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 Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 1:50 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 3:43 pm
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 1:31 pm
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Lost 10 pounds before joining Weight Watchers
Started Weight Watchers: 9 March 2006
First Weight Loss Goal: 22 pounds -- GOAL MET
Second Weight Loss Goal: 47 pounds -- GOAL MET
Total Loss: 48.4 pounds since joining Weight Watchers. 58.4 pounds in all. A new low! Also, I have now lost 20% of my starting weight.
Current Weight Loss Goal: 18.6 more pounds till I hit my next 'decade' (110, 120, 130, and so on are 'decades' for me) of total weight
Is it worth the cost?
Yes! When I look in the mirror, I see a new person. I still have a little bit to go, but now I can see that I'm definitely a good portion of the way there. Yes, I pay $10 per week to attend Weight Watchers meetings. This makes about $520 a year. You know what? If I hadn't lost some weight, I'd soon be starting to have doctor bills that would cost more than that. Plus, I'm saving money on new clothing, because smaller clothing costs less than larger clothing, and I don't have to buy it in specialty shops anymore. The groceries cost less because I'm buying fresh, luscious ingredients instead of processed stuff, and I'm not buying quite as much of it.
Is it worth the effort?
Absolutely! Keep in mind that weight loss is not a goal. It's the means to an end. Your goal isn't really to weigh less, is it? Of course not. Your goal is really one of four things:
Health
Energy
Appearance
Self-esteem
Weight loss can help with all of these things, but the numbers on the scale don't mean anything unless they can contribute to one of these goals. Is your health worth the effort of making a delicious and healthful meal? Is great energy worth exercising for, so that you can build up to not getting tired when sight-seeing on a vacation? Is looking fantastic worth avoiding eating seconds or thirds on dessert, when you already had a satisfying first or second bite? And what's it worth to you to feel good about yourself? I hope that your self-esteem is already good enough that you're able to see that you do deserve those four things: to feel good physically, to have the energy to go about your day, to feel you deserve to look your best, and to feel you deserve to feel even better about yourself.
Wouldn't it be easier to take diet pills or have a weight loss surgical procedure?
Yes. Here's the thing: easier isn't always better.
It's easy to take a pill like ephedra, and in the short term, that will help you lose weight. But you can only take ephedra for six months or so, and when you go off it, your metabolism will slow WAY down. You'll probably be back up to your starting weight within a year's time, and possibly much higher.
It's easy to have surgery, if you can pay for it through insurance or your own savings. But unless you change your mind along with your body, you'll soon find that the weight loss after surgery is only temporary. According to a study I've read about, though I can't find it and cite my source at this time, those who undergo weight loss surgery (lap-band, gastric bypass, stomach stapling, and others) tend to lose a good bit of weight. However, within five years, the weight tends to come back, because the person is now eating the same unhealthy foods that made them overweight in the first place. What's more, they eat those foods in the same amounts as before. See, those surgeries make it so you can only eat a handful of food at a time, and it sounds pretty smart. But they don't say how OFTEN you can eat that handful of food. Believe me, if you eat a handful of food every half-hour throughout your day, it adds up just as easily as if you only eat three big meals per day.
So, sure, it's easy to take a pill or get a surgery. You'll lose weight fast. But you won't keep it off. And when you've lost that weight, before you start packing it on again, how will you feel about yourself? "I had no willpower, no strength, and no confidence. I can thank my doctor for my weight loss. I didn't earn it." Believe me, the best feeling I've ever had about my body and about myself was the day I hit my 50 pound weight loss and realized that I didn't have to thank my doctor. I could look in the mirror and know that I was the one who'd had the strength to do it for myself. I felt like Wonder Woman.
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Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 1:07 pm
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Lost 10 pounds before joining Weight Watchers
Started Weight Watchers: 9 March 2006
First Weight Loss Goal: 22 pounds -- GOAL MET
Second Weight Loss Goal: 47 pounds (in all, not between previous goal and next goal)
Total Loss: 44.6 pounds since joining Weight Watchers. 54.6 pounds in all.
Current Weight Loss Goal: 2.4 more pounds till I hit my next 'decade' (110, 120, 130, and so on are 'decades' for me) of total weight. Yes, this means I gained 3.8 pounds over the past week. No, I'm not at all discouraged. I made my choices. I'm fully aware of exactly what I did to gain that weight. I'm not blaming the birthday, I'm not blaming the friends who made me cake. No one shoved it into my mouth. I made the choices, and I'm living with the consequences. Here's the thing: I'm still ahead of where I was at the start of last month. I'm still going to keep working and do better next week. This is called Weight Watchers, not Weight Losers. Sometimes we watch the weight fall and sometimes we watch it rise. I know it didn't happen because someone cast a spell on me or because I'm a loser -- it happened because I made a knowing, mindful choice to eat things that would cause weight gain, and sure enough, it happen. Every choice was mine; I was the one in control. I'm still powerful, as long as I acknowledge those things.
Is it worth the effort?
Absolutely! Every time I consider giving up, I take out my 'Before' picture and look at it. Giving up was what got me there. Continuing to make the effort is what got me where I am right now, and it's the only thing that will get me where I want to be.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 2:30 pm
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Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 3:51 pm
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 1:47 pm
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 2:32 pm
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Lost 10 pounds before joining Weight Watchers
Started Weight Watchers: 9 March 2006
First Weight Loss Goal: 22 pounds -- GOAL MET
Second Weight Loss Goal: 25 more pounds -- GOAL MET
Current (Third) Weight Loss Goal: 17.4 more pounds (in total); this will put me at another decade (110, 120, 130, and so on are 'decades'). Once I've lost ALL the weight I want to lose, I'll let you all know what my starting weight was.
