Go the Distance!!

That is my motto for 2005!

I started Weight Watchers in September 2003.  I weighed 216.8 pounds the first time I stood on the Weight Watchers scale...and my jaw dropped!  I didn't have any idea that I weighed that much.  I was doubly shocked when I found out that my weight and height put my BMI over 30..into the obese category.  I had always thought of myself as "tall", "big boned", maybe a little stout....but never obese!  Even though I was breathing harder and harder when I went up stair cases, and I couldn't run more than a few minutes at a time, as well as my clothes were all getting tight as a size 18, I just didn't see myself as overweight. 

I don't remember eating to stop the loneliness, or the boredom, or the unhappiness, but I have reflected a lot about what got me to the point that I started Weight Watchers.  I thought I was eating healthy foods...but I didn't know how to read food labels.  I didn't know what a true portion was, instead I belonged to the "Clean Plate Club".  It can still be difficult to leave food on my plate, but it's getting easier. 

I started Weight Watchers when I got engaged.  I didn't want to be a fat bride, I wanted to look back at my wedding pictures and be happy with what I saw.  That was my original goal.  I got married in March 2004, and I am very happy with my pictures!  I had lost 25 pounds by that point, and could really see a lot of progress.  Once I met my mini goal...I started to slip on working the plan.  I maintained very well for several months, because I wasn't working the program.  I was tired of journaling, of counting points, of carrying around my points slider to the grocery store.  I needed to reevaluate why I was doing Weight Watchers and what I really wanted to see happen. 

In September 2004, the Core food plan was introduced at Weight Watchers.  This is something I feel that I can do for my entire life.  No more counting points, as long as I eat Core foods.  No more empty calories, instead I'm eating nutrient rich foods, I'm cooking meals that are filling and very flavorful, and I'm losing weight again.  The Core plan is not the only secret to my success.  I am learning to be more mindful of my eating (thanks to Suzie on the WPA message board!), I am learning to appreciate food as a fuel source instead of a friend, a way to fill the empty spots in my life, to fight off boredom.  I am truly developing my timeline and life plan for my weight loss journey, and this is really helping me to stay on program.  I am continually trying to develop my support system.  Weight loss CANNOT be done alone, and it cannot be done quickly.  I couldn't do it without my friends, my husband, my family, and my Weight Watchers pals. 

The other key to my weight loss journey is exercise.  I started going to a gym last summer, went for a few months, then stopped.  Now that we have a gym in our small town, Jason and I have been going for at least 4 times a week.  I am planning on training for a marathon in conjunction with Team in Training, to be run/walked in June out in San Diego.  I don't think that true weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight can be done without exercise.  Not only is it important to weight loss, it is vital to my health and my happiness. 

I've rambled on long enough for today, but I hope that there is some small tidbit of information you can take away from here.  Best of luck in achieving your goals!