Weight Watchers Weigh-In Week 20

     This week was a bitter sweet one for me. Let's start with the upside :) . I lost 3.2 pounds for a grand total of 28.2!  ~WooHoo~!!! I feel like everything is really clicking and my hard work is paying off. The best part of this whole thing is...I feel like I've actually made a lifestyle change. I don't feel deprived or that I have to suffer through to get the pounds off to return to "regular" food or eating. I know that this is my new way of life and I'm looking forward to every moment of it. I'm sure there will be weeks when I am feeling less optimistic about it, but I will beat those down as they come. I am helping my brother to do that this week. This was his 5th week and he has lost just at 22 pounds until this week. That is a lot of weight to lose in a short period of time. I had been warning him that it wouldn't stay that way and there would be ups and downs...well it happened this week. The scale showed him gaining 2 pounds. He was devastated. I tried hard to get him to understand that this is just a part of the process. I even pulled out my WW weight record to show him my patterns.

     I tend to lose good two or three weeks, gain a pound the next, then lose slowly for one or two weeks. I have come to accept this pattern and look at my weight loss as a whole and not beat myself up week to week. I hope this doesn't discourage him too much. He did assure me that he was going to work harder this week. I just hope he doesn't over do it. It is starting to really heat up here and a heat stroke is the last thing he needs. I am going out of town this weekend to see my dad for father's day and will miss my Monday meeting. I plan on going to one in a neighboring town to make up for it. I can't stop now!

My Favorite Truism

     This has developed into a sort of mantra for me. I have spent too long living in the past and concentrating on the placing of blame instead of moving forward. I also spent these years living on the sidelines and letting life happen to me, living life on the defensive. This is no way to be! Now, my goals and dreams have surfaced and I am living for today!

11 Points Burger King Veggie Burger

     This is my new favorite meal. The veggie burger from Burger King is large and filling and delicious and only 11 points. Compare it to a regular Whopper without cheese for 16 points or a Carolina BBQ Tendercrisp Sandwich for 22 points and the veggie burger is a real bargain. Don't let the fact that it's a veggie burger scare you off. I actually crave these. The sad part to this new addiction is that the nearest Burger King is 35 miles from my house. An amusing little sidenote ... if you happen to be looking this sandwich up for nutritional information on the Burger King website, don't look under the burger section. You will find this listed under fish and chicken.  :)

A Pound is a ... Pound!

This is an eyefull...literally! Helps to put things a little more in to perspective and see that every pound counts! I always tell myself, " It's better to lose slowly then do nothing and gain five pounds in a week. It's going to go up or down and I'll take slowly down any day!".

25 Pounds Gone

 

 In the grand scheme of things 25 pounds doesn't sound like very much considering I have 150 pounds plus to lose. But, when I think of it in terms of how I feel and how my clothes are fitting these days...It's tremendous! My Weight Watchers leader suggested thinking of it in terms of sticks of butter. There are four sticks of butter to a pound. (Does the math in her head.... 25 x 4=100) One hundred sticks of butter lost! To me that is something worthwhile to wrap my head around.
     A happy misfortune to this weight loss is that my clothes are getting too big, or I'm getting too small for them (big smile). None of my work slacks fit anymore. I was actually sneaking in a pair of dark colored jeans on non jean days more and more towards the end of the school year. I was extremely grateful that our principal declared the last week and a half jean days to see us through to the end of the year. I didn't see any point in my buying new slacks for a couple of weeks of school when I have such big summer plans. My jeans  are starting not to fit as well. I have one pair of size 28 that I can wear without them looking like a small family of dwarves moved out of them. This was remedied yesterday with a quick trip to Lane Bryant. I found a cute pair of rolled cuff capris in size 26 that fit nicely. Yay!!! They were $20 off and I had a coupon for an additional 20% off which made me a happy girl. Not to mention that they were a size 26! This is the first time in at least ten years that I have been able to fit into a size 26 in denim.
     When I was at my heaviest at nearly 400 lbs. I was wearing a size 32. This was the largest size at the time in my favorite shops (Lane Bryant and Avenue). It even only came in limited styles. It is a scary thing when it is hard to find your size in a big girl shop. I haven't been able to shop in stores with normal sizes since I was 19. (Stops to reflect on this for a moment) I don't know how I will react when I am able to shop off of a regular rack. It almost makes me feel sad. Maybe just hard to fathom and scared that I will not be able to see this through. But the great part for now (tries to do this one day at a time and not look to the future) is that I am in a size 26!

