Weight Watchers

As most of you know, I have been working on losing weight.  I talked about it a little bit here.  But let’s start at the beginning. 

I was never overweight growing up.  I was very comfortable with how I looked.  I never, ever dieted.  I was just who I was.  When I got married, I loved how I looked.

When I got pregnant with The Teenager, I put on 45 pounds.  I just ate and ate and didn’t care.  After he was born, I lost 20 pounds, but within a year, I put 10 back on.  When I got pregnant with The Artist, I put on 35 pounds.  After he was born, I lost 20 pounds, but put 10 back on.  When I got pregnant with The Chocoholic, I put on 25 pounds.  After he was born, I lost 20 pounds, but put 10 back on.

Anyone seeing a pattern here?

I really thought that losing weight took a lot of effort because that is all I ever heard from women.  I knew I was heavy, but I was okay with it.  It never really bothered me that much.  I would say, “I would give anything to be skinny,” but obviously I wouldn’t because I was still fat.

My mom and my aunt both were overweight and they talked me into doing Weight Watchers with them.  I honestly was amazed at how easily the weight came off.  In 3 months, I lost a total of 39.5 pounds.  I realized that just by changing my eating habits, I could lose weight and look better.  And that is what Weight Watchers is…a lifestyle change. 

Weight Watchers teaches you how to change your eating habits so you eat healthier and make better choices.  For me it was the best choice.  I have talked to people who did NutriSystem, and yes, they lost weight while they were eating the company’s food, but as soon as they had to go back to eating their own food, they couldn’t do it.  They didn’t know how to make better food choices. 

Anyway, I would have lost more weight, but I got pregnant.

And here is where it all went downhill.

I knew that this was our last baby.  The last time I would ever be pregnant.  The last time I could “eat for two.”  And rather than continue to eat healthy, I chose to eat whatever I wanted and enjoy it.  Stupid.

I only gained 25 pounds.  After The Princess was born, I lost 20 pounds, but…I put 10 pounds back on.  And I just sat there.  I tried to do Weight Watchers on my own with my mom and my aunt.  We had competitions and tried putting money in a pot and whoever lost the most got the money.  It didn’t work.  I went back to Weight Watchers.  And didn’t lose.  And then The Doctor lost his job.  I gained 10 pounds in 2 weeks.  Food is my drug of choice.  And I kept eating. In the next 2 years, I put on another 15 pounds. 

Then came the HCG diet.  The Doctor really wanted to do it.  I know it is controversial, so I did a lot of research on it before I agreed.  And he did really good on it.  So I decided to try it.  I lost 20 pounds on it during my first round.  And on my second round, I lost 10 pounds.  I would have lost more, but I quit halfway through.  I just couldn’t do it anymore.  On that diet, you can’t eat any carbs…no pasta, rice, bread, etc.  No sugar, no pork, no dairy. 

I didn’t care that I lost the weight quickly.  I was miserable.  I know my limitations.  And after doing that diet, doing Weight Watchers felt like I was indulging!  I know that I can do Weight Watchers.  I am going to continue to lose weight.  I just need to figure out how to incorporate exercise. 

That’s a whole other post!