WW Week 4

I was down 0.8 of a pound this week , meaning I have lost a total of 5.6 pounds so far. I know I still have a long way to go, but not as far as I had a month ago!

WW Week 3

I shouldda known that after having a week in which I lost 4.6 pounds, lightning couldn't strike twice! This week I was only down 0.2 pounds, but at least I was DOWN and not up!

Seems everyone I talked to at the meeting this week either just lost a little bit, stayed the same, or gained. Must be something about the joy of spring that makes us want to over-indulge...

An aside -- spring is springing!

Last week, March 11, was my oldest son, Josh's, 27th birthday. That was the first day I noticed that the neighbor's willow tree was taking on the slightest of green hues along it's branches. When I left work that day, I saw a few daffodils in bloom.

Yesterday, St. Patrick's Day, was my youngest son, David's, 25th birthday. Forsythia are blooming now, some sparsely and some much more profusely, depending on the exposures in their own little corner of the world.

I just had to make note of it... Spring is my favorite season! The hope of renewal, blooms bursting out to rival a wedding bouquet. Spring is indeed springing, and it's not even official until March 20th. Thank heaven the long cold winter is finally over!

The Second Week

Last week I started my Weight Watchers journey. At sign-in I weighed 209.4 -- yeah, more than I thought I would weigh. Okay. So I followed my points values faithfully all week and didn't go over my allotted 24 per day. Last night was my second meeting and I lost (drum roll, please...) 4.6 pounds! I am very proud of myself! I'm down to 204.8. Woo hoo!

I know that you lose more the first week, and I don't expect to lose that much any other week. I know I'll be lucky to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week. But this first week gives me the boost I need to keep going.

By the way... why do they call it "losing" weight, after all? You lose something unintentionally. Accidentally. You turn around and it's gone. "Oh, darn! I lost my (whatever)." But you don't "lose" weight... you have to fight it off every step of the way.

One day at a time... one meal at a time...

The First Step

I haven't always been fat, and I'm not super fat now. I'm 5'-7" and I weigh 208 pounds. (yes, I know I'm really fat, but I'm in denial... OK?) For about the past ten years I've been overweight, and I'm almost obsessed about losing this weight. But the sad part is, I'm always ALMOST ready to do something about it. "I need to lose some weight, and I will... after this half-gallon of ice cream is gone." "...after Valentine's Day." "...after the birthday cake is gone." On and on and on.

Heart problems, like clogged arteries, run in my family. We get it from my dad's dad. Papaw was the only person I (as a kid) ever knew who actually had a "heart doctor." He had a quintuple bypass in his 60's. My brother had heart attacks at 37, 42, and 46. He has five stents and had triple bypass surgery on March 3, 2008 when he was 46. I had a blocked artery at 48 and got two stents on October 6, 2006. My dad has two stents.

At 5'-7" and 208 pounds, my BMI is 32.6. A BMI of over 26 is too much. According to one website I looked at (http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/bmi.htm), only 24% of women are heavier than me! I need to face facts -- I'm not a little overweight -- I'm actually obese! And if I don't start doing something about it, it's just going to get worse. I'm 50, for pete's sake! It's not going to get any easier. My mom is now 70 and weighs about 275. That's in my future if I don't DO something and quit just thinking about doing something.

Now I weigh 208. A few years ago, my weight was around 185. A few years before that, it was around 165. Every five years or so, it seems to "creep up" by at least 10 pounds. But it's not really "creeping"... For 50 years I have eaten what I want, when I want, and how ever much I want. And this is where it's gotten me. I have to start to get some discipline into my eating.

In July, 2008, I joined Weight Watchers. I just planned on going for a few months until I learned "the secrets". Then I'd be able to do on my own. In the ten weeks I went to the meetings, I lost 12 pounds. "Hey, I know what to do and how to do it..." I said with my cheap little smile. Heh, heh, heh. So I quit going to the meetings and started saving myself $10 a week. Then whatdya think happened? Yup -- those 12 pounds raced back on!

It's now March, 2009, and I've been planning on starting to work on losing weight again. HA! I'll do it for a couple of days, then eat 4 scoops of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and peanuts on it before bed. I've come to realize that I can't do it alone. I can't do it unless somebody else is checking up on me. And I've got to PAY somebody to do it.

So next Monday evening, I'm trudging back to Weight Watchers with my brand new Monthly Pass. And I'm not quitting. I hope I can reach 165 pounds. And even when I do, I STILL can't quit, because if I do, the pounds will "creep" back on again.

I'm going to try to keep a chart here. A diary of my weight loss efforts. You know the old saying... Try, try again...