Posts Tagged ‘Weight Watchers’

Posted on August 28, 2009 - by Mary

What’s on My Heart

Warning: this is a totally random post. Just feel like laying some stuff out that’s on my mind and heart. Nothing big, nothing serious, just stuff, just life.

Right now I’m listening to Hillsong, Hillsong and more Hillsong! I got their new CD, Faith+Hope+Love, and loaded into my iTunes along with all my other Hillsong music. I clicked on their playlist and have been listening to them all morning as I try to get some work done. Notice I said “try”. I’ve got a client’s project to work on, but it’s a little challenging because it’s in .pdf form and I need to copy the text into a Word doc. Well, I converted it using an online .pdf converter, but it’s still formatted as a “picture” instead of text. I then tried to save a copy of the .pdf file as text, but the text file came up blank. Grrrr. I WILL figure this out, I just needed to stop for a moment and not get frustrated.

Jeff just started a week of evenings today. He left about 10 minutes ago. It will be weird not having him here all the time. He’s had so much vacation this summer, it’s been nice having him around all the time.

My youngest is going to the church to help out with vacation bible school. She’s been helping all week, including with set up, which I think she really enjoys doing. My oldest daughter and I are making plans to go to the fair tonight perhaps, if she can convince her hubby to go or maybe he will find something else to do. We shall see. Either way I have to get a ride with my youngest to G-town because I don’t want to drive the gas-hog truck with a low tire.

I really need to get back on track with my diet. I’ve not been tracking and have gained 2 more lbs!!! Ugh! I can feel it too. Plus I’ve not been drinking all the water. Be right back, going to get a glass now…ok I’m back. I actually filled up my water bottle I got when I first started Weight Watchers. Oh, be back again…going to fill out my points…there. I added my weight, which I did not want to, and tracked my points for today. I have 10 left.

Other areas I have to get disciplined in are exercising and budgeting. Being self disciplined has never been easy for me. I wish I were one of those people who was naturally self disciplined. I find the same people who are great at budgeting are also great at staying in shape and vice-versa. Or else they were born with a great body and don’t really have to work at it or they are financially blessed and don’t really struggle paying bills, etc. Whatever, I just wish I was more naturally disciplined in all areas of my life. I tend to do really good at something for a while, then I get bored and don’t want to work at it any more. Something I’m definitely going to have to work on…LOL.

I’m really enjoying working from home and am looking to add 2 new regular clients. I have 2 right now but need a couple more to meet our income requirements. I have been praying about it, and God has been providing all our needs. We certainly aren’t going hungry, and some past due medical bills still need to be paid, but we have a roof over our heads, vehicles that run and have gas in them, and clothes on our backs. So, I can’t really complain though I know living pay check to pay check is not what we’re supposed to do, so I’m praying for increase in our income and wisdom and help with being a wise steward of what God has given us.

I’m really enjoying my bottle of water! I forgot how much I love water!!! I will probably be peeing a lot over the next couple of days as my body adjusts to taking in that much water again. But it will be good. Perhaps I will lose the few pounds I’ve gained pretty quickly because I know most of it is water weight. I can see it in my fingers and ankles.

Oh, I went to the doctor last week. They actually called me in. I guess I was supposed to be having my blood checked every 6 months with the meds I’m on. Niaspan for my cholesterol issues and Synthroid for my low thyroid. So, I went and had blood drawn last week and yesterday the doctor’s office called and said I needed to get back on the Niacin, but only 500mg starting out. When I went off it a couple of months ago, I was up to 1500mg a day! So, my cholesterol must be better than it was. Yay for me. Must be the little bit of weight I did lose and the walking I WAS doing. Need to get back at that too. Sheesh.

Another thing I want to start doing is meal planning again. I did it for like one week, then got off track. Surprise. I have all the info for all this stuff in my head-heck I even write about it on my other blogs-it’s just hard for me to get in the habit of it.

I guess that’s the key to all of my issues; I need to make habits of everything. Good, healthy habits. Well, I guess that’s enough for now. I feel motivated and ready to conquer the world. Ok, not quite ready for that, but almost!

photo credit: audi_insperation

Posted on August 20, 2009 - by Mary

Getting Back on Track with Weight Watchers

The past few weeks I’ve fallen off the wagon, so to speak, as far as keeping track of my points on Weight Watchers. We’ve had family and friends from out of state and I just didn’t take the time to track. The good news is that I only gained one
pound over the three weeks of no tracking. So, this week, I logged back in, entered my weight and am now back on track…for the most part…lol. I find I have a hard time tracking when I know I’ve eaten badly. For example, we went to a birthday party for our youth pastor and I indulged in a few of the yummy desserts as well as a huge grilled cheeseburger. I can say that I have noticed that I do notice when I’m getting full faster and hate the overly full feeling so I do stop when I first start getting the feeling of fullness.