Some other things I have noticed since losing 25 lbs...

• My stomach was near touching the steering wheel in my car and now it won't even touch while I try to jut it out. (Silly I know but a victory none the less!)
• I went to an Omni Theater and was able to sit comfortably in the theater seats. The last time I was at one of those, when I was at my heaviest, the sides of the seats cut harshly into me making me not be able to watch the screen but focus on how uncomfortable I was the entire show and worry that I wouldn't be able to get out of it without drawing attention to myself. 
• I am able to walk up the steps on my front porch without feeling that my knees are going to give out. 
• Most importantly, I feel that I have discovered what is going to work for me and be able to see this through to my goal and beyond. 

A Family Affair

     It is unfortunate that obesity runs rampant in my family. On one side it is deeply ingrained in genetics. My great grandmother was obese and was immobile the last 20 years of her life. Her son (my great uncle) had gastric bypass surgery at age 70, following his son's (my second cousin) success in losing over 100 pounds with the surgery, only to lose his life due to complications of the surgery. My aunt was one of the first 100 to have gastric bypass surgery by the surgeon who invented it over 25 years ago. She was able to maintain a healthy weight but she has complications with iron consumption and such and has to be extremely careful in what she eats.
     The other side of my family is made up of poor eating habits and a lack of movement. My grandmother, who I love dearly, thought the way to fix any problem was with two cookies (one for each hand). I can remember she and my mother getting into huge arguments about how it was unhealthy, how I didn't need it, and how one cookie wasn't going to hurt anybody. Her mission in life is to feed people. She is convinced that my daughter is constantly starving and that I am depriving her of food.
      This toxic combination of genetics and poor habits has sent my brother and I into a downward spiral of gross obesity at a young age. I started having trouble after the birth of my first child. I gained 96 pounds during my pregnancy and let the pounds creep on over the past decade plus reaching my high of 398 pounds 5 years ago. My brother, Bryan, had his first back surgery when he was still in high school. Health complications and depression combined with our family history led him to his high of 419 pounds. Bryan joined Weight Watchers 4 weeks ago and has already lost 21 pounds! I am so proud of him! I started at the end of January and have lost 25 pounds. I am certain that we are on the path to good health and longevity. I have joined Weight Watchers 3 times previously, but without giving it much of a chance, quitting and keeping my bad habits. This time is different. It is really sticking with me. I contribute this in large part to the extensive digital tools Weight Watchers has integrated into their program. I have an extreme love of technology and look forward to tracking my points throughout the day. I also find it intoxicating to reach my daily activity goal using my active link to track my progress. It finally feels as though I have all of the pieces to put this puzzle together and create the girl I've always longed to be.

Let's Get this Show A-Rollin'

     They say the hardest part is getting started .... so here goes nothing! My name is Krystal, I'm 35 and I've been battling my weight all of my life. I adopted the Weight Watchers lifestyle just over 4 months ago (I'm thinking this is my fourth go round), have lost 25 pounds and know that I am in this for the long haul. I was recently relieved of my duties (job) for the summer and am officially declaring this my "Summer Weigh-Cation".
      Waking up this morning, I decided to start my first summer routine of going for a walk at 8am and straight to my mom's house for an hour of swimming. As I'm finishing my tea, in roll the dark clouds and a pretty significant thunderstorm. Nothing like a little road block to start things off right! It's looking like it will clear out in a couple hours, so I will go for a swim then. I'm not going to let a little rain stop me! Not this time!
     I want this more than ever and for the first time in my life, I feel that I have made a lifestyle change and am not buckling down for a diet. At my heaviest I was 398 lbs.! I lost about 60 lbs. on my own then had lap band surgery which decreased my weight an additional 30 lbs.. Being as that I did not commit to a lifestyle change (and the lap band didn't pan out to be what I thought it would) I put pounds back on slowly bringing me to my recent Weight Watchers starting weight of 349.8. I know now that this is a lifelong journey and not some short stint for a quick fix. I feel that this is half the battle! I am excited about what lies ahead and about connecting with people that share my interests and finding inspiration. Here's to the best Summer Weigh-Cation ever!!