Weigh Day - Total Loss: -4.6

I lost a whopping 0.2 pounds this week!

I have spent most of the day pep-talking myself.  I followed my plan.  I didn't even use all my "weekly" points.  I exercised.  I made sure I followed the "healthy checks" on eating a balanced diet.  The scale doesn't always show what's going on.  Sometimes you're losing inches and not pounds (so I took some measurements).  Maybe it's water weight.  It'll show up later.  Don't give up.  Keep working the plan.  Don't be discouraged.  Keep exercising.  Your body's in shock.  The weight came on slowly so it's going to come off slowly.  It's better to lose it slowly.  At least I lost something.  Hang in there.  Life isn't a straight line, and neither is weight loss.

How'd I do?  Did I miss some pep talk phrases?

This isn't me.  This is Kim Bensen, who lost 200 pounds in two years doing Weight Watchers.  If you want to see what she looks like now, check out http://www.kimbensen.com/.  It's pretty remarkable!  She has progress pictures that she took every couple of months or so, and what got me about them was that it was quite a long time before you could start seeing a real difference in her looks.  It helps me to see things like this because I need to know that this is going to be a long, long journey.  I've started down this road so many times that I know what kinds of pot holes are coming up....like only losing two tenths of a pound in a week, or (heaven forbid!) gaining a pound when you've done everything right.  But knowing she achieved her goal shows me that it is possible for me to achieve my goal!  Two tenths of a pound at a time, if necessary.

Where's the beef?

Just woke up, I feel like I'm in a fog.  The last few days I've been sleeping a lot.  The only thing I can figure out is that my body is very busy adjusting to eating less.  Come to think of it, I haven't been very consistent about taking my vitamins.  Maybe the frittata that Arnold is cooking for me will perk me up.  This is the unfun part.  So I'm going to think about our cousin, Marilyn.  She's in this picture with our son, a few years ago when we all went to Lake Tahoe.  Marilyn was in a car accident last winter that left her paralyzed below the neck.  I can't imagine that any discomfort I feel can compare with what she deals with every day.  This, too, will pass.

Are we there yet?

Okay.  I'm packed, filled up the gas tank, I've got a map to my destination, and friends to keep me company on the trip.  I guess now it's time to settle in and enjoy the journey!  It just now occurs to me that this is going to be a long trip.  Some of us are probably going to be bored along the way, and by "some of us" I mean me!  Maybe I'd better pack some crayons and coloring books to keep me occupied. But that can get old too.  Even if you start with a brand new box of crayons, the points wear down, or your favorite colors get broken, or you find you're missing the Lilac Rose. 

I'm hoping that what will help get me to my destination is that I'm not going alone.  My sister and I love taking road trips together because we enjoy the "car time" which we fill with all kinds of things:  heart-to-heart talks, singing, laughing about old times.  Hmmmm....I feel a song coming on now....

"Praise God from Whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts,
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost!"

I think I'll let Him drive.

Encouragement!

Wow!  I announced my blog on Facebook, and received many wonderful and encouraging replies.  Sadly, for some reason nobody seems to be able to reply directly to this blog.  I don't know what the problem is, but if it doesn't get fixed, guess I will switch to another host.

I am so grateful for the support and encouragement of everyone.  I have tried over and over again since highschool to lose this weight, and only ended up gaining more and more and feeling more and more isolated.  But now, I don't feel alone any more.   And it's because of you.  Thanks.

Temptations

Yesterday was a hungry day!  I'll never understand why some days eating is more of an afterthought, and others, like yesterday, I feel like I can't get enough to eat.  Some people might say it's emotional, but I think it's physical.  The good news is, I managed to stick to my eating plan, with a few of my extra Weight Watchers points thrown in for dinner.  Today my appetite seems to be back to normal.  The next time the hungries hit me, I'm going to try to remember, this too shall pass.

Inspiration

This is Becky.  I found her, and a lot of other people who've lost over 100 pounds, on www.thatsfit.com.  Looking at pictures of these people really helps me to stay focused on my long term goal.  I think, if they can do it, so can I.  It was amazing to find this site and all the people who had lost so much weight.  I'm so used to seeing pictures with disclaimers ("Results Not Typical") that I had begun to think losing so much was really not possible for the average person.  But surely it is possible if you just stick with it!  I'm only starting week two of this particular journey, so I'm still pumped with enthusiasm and riding the wave of my 4.4 pound success last week, but I know that discouragement is coming.  Hopefully keeping this blog and reminding myself that others have been successful before me will keep me going.  Thanks, Becky. 

Weigh Day

I lost 4.4 pounds this week!  Maybe this Weight Watchers/Jenny Craig thing is going to work!

A starting place...

I was leading the music at Vacation Bible School last week, and somebody snuck up and took this picture of me, a practice which I normally prohibit.  The reality is, however, that it was seeing pictures and videos of myself last week that got me going on yet another attempt to lose weight.  So bless somebody's heart for breaking my "no pictures" rule.  Really.  I mean it.

So here's the deal...

I am trying, for the gazillianth time, to lose weight.  Like so many others, I've tried almost everything.  At 56 years old, I've been trying for the past, oh, 40 years or so.  Funny thing is, 40 years ago, when I weighed 130 pounds, I thought I was fat.  Now I'm 140 pounds over that long lost weight.

Have to wonder if my life would have been different if 130 hadn't been "fat" at age 16.

So, stats.  56.  Female.  270 pounds.  5' 5".  2 cats.  1 kid (grown & gone).  1 husband (not fat).
Diet plan - Weight Watchers Online.  But I'm eating Jenny Craig food.

I called Jenny Craig at Home and said, "Hey, I love your food but I can't stand your program.  I always get attached to my consultant and then they quit, or get rescheduled, or something else happens that dive bombs my diet.  So, can I just send you my money and you send me your food?"

They said yes.

So I converted all my favorite JC foods to points and am using them on the WW Online plan.  I'm a rebel.  I like the freedom of spending my points where I want, and I want to spend a lot of them there.  But on weekends, or at parties, or...aggghh...church potlucks, I can spend them on regular-every-day-run-of-the-mill-food-just-like-everybody-else-eats.

My promises:  (1) I'm not going to give you my life history from 4th grade about how I gained the weight.  Seems pretty obvious, anyway.  I ate too much for a long time.  (2) As soon as figure out how and if I actually can, I'll post pictures of my progress.  and (3) I'll try to keep my posts short, sweet and to the point.

If anybody actually reads this I'll be amazed!