So, my goals this week are to track everything I eat, walk at least 3 times and drink all my water.

What are your goals? Are you doing anything to get healthier?

photo credit: masonmasteka

Posted on July 28, 2009 - by Mary

Weight Watcher Weekly Weigh In Report

photo credit: - PicsmaKer -Today was weigh-day again. My hubby laughed when I called it that this morning. I lost 0.8 of a lb this past week which I’m happy with. I’m happy with it for two reasons: 1) Aunt Flo is here and I can tell I’m retaining water and 2) I didn’t do much anything as far as exercise goes. And though I didn’t keep track of my points, I still made healthier choices and stopped eating at the very slightest feeling of fullness.

I think those are two of the biggest factors of weight loss success: making healthy choices and not over eating. Here in the US our society is so wrapped up in convenience and fast food and we think we gotta have it now that we’ve forgotten how good real home cooking is and how delicious natural whole foods are.

I bought some strawberries and blackberries yesterday and you should have seen my family eat them. They were sooo juicy and the blackberries just taste like the outdoors to me. Then we had some fresh, not frozen, broccoli for dinner and it was so tender, it melted in your mouth. Loved it!

Yes, I still enjoy things like pizza now and then, but I’ve learned I don’t need to gorge myself on 4 pieces. I limit myself to two slices and 1 breadstick and I’m perfectly satisfied. I  don’t feel terrible after I eat anymore. And yes there are those times when we still go through a fast food restaurant, but I’ve learned to get chicken, the kids meal or a salad as opposed to the largest burger on the menu. In other words I still enjoy some of the foods I do love, yet I’ve learned to do it in a much healthier way.

Now I’m not here to brag and I hope I don’t come across that way. I just want you all to know that if I can do it, anyone can! I’m not one of those people who are naturally disposed to eating healthy and exercising regularly. The only time in my life when I actually got regular exercise was when I was in high school and my best friend exercised all the time. We were either walking, running, hiking, biking or swimming. It was fun and I did stay in shape. When I graduated I weighed 125 lbs. And I thought I was fat. ROFLMBO!!!!

Anyway, if you would like help losing weight, need encouragement or just someone to do it with, I’m here. I think it would be fun to have blogging buddy to compete with. A little competition keeps the momentum going!

Posted on July 1, 2009 - by Mary

Weight Watchers Journey

Yesterday was weigh in day, but I forgot, so today I weighed myself and I was soooo excited!!! I’ve been battling my weight for 2 months now, with small, but steady results, so when the scale showed I lost 6.2 pounds I was so happy!!! I’ve lost 11 lbs. since Jeff’s mild heart attack in April. Last week I had a gain of 2.6 lbs, and was slightly discouraged, but I knew I had eaten badly during the Big Ticket and while my sister was here, and didn’t keep real good track of my points. This past week I did better at tracking, and plus I think my body finally just let go of some of the weight. I think I lost it all in my legs though, which is the last place I want to lose it from cuz my ankles look really skinny today! LOL. Oh last week’s weight gain was probably also due to the fact that I was getting ready to start my monthly.

So, that’s my exciting news for now! Oh, probably next week we will take measurements again because I think we were supposed to this week. Anyway, I will update you with those results when we do.

Posted on May 28, 2009 - by Mary

I’m Really Doing It This Time!

The following post was written a month ago. At the end of the post, I will inform you of my one month’s progress.

What is it you’re probably asking? It is doing something about my weight! Yesterday, well Tuesday because it’s officially Thursday as I’m writing this, my dd-25 and her friend were here to begin our official weight loss journey together. My dd’s friend, A, just had a baby a couple of months ago and dd just had a baby in September. Me, I’m just old and fat.

Since Tuesday is American Idol night and A and dd come over anyway, we thought it’d be a good time to weigh ourselves each week to help hold each other accountable. Not only did we weigh ourselves we also measured each other. Ugh! I’m the largest of us three and I hate seeing how much I weigh, much less how big I am! Then to top it off we took “before” pics of each other which ingrained in my brain even more how big I am. I’m the largest I’ve ever been and I just can’t stand it any more! Not to mention that I need to take better care of my health. (A has to email me the pics and when she does, I will post them~are you sure you really want to see them?!)

