So far, so good

I’ve been sticking to Weight Watchers these past two weeks and… I’ve lost 6 pounds! It is so nice to have some success to keep me motivated to keep going.

At work we were each given a 5-visit pass to our local rec center as a little gift for the new year (and my co-worker gave me hers for Dave to have since she wasn’t going to use it). I never knew that our rec center offered the use of cardio equipment and weights so Dave and I went to check it out on Wednesday night and we ended up staying and working out for a while. It really felt good to get a good sweat going and to work my body! We plan to keep going to the rec center and use up our 5-pass and then possibly buy another pack of passes, which turns out to be a lot cheaper than joining a health club or gym!

If you don’t know how Weight Watchers works, every food is assigned a points value based on its fat, fiber, carbohydrates and protein. You are allowed so many points per day based on your current weight and your goal. You also get extra points to use throughout the week. What has been hard so far is trying to figure out points values for things not in the database that are also without nutrition facts; like the yummy-looking toffee I was given as a late holiday gift. There were no nutrition facts on the box and no nutrition facts on the company website so I figured it wasn’t worth trying to figure out how many points it was worth and I just didn’t eat it. If this is Weight Watchers’ sneaky way of getting me to avoid unhealthy food, its working.

Not much else is happening in our world right now. As I am putting together our 2010 digital scrapbook I noticed that nothing much happened in January of last year either. I guess this is a time for coming down from the holiday high, getting back into gear with work and planning for the upcoming year. Plus, with this cold weather (the temperature was bitter cold at the beginning of the week and is only now starting to get into the upper 40’s) we haven’t had any outdoor adventures. But Gromit has sure enjoyed playing in the snow.

Back on the bandwagon

I haven’t been very successful with New Year’s resolutions in the past and so I didn’t really bother to make any this year. I figure that if I want to change something or improve how I do things I can do it anytime of the year. Right? Historically I have had a love/hate relationship with weight loss and this year I didn’t want to make it another resolution that fizzled out in a few weeks. I found that right now I don’t have the time or money (gym membership, home equipment, more fresh fruits & veggies, etc.) to truly give it all I’ve got and drop this extra weight. But something changed.

My future sister-in-law asked me and my sisters to be bridesmaids in her wedding in April! While she was in town this past weekend we all went bridesmaid dress shopping. My sisters are much smaller than I am, which I’m used to. My future sister-in-law is also tiny, and there was much discussion of the other two bridesmaids and their dress sizes (which were also tiny). I am the only bridesmaid who is nearly 5’ 10'” tall and has a dress size in the double digits. So needless to say I will stand out in a tall and wide kind of way. Yikes! Time to take action, and fast.

This past Monday I started Weight Watchers Online. In these first five days I’ve been doing well sticking to the plan, tracking the food I eat and staying within my points range - even though I am slightly horrified that I haven’t already dropped two dress sizes. Ha! Seriously though, I don’t have high expectations, I just hope to trim down a little and feel better about myself by the wedding, and hopefully, beyond.

I am so lucky to have such a supportive husband and supportive co-workers! Dave is so open to trying new Weight Watchers recipes and has also been helpful at eating all of the unhealthy food in the house so I’m not tempted to eat it. And my co-workers have offered to walk with me at lunch and bring healthier snack foods. I feel like I’m in a good place.

So, I’m committed for the next three months to stick to the Weight Watchers plan. Here’s to a healthier, happier (and better-looking bridesmaid) me!