This Week's Loss/Gain: I've lost 2.6 pounds this week.
Total Loss: 49.6 pounds since joining Weight Watchers. 59.6 pounds in all.
Is it worth the time?
It's taken me since March, just under one year, to lose 49.6 pounds since joining Weight Watchers. What if I hadn't lost that weight? Well, I'd still be a year older, but I'd also still be fat: unhealthy, unable to find clothes that looked good on me, and unable to keep up with my family whenever I go on a vacation or a family visit.
I sometimes gained, sometimes maintained, but overall, I gained an average of 5 pounds a year since the time I was at my ideal weight. Losing 5 pounds a year would put me at my ideal weight in that same amount of time. Losing just one pound per week (on average, mind you) for the past year, I'm well on my way to goal already. So, by comparison with how long it took me to gain the weight, I've been dropping it lightning fast.
Yes. Yes, it's definitely worth the time.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:35 am
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Lost 10 pounds before joining Weight Watchers
Started Weight Watchers: 9 March 2006
First Weight Loss Goal: 22 pounds -- GOAL MET
Second Weight Loss Goal: 25 more pounds -- GOAL MET
Third Weight Loss Goal: Fifty pounds officially while doing Weight Watchers -- GOAL MET!!!!!
Current (Fourth) Weight Loss Goal: 6.4 more pounds (in total); this will put me at another decade (110, 120, 130, and so on are 'decades'). Once I've lost ALL the weight I want to lose, I'll let you all know what my starting weight was.
This Week's Loss/Gain: I've lost 4 pounds this week.
Total Loss: 50.6 pounds since joining Weight Watchers. 60.6 pounds in all.
Is it worth the time?
It's taken me since March, just under one year, to lose 49.6 pounds since joining Weight Watchers. What if I hadn't lost that weight? Well, I'd still be a year older, but I'd also still be fat: unhealthy, unable to find clothes that looked good on me, and unable to keep up with my family whenever I go on a vacation or a family visit. By the way, Disneyland was fantastic. smile
I sometimes gained, sometimes maintained, but overall, I gained an average of 5 pounds a year since the time I was at my ideal weight. Losing 5 pounds a year would put me at my ideal weight in that same amount of time. Losing just one pound per week (on average, mind you) for the past year, I'm more than halfway to my goal already. So, by comparison with how long it took me to gain the weight, I've been dropping it lightning fast.
Yes. Yes, it's definitely worth the time.
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Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 8:14 am
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2007 1:43 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 10:01 am
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It does sound reasonable. That's an average rate of two pounds per week, which should be doable as long as you do it in a healthy way. I posted Weight Watcher's "Good Health Guidelines" in the thread about Weight Watchers Discussion; see if you can follow those.
Some weeks you'll lose less weight, or possibly gain some. That may be because you've eaten unhealthily that week, but it could also be because you're (1) building muscle mass, which weighs more than fat but is smaller, thus making you thinner even though you're heavier, or (2) about to begin menstruating, and are therefore retaining more water than usual. Drinking more water will allow you to flush your system. Weirdly, if you're dehydrated, the body retains more water in order to "save up." You can actually LOSE more water weight by drinking more water than by not drinking water!
Other weeks, you'll lose more than two pounds. Maybe you're dropping two or three pounds of water weight now that your menstrual period is mostly over, or maybe you've had a really healthy week. Whatever you do, celebrate losing a tenth of a pound just as much as you mourn gaining a pound. Staying positive will help you feel that this really is manageable and doable.
Something to remember: If you drink something, it'll show up on the scale immediately. If you eat something, the weight of the food itself will show up immediately, but the effect on your actual body fat content won't show up on the scale for two or three days. If you exercise, the results don't show up on the scale for two to three weeks. So if this week you exercise your heart out, but you don't see a difference on the scale, keep exercising next week and the week after. In two or three weeks' time, the exercising you do this week will show up on the scale, and you'll be so proud of yourself!
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 5:26 pm
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Divash It does sound reasonable. That's an average rate of two pounds per week, which should be doable as long as you do it in a healthy way. I posted Weight Watcher's "Good Health Guidelines" in the thread about Weight Watchers Discussion; see if you can follow those. Some weeks you'll lose less weight, or possibly gain some. That may be because you've eaten unhealthily that week, but it could also be because you're (1) building muscle mass, which weighs more than fat but is smaller, thus making you thinner even though you're heavier, or (2) about to begin menstruating, and are therefore retaining more water than usual. Drinking more water will allow you to flush your system. Weirdly, if you're dehydrated, the body retains more water in order to "save up." You can actually LOSE more water weight by drinking more water than by not drinking water! Other weeks, you'll lose more than two pounds. Maybe you're dropping two or three pounds of water weight now that your menstrual period is mostly over, or maybe you've had a really healthy week. Whatever you do, celebrate losing a tenth of a pound just as much as you mourn gaining a pound. Staying positive will help you feel that this really is manageable and doable. Something to remember: If you drink something, it'll show up on the scale immediately. If you eat something, the weight of the food itself will show up immediately, but the effect on your actual body fat content won't show up on the scale for two or three days. If you exercise, the results don't show up on the scale for two to three weeks. So if this week you exercise your heart out, but you don't see a difference on the scale, keep exercising next week and the week after. In two or three weeks' time, the exercising you do this week will show up on the scale, and you'll be so proud of yourself!
Thank you! I'll go look at that thread now. 3nodding |
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