Battling the Bulge

I have tried 3 diets in my lifetime. I have never yo-yo’d and I suspect that most of it has to do with the fact that I am horribly lazy. Heh.

The first diet I seriously put any effort into was a 1200 Calorie diet plan given to me by my GP. I needed to lose about 12 pounds at the time. It was really difficult because I was constantly hungry - It wasn’t exactly the best diet but I was able to keep the weight off for about 4 years. After I went to college, the freshman 15 was not lost on me.

The second diet was one where I used whey Protien Supplement Shakes in conjunction with a high protien, low calorie and carb, limited diet. This was very successful, but I only last 3 months. And the weight came back with abandon.

And last, the Atkins diet. Can I say how disgusting this diet was? I love vegetables and fruit and this diet made me feel like I was sluggish and crabby all of the time. I only lasted about 6 weeks on this and quit when I didn’t make any progress. It was very frustrating because everyone else in my family responded to it, but in the long term, they gained their weight back as well.

The whole diet business is complicated. But I think that people focus on the wrong thing when they try to lose weight.

Initially, when I joined Weight Watchers, I didn’t like it much for a while - I joined because I was at my wit’s end and thought that it would help me figure out how to regain control of my food issues. I find the idea of counting points revolting. I think it would help me lose weight faster but I don’t want to do that for the rest of my life. So I have chosen to go the Core route.

About three weeks after I started, I was lucky enough to get picked for the position to weigh meeting attendees. It was nervewracking because you have to track a fair bit of information and I had a hard time following the meeting. But with time, everything has become easier and I LOVE going to socialize with all of the girls (and the one retired gent that comes every week). We laugh and goof around, and lend support. It has been the best thing for me so I am not so isolated because I work from home.

It gives me the opportunity to focus on myself for a couple of hours. And even though my primary role is to record numbers, I always try to get people to think about all of the other positive changes that they are making (exercise, drinking water, dietary changes) because it ALL adds up. Just getting their asses to the meeting every week is a major accomplishment. Holding yourself accountable is never easy, but it feels good once you have done it.

I am going back to the States for eight weeks for a work project and I will really miss my WW girls, but my Leader, Julie, has promised me that I can come back when I return to Australia. I was jumping up and down when she told me that. One of the best parts is that my husband can see the physical and mental changes in me and that is the icing on the cake!

I still haven’t gone to the gym.  It has finally cooled down - But when it is so unbelievably hot, I can’t stand to move.  The last time it was really hot and I went to the gym, I became the lucky recipient of a heat rash - Lovely!

So my goal for tomorrow is to re-commit to my routine.  Get to the gym and eat well.  I need to review the new Weight Watcher’s Program.  I haven’t gone over the booklet that we received in the last meeting yet - It sounded like there was nothing much different than before.  We shall see.