Wellness Wins~ How I’ve Been Losing Weight

Sharing is caring!

It has been a hot minute since I have written a blog post just to let you know what is going on in my life, with spring right around the corner I thought this is a good time to jump in to them again.

Years ago I wrote about trying to lose a few pounds to better fit into a bridesmaid dress for my brother’s wedding. I dropped the pounds in time for the wedding by spending ridiculous amounts of time on the treadmill and drinking slimfast as a meal replacement.

After the wedding I returned to my normal eating and exercise habits, and added what I had lost back on, plus a little more, which was already heavier than I wanted to be.

This year, ahead of my brother’s wedding to his new bride my weight crept up again, we will blame it on my 40th birthday. I think my metabolism threw in the towel and called it quits on my B-day. But whatever the reason, I managed to put on 10 lbs. almost without even noticing.

But eventually, I did notice. Clothes were not fitting right, I felt out of shape, and just generally blah. And once again I needed to lose weight before my brother’s wedding 🙂

I talked about my need to lose weight all the time with my cousin. I knew I had to do something but wasn’t really sure what…

• The Keto diet just sounded horrible, and I knew that I would NEVER stick to something so restrictive.
• Slimfast wasn’t really an option for me any more. With 2 teenage daughters I really felt it was important to model HEALTHY eating habits, and in my opinion, drinking two-thirds of your daily meals isn’t a healthy or sustainable habit.
• I love to exercise, but with my newly retired metabolism, I couldn’t rely on exercise alone to shed the weight. And in my mind I thought I was eating healthy (but more on that later).
• Counting calories seemed to be an obvious option, but I wanted an easier system. I wanted someone to take all the thinking out of it.

One day, while I was cleaning the house I had Youtube on, when Tiffanie of Simple Wife, Simple Life happened to ever so casually mention she was doing WW (formally known as Weight Watchers). I was intrigued and checked out the WW site, they happened to be running a promotion for 3 months for $13, and I impulsively signed up then and there. Let’s face it, if WW is good enough for Oprah, it can’t be that bad.

I jumped right in the very next day, but I struggled to set a weight goal for myself. I am not super motivated by a number on a scale, it is after all just a number. I wanted to feel good in my body, shop for clothes without self consciousness, and have have more energy, THAT WAS MY GOAL. But I ultimately picked a number that was 40 lbs lighter than I was currently at, mostly because it seemed to be a realistic goal, and would also put me back into a healthy BMI range.  

I wanted to feel good in my body, shop for clothes without self consciousness, and have have more energy, THAT WAS MY GOAL.

I  ran to the grocery store to pick up a few WW friendly items, and started tracking my foods. If you’d like to read my overview about the WW Freestyle program click here! I hit the ground running. I loved the social media aspect of WW, people are sharing tips and tricks, motivation, and also their struggles. I didn’t have to figure things out as I went along, like I would of had to if I just started counting calories. I found a program that clicked with my personality, and hit my groove pretty quickly. Although I am certain I am in some sort of honeymoon phase, I’ve never felt deprived or hungry while doing WW.

The first couple of weeks on WW were eye opening, I soon discovered I was eating a lot of sugar and carbs over the course of the day, and my portion sizes were out of control. Giving up my morning bagel had to be the most difficult transition, I loved that carb-y start to my day. But I am finding less energy highs and lows when I start my day with a more protein focused breakfast.

Because I jumped in so impulsivly, and didn’t even really know what I signed up for, I didn’t even tell my husband what I was doing until 2 weeks in. Although, I am sure he noticed a change in my eating habits, I didn’t tell him I was doing a structured program until I had already lost 5 lbs and was confidant this was a program I could stick with.

Two weeks after starting WW I also started the Beachbody 21 Day Fix Program. I craved a structured exercise plan to go with the WW eating plan, that I also didn’t have to think about.  I didn’t bother with the 21 Day fix eating plan, as I had just gotten comfortable on WW and focused solely on the exercise portion of the program. I am closing in on finishing my first week, and basically I have been insanely sore everyday, which is to be expected when you slack on exercising for a long time then go all in suddenly.  But I am so happy to be working out again. I need exercise, both mentally and physically.

If you would have mentioned Weight Watchers to me a month ago images of little old ladies who are going to the meeting, followed up with a quick jazzercise workout, and round of bingo would of come to mind. But it has kickstarted my weight loss journey in a way that has worked for my personality and lifestyle.

I have a long way to go, but I feel great. Recently on a night out I took a rare mirror selfie. I am not where I want to be, but I am on my way, and that deserves recognition too.

I set a weight loss goal for myself that feels challenging, 40 lbs is a lot of weight!!  But I think is doable. I am excited to continue on this journey,  I am excited to wear clothes I love again. I’m not going to quit. I have my work cut out for me, but I know I can do it.