Where to begin...I suppose with shortly after I left off last time. What I didn't tell you about that fateful Dr visit in March of 2011 was that I had ulterior motives for going. I asked my Dr to put me back onto Metformin in the hopes of getting pregnant again. Obviously it worked. ;) So now here I am with a 2.5 year old and an almost 5 month old and in roughly the same boat as before. I'm tired of looking and feeling the way I do. I'm ready to make some changes.
About a week and a half ago, I did something I've never done before. I joined Weight Watchers. I've known a few people who have done it before but I can't say we've ever really talked much about the program. I've also never known anyone who had as much to lose as I do and stuck with it long enough to make a difference. When I went for my postpartum appt after having Noah the Dr I saw at that time recommended it to me. He has/had been doing it for years and could attest to it's effectiveness. As much as I thought I was ready to be in shape then, it wasn't enough to make me join. I still wanted to try it on my own.
As I said it's been a week and a half, I joined with a starting weight of 229.2 (I was glad to see it wasn't so far off of my pre-pregnancy weight of 225, go me!) although to be honest, who is excited about a weight over 200 pounds? On Friday I went for my first weigh in after being on the program for one week. I was down 7.2 pounds! I couldn't believe it. It may not seem like a big deal to anyone but me but I was finally able to get over my 225 hump! I walked around with a smile on all day. :) Let me tell you a little about my experiences with WW so far.
My first day was MISERABLE! I had no idea what I was doing and I didn't carve out anytime for me to sit down and figure it out. I ate what we had at home which meant I used a lot of my points on things that didn't last me. I was hungry and weak the entire day, not to mention GROUCHY. I was hungry. At the end of the first day I almost decided I couldn't do it. This wasn't going to work for me. But I had just paid for a month of meetings and I couldn't bring myself to give up so easily. I would go shopping and get healthy options and try again. Day 2 was better although not by a lot. My busy day didn't allow for grocery shopping until later in the day so I wasted points and felt hungry for the first half. That night, after the shopping trip I sat down to read my "getting started" book. It was enlightening, extremely so! Day 3 was amazing! I felt great all day. I always felt like I was getting enough to eat even though I was eating much smaller portions than normal. I stayed within my daily allotment for points and I felt good about the choices I was making food wise. It has gotten progressively easier day by day. That first week when I lost my 7.2 pounds, I only got in one workout, the morning of my weigh-in. I'm not going to make that a habit but it's eye opening to see what a difference your food choices make. And not only choices but portion sizes too. As I've started weighing and measuring out each portion size (I'm telling you, I'm totally committed to this) I've realized how grossly I overeat. Dinner has been the hardest meal for me so far. Chicken with brown rice and vegetables tends to get boring, no matter what type of sauce you find to put on it. Another trip to the store was in order, so I went with fresh eyes and a better understanding of what works for me. Tonight I had spaghetti with ground turkey (Italian seasoned so it tasted like Italian sausage. YUM!) and a side of broccoli (one of my favorite vegetables). I ate at 630ish, it's 1130 and I'm still full.
I am having so much success with this and I love it. It's time that I make a lifestyle change and not more excuses. I will probably give up my gym membership, WW has taught me to find ways to make everyday activities more active and I'm much better about it when I know that even 5 minutes here and there will add up to help me make my goal of 14 activity points per week. My week started Friday and so far I already have 15 activity points. I don't have time for the gym with two kids and a working husband but I can work so much more into my day without it feeling like exercise.
So, that's where I stand today. I weigh-in again on Thursday and while I can't promise to report back right away I will let you know how it goes. So far it is working amazingly well for me.
P.S. Maybe tomorrow night I will get to the family blog and let you all know how the boys are doing. Maybe...