So today I joined Weight Watchers online. I’ve done WW in the past and have had great success losing the weight. Trouble is, I always quit after I lose the weight. For some reason I think I can maintain my weight, but it’s obvious I can’t. So this time I’m going to stick with it even after I’ve reached my goal.

A has all the WW books and even a points calculator, and WW online has all the tools you need as well for a really reasonable monthly fee. With the help and support of A, dd and hubby, I know I will be able to stick with it, not to mention I just want to!!!

Not only that, I can access WW online with my Blackberry, so when I’m eating out or shopping I can quickly access the site if I need to calculate points or want to enter what I’ve eaten in the points tracker. So cool! (I’m such a nerd…lol)

It’s amazing how successful we can be when we want something bad enough. I have 85lbs. to lose and my first goal is to lose 5% of my weight. WW recommends setting your next goal at 10% and then your ultimate goal. I can’t wait to see the weight coming off! I’m excited about that. And I’m excited about WW online! Since I’m on the computer all day every day, whenever I eat something I will just go enter it in the Points tracker. Plus it has an activity tracker so you can keep track of any activity you do which helps keep you motivated~at least it does for me! I like checking off each of the items like water intake, dairy, fruits and veggies, activity and lean proteins! It makes me feel accomplished LOL.

If you’re trying to lose weight and need accountability, leave me a comment so we can help each other out! Leave me a comment anyway, just cuz I like ‘em! LOL

Okay, so fast forward to the present now. I’ve been doing really well sticking to the plan! Weight Watchers new Momentum plan is really easy to follow and since I joined online, I have access to hundreds of recipes, a support forum and more. I can keep track of my daily points, activity earned and so on. You can also plug in any food item to see how many points it is. Weight Watchers online also has all of the restaurant chain meals and food items points as well, making dining out very easy. Plus you can get Weight Watchers mobile for your phone so you always have the points tracker at your finger tips and can look up any food items as you shop or go out to eat. 

Another thing I love about Weight Watchers is no only in addition to your daily points, you also get extra weekly points for those special occasions or when you feel like you need a little more. In the beginning I had a hard time using all my daily points much less needing to use the extra points. But the last two weeks I’ve used a fairly big chunk of my extra points because I had things like dessert and pizza. But, that’s what make Weight Watchers so great. You CAN enjoy those things and still lose weight.

Okay, I bet you’re dying to know how I’ve done over the last month, right? Ha. Okay, I’ll tell ya.

The first week I only lost .4 of a pound (that’s 4 tenths of a pound-not even 1/2 a pound). I was a little upset. When I’ve done WW in the past the first two or three weeks were always the biggest losses for me so I was disappointed. Not in myself because I knew I was following the plan, though I did need to step up the exercise.

Then next week, I lost .8. Not a great loss again, but I was losing so I was okay with the result. The following week I lost .6. I was starting to get frustrated, but I know the reason I’m having such difficulty taking off the weight is because my thyroid is low. It’s the reason I gained 40 lbs. in a year too! 

This past Tuesday, we weighed and measured. When I stepped on the scale, it showed that I had GAINED .4!!! I was mad. I feel like I’ve lost weight, my jeans are getting too big and shirts aren’t as tight. I did step up the exercise and began walking briskly about 1/2 an hour 3 times last week and a couple of times the week before. I have been losing inches as the measurements showed. I lost 1/2 an inch on my hips, 3/4 of an inch on my thighs, 3/4 of an inch on my waist, 1/2 an inch on my bust and nothing in my arms (not surprised there). So, I was happy about that.

That night I had to stay up and write to get all my end of the month work done because we are leaving for Canada tomorrow for 2 days. I drank some coffee and then some water but found that I was having to use the restroom every 1/2 hour and every time I went, I went a lot! It wasn’t just a little trickle or anything, it was A LOT! (TMI???) The next morning, yesterday, I got up and felt a whole lot skinnier so I stepped on the scale, just to see. I lost 2.2 lbs!!! I was so excited. I think I was retaining some water and the coffee and water combo helped to release it. So, I’m going to increase my water intake, step up my exercise even more and keep doing what I’ve been doing as far as Weight Watchers! 

I never did get the before pics from A, but as soon as I do, I’ll post them.