Monday, July 9, 2012

Weight Loss Journey Update

So, I've been on the Weight Watchers plan for a week and a half so far.  I weighed in this morning and I've lost 5 pound so far and I've lost an inch from my arms, thighs, waist, hips and 2 inches from my bust!  I'm so happy about all of this!  The best part is how I've been FEELING since I started this journey.  The only one I can give credit to is God for giving me the strength and determination to stick with this and achieve my goals. 

He's given me the drive I need for sure!  I made the decision to start doing this and I have found it pretty easy to stick to.  I'm not saying it's been effortless.  There have been times when I really just want a snack and after waiting for as long as I can, I break down and have a small snack even if I am going over my points target for the day.  The good thing is that I haven't once touched my activity points .  Only the weekly flex points they give me to use.  I still had 30 of those left at the end of the week out of 45.  I also earned about 40 activity points throughout the week.  I'm finding a lot of different ways to earn activity points.  I love that housework counts!  I do a lot of that so I can earn points just doing what I normally do and then I get more when I actually specifically exercise.  I got a bunch of points for going for a long walk with my husband and kids last night.  I walked fast the whole time and half of the time I pulled the wagon with at least Xander in it and part of the time I had both him and Daniel in it. 

I'm feeling more confident and better about myself. I have been feeling pretty down for a long time about how I looked and felt.  It was hard to look in the mirror.  I really didn't like what I saw.  My stretched out belly from having 3 big babies doesn't help.  I'm really targeting that area hard because I want to be able to wear whatever I want like I used to be able to when Chris and I first met.  I used to be a size 2.  Right now, I'm between a 16 and a 14.  I'm not proud of this one bit.  I can't believe I let it get that bad. 

I do have a struggle with stress eating.  Yesterday I slipped up and snacked a lot because I was having a bad day.  I was mad at myself even more for that which only made it worse.  I had a tough morning trying out something new.  It didn't go as I thought it would.  I had a challenge that made me really upset. I won't go into what that was but I will say it was tough.  I also had a harder time because I couldn't talk to my mom about it and we are super close.  She was on a plane to Italy with my dad.  It's hard not getting to talk to her.  We talk almost every day normally.

So, today, I'm back on it and I'm planning to do my new pilates DVD. Or I might pull out the Wii fit and do some yoga or step aerobics.  I like having variation to my work outs and ways to fit it in throughout the day around my chores and taking care of my kids.

My kids are the main reason I'm doing all of this.  I want to be healthier and stronger so I'm not tired and wanting to just sit on my butt watching them play.  I want to play WITH them and enjoy it.  I also don't want them to be embarrassed because their mom is fat or ask me why I have a big belly any more.  I also want to be sexy for my husband again and for me.  I want to feel pretty and sexy again. I'm really looking forward to that and I already feel better with only 5 pounds lost.  I still have a long way to go but I'm half way to my first goal of 10 pounds lost so that is awesome!

If you're in a similar situation where you're struggling with your weight and how you feel about yourself,  Weight Watchers is a great plan for anyone. It's easy to keep up with and very flexible.  I started right around the July 4 holiday which was hard. The food offerings at the party we went to was hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken legs with chips and watermelon.  Moderation was HUGE for me.  I also made some flag cupcakes because we had the mix and it was great place to use those up (or so I thought).  We ended up bringing most of them back home and they've been calling to me - "Eat me! I'm so yummy!"  I gave in a couple of times.  I want them to get eaten and not wasted. My kids would rather eat cookies.  HA!  Oh well. There are only 2 of those tempting little cupcakes left. 

My best advice is to ask GOD to help you and TRUST in HIM.  This was really very hard for me to really place my trust in HIM.  I did that after discussing it and praying about it with my bible study group.  It's working!  I'm enjoying working out and loving feeling the burn from exercise!  I don't mind at all being sore from working out.  I hated feeling sore from doing nothing.  That is going away so I am THRILLED!!!!!!   God is working in me and my life is getting so much better for it! 

May God bless you on your journey - whatever it might be!