One year ago I got fed up. I had had enough. After nearly five years of “trying” to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight i was at my heaviest weight since bringing Noah into this world. I was not satisfied with the look of my body but I honestly didn’t know what to do. The more I “tried” the more it seemed like I gained weight. I always thought it would be easier to maintain my weight once I became a stay at home mom. No more sitting in a desk eight hours a day. But all the running around after toddlers doesn’t erase all the snacks you find yourself eating with them and the secret pieces of chocolate you sneak into your mouth during nap times. Moms, you know what I’m talking about. I knew that my next step needed to be serious. I knew that this was a journey that I couldn’t do on my own because I can talk myself into eating any fun size candy bar, scoop of ice cream, or buttered biscuit.
The next step that I chose lead me to losing fifteen pounds over the past year! I will be the first to admit to you that I was not overweight but keep in mind that I was not satisfied with the state of my body. But when you are 4′-11″… (one inch shy of needing a booster seat) fifteen pounds is a LOT of weight and requires diligent effort. Here’s how I did it.
Weight Watchers!
Yep, twelve months and a success story later and I have no shame in telling you that I followed in the steps of Oprah and joined Weight Watchers. The only difference is that my success story doesn’t include personal trainers and chefs helping me on my journey. My story is simply my life lived out normally while feeding and caring for my family of five. I’ve eaten out, vacationed, and occasionally splurged all while getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight and continually working towards my final goal.
So how did Weight Watchers help me?
It opened my eyes to that while I wasn’t eating a ton of food I was eating more than my body needed. Unfortunately, my small little frame just doesn’t need a lot of food. That fact is still a little sad because I LOVE food. But I’ve learned to just enjoy a few bites of everything instead of feeling the need to consume everything offered me. I have the Weight Watchers app and use it to calculate and budget my points for each day and week. I get a certain amount of Smart Points each week that I can use whenever I want. Generally, I save those for a special dessert sometime during the week. If I know that a party or big meal is coming up I’ll try to get some extra steps logged on my FitBit because it syncs with my Weight Watchers app and earns me extra Fit Points that can be used like Smart Points.
The beauty of the system is that I honestly don’t feel like I have been denied anything. I’ve eaten mys share of sweets over the past year… they’ve just been balanced out with loads of fruits and veggies (0 Smart Points) and healthy cooked main meals. Weight Watchers publishes a magazine and cookbooks throughout the year.
Most of the recipes that I have tried from these have been a huge success with my family with the girls begging me to cook some of them over and over again.
I haven’t attended a single Weight Watchers meeting, instead I chose the online membership route. The catalyst that really got me motivated and opened my eyes to yummy treats like Halo Top Ice Cream is their social media platform Connect that is integrated into the Weight Watchers app. Connect is filled with encouraging people, success stories, and endless motivation.
I’ve purposely taken time off from Weight Watchers while we were in China and during our Disney Cruise but it didn’t mean I wasn’t mindful of the food choices that I made. My go to meals for dining out are grilled fish and vegetables. I generally skip the salads and rolls because the dressing and wheat does nothing but eat up points that I would much rather use on something fun like dessert or an extra cup of coffee with creamer.
I’m the final five pounds away from my weight loss goal and I’m here to tell you that these five will be the hardest I have to lose. Sometimes it’s not easy staying focused… especially now that I’m feeling confident in my body and loving how my clothes fit. I’m not giving up though and I don’t plan to stop using Weight Watchers once I hit my goal. Budgeting my food is the way to go for me. For years I have managed our grocery, clothing, and various other budgets for our household. I understand and love the concept of using only what you have enough for and saving for something special. Basically Weight Watchers speaks a language that I understand. It may not be for everyone but I love it!
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Activity trackers are one of the biggest fitness trends right now. Michael Luke and I are big Fitbit fans. I’ve had my Fitbit Flex for sixteen months.
During that time I’ve traveled more than 1,300 miles earning myself the New Zealand badge.
Occasionally I would lose a couple of pounds but before I knew my weight would go up a few more. My goal was to get back to my weight that I was at before getting pregnant (in 2011). For four years that has been my goal but the closest I ever came to reaching it was within four pounds and that was three and a half years ago when I was walking with my friend Kalli three to four days a week.
My Fitness Pal has an extensive data base of food… including Young Living protein powders. Another perk is that it tracks your fat, sodium, sugar, and carbs, and protein intakes. And the best part is that it syncs with my Fitbit app so that as my steps and activity increase throughout the day the amount of calories I can consume increases. This is my motivation to move.
