A Weight Non-Watcher

I have been a devoted Weight Watcher since December 2010. And I have been successful - from December 2010 - April-ish 2011, I lost about 15 lbs. From March 2011 until now, I have gained and lost the same 5 lbs time and time again. I have been a slave to the scale, and watching my weight remain mostly the same no matter how much or how little I ate or how many miles I ran was very disheartening.The fact that I (unhealthily) weighed myself 2, 3...5+ times a day is not good for the mindset either.

 

This is my scale. This is not my weight nor will it ever be.

I am proud to say I am no longer a slave to the scale. Betsy and I made a commitment to put our scales in the closet and only take them out once a week. We are choosing to weigh in every Friday morning. No more, and no less.

I have also decided to take a break from Weight Watchers - I still plan to use e-tools to track my weight, activity, and food (this really helps with portioning out my leftovers, and if I need to put stuff in the freezer) but I am no longer going to obsess over points and 'actively try to lose weight.' It is difficult to even maintain your weight over the holidays, and I have a lot going on between now and December. I am going to focus on mindfully eating, and putting healthy things in to my body throughout this holiday season, but also not restricting myself and end up like this...

 x4

Story time: I found myself in the kitchen on Friday night eating all 4 of the leftover Pumpkin Softies that I made the night before. All 4. These are large cookies, people... I could not stop myself. I need to reign this in and get it under control. Part of the Weight Watchers mentality that I have is 'well, if I have the points, I should eat them.' And I tracked every last 17 points of those cookies... And I felt horrible about myself.

I wasn't hungry. I could have easily stopped after one... but I didn't. These are the unhealthy eating habits that I need to get under control. I will have earned over 40 activity points this week, and that is a fact that I am proud of. I ran 5 miles yesterday, which is a new record for me. That I am also proud of. These are the healthy habits that I need to embrace!

I also think I may eat too much of a low-fat diet. Fat free foods are great when you are trying to lose some quick pounds. I don't think they are necessarily a sustainable way to live. Also, due to some digestive issues (I will leave it at that) that I have struggled with my whole life, I think I need to introduce more healthy fat in to my diet.

I eat an English Muffin with reduced fat peanut butter and jam on it every morning. One example, I just switched to sunflower butter - less sugar and chemicals, but healthy fats and oils! I also think I am going to switch from skim to 1% milk when I introduce dairy back in to my diet next week. I am trying an experiment with one week 'off' (not having my nightly glass of milk, not smearing sour cream on everything I eat, and avoiding cheese like the plague is really all this means to me).

A weight loss plateau is frustrating, but going in to the holiday season when food is everywhere, it is very important to embrace exercise and pay attention to every morsel that I eat (and hope I don't end up in the kitchen at 9 PM on a Friday night shoveling Christmas cookies in to my mouth). I need to remind myself not to get lost in the points and the tracking, and to enjoy food again (but not over-enjoy it).

An update on my weight loss journey.