A New Beginning

Friends and family that have known me for a long time (6+ years) know that I have battled with my weight for most of my life. Seven years ago I married Doug probably around my highest weight of just over 200 lbs. Wow, when I type that, I can hardly believe it, it seems so far from real for me. Then on January 11, 2002 I decided to do something about it and joined Weight Watchers. Although the timing of it coincided with New Years and resolutions, it wasn't a resolution for me, it just felt right. By the end of November I had reached my goal of 140 lbs (I'd lost 65 lbs) and was strong, fit and full of energy.

I kept the weight off until the summer of 2003 when I got pregnant with Morgan. Although I gained at the higher end of normal I did manage to lose all but 12 lbs of it before conceiving Tess in the summer of 2005. I gained about the same as I did with Morgan and again managed to lose all but 10 or so lbs of the second pregnancy, but that meant I was still 20 lbs over my previously lowest weight. In the past two and a half lbs I've put on an extra 10 lbs and here I sit 30 lbs over my Weight Watchers goal.

Now my goal isn't necessarily 140lbs again, a dear friend has said that she thought I looked too thin then, really drawn in the face. So I'm setting an initial goal of 150 lbs. Christmas is 10 weeks away, I have set an initial goal of a 10 lb weight loss by Christmas. So that's a pound a week (slow and steady wins the race).

When I did this journey before I was newly married, working full-time, living in Kits in Vancouver and kid-free, so it was easy to hit the gym 4-5 times a week and add a couple of runs in there too each week. Fitting in exercise has been my biggest struggle over the past couple of years and this past couple of weeks I've been feeling the aches and pains of carrying this extra weight. I feel sluggish, tight and, well, blah. It's an awful feeling and I'm going to change it.

My exercise plan includes a hike, walk or bike ride on the weekend and hitting the gym at least twice a week (Monday and Wednesday evenings). Anything else I can add is a bonus, but I'm not putting expectations on myself. I will also return to my weight watchers meetings on Saturday, September 25th (this Saturday I'm not here). I will journal what I put into my body and the energy I expend as well. AND I will post it here for all to see, you will see the good days and the bad days (hopefully there will be more good than bad). And of course I'll post the results each week of my progress. Although I won't have an official weight until my next WW meeting, I did step on my mom's scale yesterday and weight 171.2lbs. So I'm using that number for now.

Included in my plan is to:

1. Eat at least 5 servings of fruit and veggies daily (aiming for 7 most days)
2. Drink 6-8 glasses of water daily
3. Increase my milk/dairy consumption
4. Take a multivitamin
5. Reduce my sugar intake to help stabilize my blood sugar level so I crave less sugar
6. Cook more family meals
7. Discover my food triggers and learn to deal with them again.

Feel free to share your thoughts, ideas, and your own weight loss journey if you are on one too. I know that it will help me to succeed and give me the push I will need some days. I will post in the next couple of days a summary of the Weight Watchers point system so what I post will make sense to you all. Now I'm off to walk to the election polls.