and not add the fattening things to it. With the CorePlan, you do get 35 points a week for foods that are not on the list. Yesterday, I used 8 of them. You can see that I will quickly use up all my points if I keep that up. Today I will be more careful.

Weight Watchers

I finally got around to signing up for WeightWatchers. I went to the first meeting last night. It was fun. I am excited. I really think I need that support. I have been preparing myself to loose weight for several months now. I have read some good books and learned a lot about what to eat and what not to eat. But, I still felt like I needed the support of others who are changing their way of eating. Also, I think the weigh-in is motivating for me. I do not want to get on that scale and see that number get higher.