Today was my second weigh-in at my at-work Weight Watchers (WW) meeting. I lost 1.4 pounds. I know. Most people would think that is a small and pointless amount of weight. But, not for me. For years my weight has been steadily increasing. This tiny weight loss is a sign that perhaps I may be actually "getting it" this time. I weighed my highest weight in January 2007 when I last joined WW. Since then, I have now lost 28.4 pounds. Again, some may say that this amount is so small that it doesn't count. I disagree. I feel different than I did back in January 2007. Daily activities are not as much of a struggle. My clothes fit differently. The biggest joy about losing the weight is knowing that I'm heading in the right direction, no matter how small.
This week my goal is to spread my WW points out more. If you are not familiar with WW, the program is based on a "points" system. There are a few factors that help you calculate your number of points you count eat per day. The fat, fiber, and calories in food determine the points that food would have. The lower the points value of a food, the "healthier" it is for you. Basically, they take the work out of always tracking calories and fat. They do that for you and simplify that information down to a number. As you eat, you add up the points for what you consume and attempt to not go over what your allotment would be for the day. That's an extremely simplified version of it, but you get the gist. For example, I can use 42 points per day. Anyone on the program can probably guess my weight (or close to it) from just that information. I am not a huge fan of eating early in the day. Early to me is anything before noon. Eating breakfast and lunch is a struggle for me. Last week, I started out eating something light for breakfast and lunch. Usually I don't have any breakfast or lunch and I'm not really hungry until after 4pm. BUT, I noticed that when I eat in the morning, I'm hungry for the rest of the day. I've been eating 1 large banana for breakfast, 1 large banana for a late morning snack, a can of St. Dalfour pasta and veggies for lunch (that stuff is soooo good), and some water. That is only 8 points. An entire meal should probably be more than that. When I get off from work and before dinner I've been eating some 0 point veggie soup. I've been eating miniscule dinners too. I think I'm an example of how when you eat too little it can actually sabotage weight loss. I need to eat all the way up to my 42 points per day and spread them out more evenly during the day.
In our meeting today we were also introduced to the exercise element of the program. Any exercise you do (including housework, gardening, etc) equates to their points system as well. You have two options. You can either use those points and increase your food intake OR you can ignore them. I suppose the thinking is that if you are working out or expending more energy, you may be hungrier and need those extra points to get you through the day. Even when I was on the WW program before, I never used the exercise in that way. I just let the exercise to help me lose extra weight.
OK, so. The goals for this week are to get some exercise every day, to eat more, and to spread the points our throughout the day better. I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Day by day
Well, last night was the finale for The Biggest Loser. Each season, I usually get all excited about it and can't wait for it to come on. This time, there was a really "blah" feeling about it. I think I get disappointed in the show sometimes. Don't get me wrong. If I had the chance to leave my life for a while and go on the show to lose weight, I totally would. I just see that it's kind of the same every year. People who were sent home earlier, generally don't lose as much weight. How could you really make a huge change if you only had a week or two of guidance on a problem that took years to create? People who were at the ranch longer, lose more weight. Duh! Let's see what else? On air marriage proposal...check. Contestants who starve themselves to win the money...check. Last person on the scale winning (except for last season)...check. Confetti...check. Blah, blah, blah.
I think the biggest source of my feelings about the show is about inspiration. My source of inspiration has shifted. I am becoming my own inspiration. My heels are having some days when they actually feel tolerable. On those days, I move around more. I went to the gym this past Monday morning. My feet hurt worse in the mornings, so I'm hoping to start going after work soon. I started walking to the neighboring building to get the mail during work each day for a little more exercise (and because I get impatient waiting for anyone else to volunteer to do it). I walk around in the office more as well.
