Monday, January 6, 2014

Silly Thirty Cooking: Weight Watchers 2014 Edition

Happy New Year everyone!!!

So I ended up taking a little end of the year break from posting on the blog - it happens!  I feel like the holiday season started for me on October 1st.  Halloween came around with a vengeance - all of the candy and prospects of parties and festivities!  All I know is October 2013 for me was the month of chocolate. Then came November and December with a flurry of holiday parties and lunches and dinners.  November and December 2013 consisted of more chocolate, cheese, carbs and wine.  

Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I definitely had my fill of all sorts of rich foods and drinks. Needless to say on January 1st I was kind of disgusted with myself and everything I ate.  I was actually craving salads - you know its bad when your body just wants to nosh on lettuce and carrots!! 

With all the holiday eating, has come the holiday weight gain.  I feel it for sure and sometimes it seems to me at any moment when I look down that I will discover planets orbiting around my backside.  (An exaggeration I know, but isn't that a hilarious thought?)  I finally mustered up the courage to go on the scale the other day. What I saw on digital screen was quite scary - I now weigh 167.6 pounds.  

I don't think I have ever weighed that much in my life.  165 is usually the code red number for me on the scale.  So what would this be considered - code black?  Now, I know that some of it is water weight and wine weight, but still - that is a scary number for me.

I am not a small framed person - I have what could be considered a medium sized frame, so I can definitely put on some pounds before it becomes really noticeable (and my clothes start getting to tight!!), but to give you a frame of reference, here I am back in late November 2012 all gussied up for a formal event that I attend every year for work:



And here I am in late November 2013 all gussied up for the same event:



As you can see, there is a little bit of a difference.  I have a "fuller" look going on in 2013 that is the result of overindulgence at the breakfast, lunch and dinner tables.  In 2012, I looked more toned and fit and I would like to get back to that. 

So, for vanity (I'm not gonna lie about that) and health reasons, I am going to start on Weight Watchers.  I have used Weight Watchers off and on for the past four years or so, but never consistently, and never long enough for me to reach my "goal weight".  I guess you could say that my New Years Resolution for 2014 isn't so much losing weight, but following through with a plan in a consistent manner to see the results that I want to achieve.  

For those of you who don't know about Weight Watchers, you can find out about it on their website: www.weightwatchers.com.  But to give you a general idea , you are given a certain amount of "points" per day to use up/eat, and food is assigned a specific amount of points per serving.  You have to stay within your allotment of points per day, make sure to drink water, take a multivitamin and generally you will find that you will lose weight each week.   You have to record what you eat at each meal, so it keeps you accountable for your daily food intake.  There are no "bad" or "forbidden" foods - so it is up to you to use your judgment about how you want to eat your points.

The times that I have followed the Weight Watchers plan, it has worked for me - I have lost weight.  So now it is time to start it again, but this time I want to try to be more consistent with it through the entire year.  Historically, everything seems to go down hill for me come Memorial Day (bbqs, margaritas, and ice cream!), which then turns into autumn (stews, soups, hearty meals!), and then the winter and holidays (carbs, wine, carbs, wine!!!), and here we go again!!!  

I am going to check in with you on Fridays and give you the "low-down" on how I am doing - Am I staying within my points?  What kinds of things am I eating? Am I losing weight?  The hope I have right now, is that putting myself out there like this online to you guys will keep me on track and help me realize my goal.  

So, what exactly is my "goal "?  I just want to get down to between 140 and 145 pounds.  This number is not "too skinny" for me - in fact, it is within what would be considered a normal weight for me, BMI wise.  I almost did it before the beginning of summer 2012 - I was down to 147 pounds.  I was probably between 150 and 155 pounds when the 2012 picture you see above was taken.

So wish me luck everyone!  Obviously, as a result of all of this my food posts will be more health centered going forward with a few "cheat meal" ideas sprinkled in here and there.  

Is anyone else going to be doing Weight Watchers or another type of diet?  Let me know in the comments below!  Maybe we can cheer each other on and provide some support for one another along the way.

Talk to you soon!

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