Sep 25, 2008

Weight Watchers Week Nine: Learning to live with lifestyle changes

I haven't written about the last couple weeks on Weight Watchers because I've been in an interesting adjustment period. I worked really hard the first six to seven weeks and lost 12 pounds right off the bat. I just couldn't keep up that intensity, though, so I haven't been very dedicated for the last two to three weeks. I haven't been tracking points, and I haven't been exercising nearly as much. But guess what's happened? Despite eating my favorite foods, I've actually maintained the weight loss within a half pound or so over the course of several weeks. I'm extremely pleased about this, because it's proof that I've made changes that I can live with. Obviously, I can maintain my weight at this level, but I'd still like to lose another 15 pounds or so. So I've started counting points again. On my last Weight Watchers update, I mentioned that I wasn't eating all of my points, and I got a slew of comments about how important it is to eat all of the points available. I think I needed to read that over and over again, because it seems to be true for me. So a big thank you to everyone who commented on that post! The challenge for me now is to learn how to incorporate my favorite foods into a lifelong eating pattern. I've already gotten quite good about not over-indulging, but I do still like to eat sweets every day. At Get Fit Slowly, Mac and J.D. are struggling with the same problem. According to Mac, their wives "automatically budget their food intake" and "view sweets and desserts as a reward, not a necessity," whereas he and J.D. don't. I don't either. I've tried, but I just don't think I'll ever be someone who only eats sweets once in a while. So instead of making myself miserable trying to do something that's virtually impossible, I'm trying to find reasonable compromises that allow me to eat healthfully, reach and maintain a healthy weight, and still enjoy my favorite foods (and I'm talking about the real stuff, not diet cookies and what not). I believe it's possible, and it'll just take some time to figure it out. How long? I have no idea, but I hope not too long. 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cathy, I'm not on WW but I do need to lose weight - a LOT of weight. What I've started doing and what seems to work for me (because I'm losing a 1-2 pounds a week on a steady basis) is limit sweets to after dinner. No sweets in my lunch, no birthday cake, candy or whatever at work, it all has to wait until after dinner. I don't limit what I can have after dinner but there's just not as much time after dinner to eat the "crap". I try to stop eating for the day by 8 p.m., although that doesn't always work.

I know the theory is that what you eat later in the day doesn't burn off as quickly, yada yada, but I know I'm going to want something sweet after dinner anyway, so that's a wash. By eliminating the junk calories in the morning and afternoon, I am currently losing. It's also easier for me psychologically to say I'm not going to eat this now, but I can have a treat later today, so it's okay.

And if all else fails, we have no sugar added hot chocolate in the office and that's only 50 calories or so. Sorry for such a long comment!

Rebecca said...

Have you tried the WW Frozen Dessert things? They are really delicious! So delicious in fact I have to hide them from my 2 year old or else I won't get one myself! Having one of these desserts is a way to eat all my points AND makes me feel like I am being rewarded for spending the day "on plan". Trust me they don't taste like a diet food at all and I can't think of one I don't like. They can be a bit pricy but its a dessert you can feel guiltless about. WW needs to put out more Qs for their stuff.

Kris said...

Thanks for the mention, Cathy! And dude - congrats on the loss. Seriously, it's worth applauding.

Chief Family Officer said...

@Mar - Hm, makes sense, maybe I'll try that, thanks for the idea.

@Rebecca - That does sound good, but I have this mental block about "fake" food. Stay tuned, though, I'm planning a Weight Watchers coupon giveaway next week!

@Kris - Thanks! Good luck with WW!