Last Thursday (December 3, 2009), our Weight Watchers (WW) meeting officially started here at work. It was our first official weigh-in for the 19 week program. As usual, I'm the biggest person there. We had an information session on November 19. I stayed after the meeting and had the meeting leader weigh me. I will not say my weight (I'm still not comfortable enough yet to do that). I had lost 10 pounds since my physical in September. We did not have a meeting the next week because of the Thanksgiving holiday. So, last week was the start of the program. When I weighed, I had lost 3 pounds over the two weeks. I had not been going to the gym and had been off of my feet most of the time because of the spurs. I don't know what I did to lose the 3 pounds. Back in January 2007 was the last time I tried WW. From my highest lifetime weight in January 2007 until last Thursday, I have lost 27 pounds. That may not be "biggest loser numbers", but at least I'm heading in the right direction. I also have to believe that those are 27 pounds that will be gone forever because I took my time to lose them. They are the result of a little more physical activity and not drinking sodas since February.
The biggest challenge for me with the WW program are my own faulty eating habits. I do this "thing" with eating. I will go a good portion of the day without eating and then be starving by 4pm and ready to catch up on my food intake. I eat all of my calories between 4pm and 10pm. I have tried to stop this behavior, but have been unsuccessful. So, WW will be a test for me in this area. This past week I ate sparingly during the day and still "pig out" at dinner time. I have, however, managed to stay within my points allotment on the program each day. Two times I went out for fast food because I was craving fatty foods. I feel so out of control.
I hope I can just get up the energy and feel well enough to get back to the gym regularly. I miss going. It was my time to sweat, listen to music, read, and just be left alone in my own little world. It is a good way to start the day. If I could get the eating and the exercise to harmonize, life would be good.
I almost forgot, I promise to take the time to start putting up pictures on the blog so anyone who is reading can see my progress.
I think the biggest source of my feelings about the show is about inspiration. My source of inspiration has shifted. I am becoming my own inspiration. My heels are having some days when they actually feel tolerable. On those days, I move around more. I went to the gym this past Monday morning. My feet hurt worse in the mornings, so I'm hoping to start going after work soon. I started walking to the neighboring building to get the mail during work each day for a little more exercise (and because I get impatient waiting for anyone else to volunteer to do it). I walk around in the office more as well.
Last Thursday (December 3, 2009), our Weight Watchers (WW) meeting officially started here at work. It was our first official weigh-in for the 19 week program. As usual, I'm the biggest person there. We had an information session on November 19. I stayed after the meeting and had the meeting leader weigh me. I will not say my weight (I'm still not comfortable enough yet to do that). I had lost 10 pounds since my physical in September. We did not have a meeting the next week because of the Thanksgiving holiday. So, last week was the start of the program. When I weighed, I had lost 3 pounds over the two weeks. I had not been going to the gym and had been off of my feet most of the time because of the spurs. I don't know what I did to lose the 3 pounds. Back in January 2007 was the last time I tried WW. From my highest lifetime weight in January 2007 until last Thursday, I have lost 27 pounds. That may not be "biggest loser numbers", but at least I'm heading in the right direction. I also have to believe that those are 27 pounds that will be gone forever because I took my time to lose them. They are the result of a little more physical activity and not drinking sodas since February.
The biggest challenge for me with the WW program are my own faulty eating habits. I do this "thing" with eating. I will go a good portion of the day without eating and then be starving by 4pm and ready to catch up on my food intake. I eat all of my calories between 4pm and 10pm. I have tried to stop this behavior, but have been unsuccessful. So, WW will be a test for me in this area. This past week I ate sparingly during the day and still "pig out" at dinner time. I have, however, managed to stay within my points allotment on the program each day. Two times I went out for fast food because I was craving fatty foods. I feel so out of control.
I hope I can just get up the energy and feel well enough to get back to the gym regularly. I miss going. It was my time to sweat, listen to music, read, and just be left alone in my own little world. It is a good way to start the day. If I could get the eating and the exercise to harmonize, life would be good.
I almost forgot, I promise to take the time to start putting up pictures on the blog so anyone who is reading can see my progress.
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