Halfway there!
Went to my Weight Watchers meeting tonight, weighed in, and found that I was down 1.6 pounds for a total of 50.6. My year-end goal was to be down 50 pounds before I left for New York--DONE! This gets me halfway to my total weight loss goal. If it takes me another year to get there, so be it. I'm pleased and proud that I've come this far so successfully.
At our meetings, whenever a member passes milestone of any kind--five pounds, ten, and so on--our leader will ask her, "What's working for you?" So I thought that at 50 pounds down, I'd write a little bit about that.
The first thing that's working for me understanding what I'm putting in my mouth, and how much and when. I do that by tracking my food, and I've been religious about it this fall. Tracking helps me to stay aware, and staying aware helps me make better choices. One really big thing it did was help me kickstart my loss after my summer plateau. I reviewed my food tracker and realized that I wasn't eating enough of what are referred to as Power Foods--whole foods that are high fiber, low fat, with balanced protein and carbs (balanced in some propriety WW way that I'm still learning about). As soon as I started eating more Power Foods (more fruits and vegetables, more lean meats) I began to lose again.
The second thing that's working for me is leaning on my support system. Every week when I get back from my meeting, I post my progress to Facebook, regardless of whether I'm up or down. It's wonderful to have such a supportive community. It's meant so much to have support regardless of my status. And over the last year, I've gotten to know some of the women in my meeting--not well, but enough to form a bond, and their support has meant a lot, too. We've run 5Ks together, and talked pretty frankly at our meetings. Another woman in the group who started the same week I did also made 50 pounds tonight, and I was delighted we could celebrate together. I know that not every meeting in the country is like this one; I feel very fortunate to be with such a good group.
The third thing has been setting small goals, deciding what I'm going to work on each week and focusing on that. These last couple of weeks, I've been focused on losing the last 2.5 pounds to achieve my milestone before I leave for New York. My goal for the two weeks I'll be in New York is to maintain--not to gain or lose, but just keep the success I've achieved. And after New Year, I'll be working on the next five pounds--and also, getting ready for that next 5K.
So that's what's working right now. And there have been small victories along the way: discovering that I've weirdly lost at least half a shoe size; discovering that a choker I made is actually no longer a choker; and fitting into clothes I thought I'd never wear again. My cholesterol is perfect. My blood pressure--always good--has improved even from its goodness. And I have a kind of stamina I haven't had in a very long time. This I could live with. :-)
In the Silverstein scale of weight loss, I have lost five cats. Five more to go!
At our meetings, whenever a member passes milestone of any kind--five pounds, ten, and so on--our leader will ask her, "What's working for you?" So I thought that at 50 pounds down, I'd write a little bit about that.
The first thing that's working for me understanding what I'm putting in my mouth, and how much and when. I do that by tracking my food, and I've been religious about it this fall. Tracking helps me to stay aware, and staying aware helps me make better choices. One really big thing it did was help me kickstart my loss after my summer plateau. I reviewed my food tracker and realized that I wasn't eating enough of what are referred to as Power Foods--whole foods that are high fiber, low fat, with balanced protein and carbs (balanced in some propriety WW way that I'm still learning about). As soon as I started eating more Power Foods (more fruits and vegetables, more lean meats) I began to lose again.
The second thing that's working for me is leaning on my support system. Every week when I get back from my meeting, I post my progress to Facebook, regardless of whether I'm up or down. It's wonderful to have such a supportive community. It's meant so much to have support regardless of my status. And over the last year, I've gotten to know some of the women in my meeting--not well, but enough to form a bond, and their support has meant a lot, too. We've run 5Ks together, and talked pretty frankly at our meetings. Another woman in the group who started the same week I did also made 50 pounds tonight, and I was delighted we could celebrate together. I know that not every meeting in the country is like this one; I feel very fortunate to be with such a good group.
The third thing has been setting small goals, deciding what I'm going to work on each week and focusing on that. These last couple of weeks, I've been focused on losing the last 2.5 pounds to achieve my milestone before I leave for New York. My goal for the two weeks I'll be in New York is to maintain--not to gain or lose, but just keep the success I've achieved. And after New Year, I'll be working on the next five pounds--and also, getting ready for that next 5K.
So that's what's working right now. And there have been small victories along the way: discovering that I've weirdly lost at least half a shoe size; discovering that a choker I made is actually no longer a choker; and fitting into clothes I thought I'd never wear again. My cholesterol is perfect. My blood pressure--always good--has improved even from its goodness. And I have a kind of stamina I haven't had in a very long time. This I could live with. :-)
In the Silverstein scale of weight loss, I have lost five cats. Five more to go!