First Weigh-In

This last Sunday I weighed in for the first time after starting weight watchers. Since I started the program during the week, and set Sundays as my weigh in day, the first one was after only 5 days on the program. I was actually pretty nervous, especially since I had been restraining myself from checking early :P

The result?   DOWN 3.8 in the first 5 days. :)

I was pretty happy about this. I read that a 'healthy' rate of weight loss is around 2-3 lbs a week, and that if you lose much faster than this it can be a little bit more difficult to keep it of. Well since i'm going for the permanent fix I figure that slow and steady is an ok way to go. My next weigh-in is in about 2 days and i'm hoping to be about 6 lbs down from my starting weight. (though i wouldn't complain if it was a little more)  We will see. I have been enjoying my ice-cream a lot lately. :-)

Another thing I have been doing lately is putting my snacks in to serving size baggies.

I have found out that what I would usually guess as a single serving is more is more like 2. Opps! This is something I am glad to have had my eyes opened to and I will most certainly be paying much more attention to portion sizes in the future!

Over all things are going well :-) I'm looking forward to updating people with this next week's results.

I'm starting Weight Watchers!

So a few days ago, (after months of going back and forth) I decided to go ahead and start the weight watchers program. Usually I am pretty against anything that I have to spend money on, but in this case I am using that fact as a little 'extra' motivation. And since I paid for three months up front, I absolutely HAVE to use it because I paid for it. I opted for just the online programs because the idea of meetings slightly intimidates me + I am fairly sure it would be impossible to fit into my crazy schedule.

I have been doing the points plus program for about three days now, and I can say that so far I really like it. I am given 41 daily points and an extra 49 weekly spill-over points. Each food is assigned a point value that is based on fat, carbs, protein, and fiber. A food that is higher in fat or carbs would receive a higher point value, unless it is also high in protein and fiber. I do all of my tracking online in the plan manager which I have added a snapshot of below. I can also earn extra points by doing activities. These points can be swapped for food points if I happen to spend all of my daily and  weekly spill-over ones. I hope to not use any of them but I know once school starts it probably will become a lot more difficult to eat proper foods. Another awesome thing about tracking is that there is... haha... an app for that! I can constantly carry around my plan manager in my pocket so I can be sure to track my foods right after I eat them :) This helps a lot with the 'oops i forgot' factor.

So far there are a few things that I really, really , like about this program. First is that you are able to eat what ever foods that you want to. Nothing is 'restricted', but some foods are just worth a lot more points than others. I found that if I eat the right foods during the day, not only am I able to eat quite a lot (which i admittedly love to do) and stay within my point limits, but I end up with enough leftover points at the end of the day for my beloved dessert. Now I do admit, my dessert has been quite smaller than um... usual, but ben and jerry have come out with single servings of their frozen greek yogurt, and wow it is amazing! and it is only 5 points. Weight watchers also has their own ice-cream bars that are only three points and are quite good as well.

The other thing that I absolutely love is the fact that all fruits and veggies are 0 points. It is so nice to have something that I can snack on without guilt and not worry about tracking or how much I am eating. Grapes and watermelon have been my best friends over the last few days. I am rarely ever hungry and eat much less at meals if I fill up on those yummies during the day. To be honest, the doesn't feel like a diet at all, which i hope means it will be easier to stick with then my other (failed) attempts at weight loss.

Here is a picture of last nights dinner. It is edamame, tomato, and feta salad with fresh basil. The recipie was featured on the WW website and it was amazing. It was soooooo filling and I have a ton left over for today's dinner. The only downside so far has been that I have been spending a lot more money on food. This could get tricky during the school year but i'm not going to worry about it for now.

I have a beautiful friend that started this program at the beginning of the summer and has been extremely successful with it. It has been awesome to see her progress and it has been a huge inspiration to me. She just recently completed her first 5K this summer and has invited me to do one with her in October. I am so excited. Running a 5K has been a goal of mine for a while now, and I just can't wait. :)

I also got a call today from my second mom (the boyfriends mom actually) That made my day. She told me how excited she was for me and how proud she was. It couldn't have been any more encouraging. :) My mom has also been very supportive and excited as well. It is so wonderful to have supporters in this. Now I am really anticipating my first weigh in this Sunday! Hopefully I will be able to see some results and I will be sure to keep people updated. God Bless!