28. Stick to my Weight Watchers diet and lose at least 10 pounds.
36. Work up to running 5k (just not in a race).
Although I’ve been unhappy with my weight and lack of fitness for a few years now, I hadn’t done anything about it. Buying my house and starting grad school in 2004 took up all of my free time and my gym days quickly came to an end. Then, I met Alex in 2005, fell madly in love and got very comfortable with my growing weight and eating. For the past few years, my doctor has (rudely) commented on my weight gain, but that only made me want to find a new doctor. (If you love your internist or GP, please give me his/her name and number. I’m leaving my current internist due to these insensitive comments.) That all ended this past Christmas. Alex and I made a pact to begin eating healthier (Weight Watchers) and begin exercising again.
Now it’s official; I have lost 10 pounds since beginning Weight Watchers. Although I had been heavier before my official start, I wanted to wait until I hit an official 10 pounds loss. A few of my NSVs (non-scale victories):
- My wedding rings are a bit loose; when I shake my left hand, they move.
- My wristwatch is more like a bangle bracelet than wristwatch.
- All of my work pants are too big to even cinch up with a belt. I’m in the process of taking them to the tailor to have them taken in.
- I’ve gone down in my jeans and pants size. Even new tops I’ve tried on, I need to go down a size.
- I can tuck in shirts again because my waist isn’t bulging anymore. This has allowed me to begin wearing my suits again, opening up my wardrobe choices.
- My students and other teachers have been complimenting me more often on my outfits, my hair, my make-up. Funny thing: I haven’t changed any of that. People aren’t saying, “Oh, you look great – you’ve lost weight!” They may not notice the weight loss, but people are realizing that I look better. Thanks! This adds fuel to my fire.
I really credit Weight Watchers for creating a plan that is easy to follow. Never do I feel like I can’t eat something; it’s all about portion control. Like over Christmas break, I had FOUR BOXES of chocolates from students. I was still able to eat them, just in smaller portions. It made me savor each chocolate that much more.
While I’m giving out credit, I have to thank my wonderful husband, Alex. For those of you who don’t know me, I despise food shopping, food preparation, and cooking. Eating, I love. If it weren’t for Alex searching for low-point recipes and getting creative with our food, I would never have been able to maintain this diet. Between his food preparation/planning and constant moral support, he has been a huge factor in my weight loss success.
In addition to controlling my eating, hitting the gym has been so important. Back when I was 25 (OMG – that was so many years ago), I began working out with a trainer and hit the gym 3-4 times a week for two years. I was in FANTASTIC shape. But that went down the toilet, as I previously explained. I know I can get it back; not quite at my 25-year-old shape, because that is unrealistic. I’m about to turn 33; my body has changed and will continue to change. But it can be better.
Again, Alex has been a huge inspiration when it comes to working out. He is extremely disciplined and his body (like most men’s) bounced back immediately. For this, I hate him a little bit. To begin, I hit the treadmill with my tried-and-true walking regimen. Well, tried-and-true from when I was 25 wasn’t cutting it. But due to my triple ankle injuries (see Goal #33 – Do not re-injure either of my ankles), I am very timid about impact cardio.
Enter the elliptical. OMG. Love. I can finally run, but my ankles are much more protected from pronating (rolling outward). Not only am I running – and YES, I have hit the 5k mark – but I am getting up at 4:30am to get to the gym by 5am. It has given me so more energy. Again, have to give a shout out to the incomparable Miss Meghann Williams for inspiring me with her Fierce Lady music to get me going.
Don’t get me wrong – it ain’t easy. There are a lot of things I miss and that are hard:
- Grazing. Where I hang out in my limited free time at school always has cookies, cupcakes, cakes, and sweets galore. This is where so much of my weight gain came from. I’ve been very disciplined, but the temptation is very strong and yes, I have given in a few times (but in smaller portions!).
- Chocolate. My mother ensured my chocolate addiction in utero. I have had to significantly scale back my chocolate consumption, but I have found creative ways to keep it in my diet: fat free pudding, chocolate meringues, 1 point-hot chocolate, and Weight Watchers 2 point-chocolate cakes.
- The gym. I know I just raved about it, but it was very challenging getting back into it. By the time the school day is over, I’m exhausted and don’t want to work out. The 4:30am switch makes sense since I’m a morning person, but it took a bit of planning. I haven’t begun weight training again; I have to figure out how to work that in.
- Eating out. As chronicled in Alex’s blog, I Cook, She Eats, we love to eat out at fine restaurants. Losing weight means we’ve had to cut back, but we refuse to cut it out. Since beginning our diet, we’ve managed to eat at Nicholas, Tinto, survive an eating extravaganza during our cousin’s bar mitzvah, and participate in Iron Chef Philly.
- Hunger. I’m not going to lie: there are some days that I am still so hungry, I just want to eat whatever I want. It isn’t every day, or even most days, but it’s there. Part of my stomach remembers the days when I would eat raw cookie dough right from the package (my sometimes nightly private celebration for owning my own home) and it wants them back. But then I think of all my new “skinny” clothes and resist the temptation.
Recently, I was talking to my mom, and she asked if I was still on my diet. Funny thing is, I really don’t think of this as a diet anymore. It’s a life style change to eat healthier, eat less, eat smarter, and stay active. And know what? I think I can stick with it. :)
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