dianaschnuth

One of the major milestones in Weight Watchers is losing 10% of your original starting weight. I reached that milestone on March 17, 2009.

I hung around my 10% mark for a few weeks, then went back up a few pounds. And a few more, and a few more, until I’d finally regained half of what I’d lost. That was this past January. At that weigh-in, I set out to get back to my 10% milestone again, then to keep going.

I did see that 10% mark again this past April, right before I went on vacation. It was a quick drop of four pounds in one week, maintained for one more, after which I promptly gained back all four (and only four) during vacation. Since then, I’ve been slowly — ever so slowly — on the decline again.

This week, I’m going to push to my 10% milestone once more. I have barely more than two pounds to lose, and I can safely do that in one week. This is the week when I eat even more fruits and vegetables, drink even more water, and exercise. This is the week when I limit myself to one “treat” (usually a diet ice cream bar) per evening. This is the week when I focus on my goal.

Two pounds? No problem.

I don’t blog much about my weight loss anymore, really. I check in with Twitter and Facebook every week at my weigh-in with my slow and steady progress, but I kind of feel like the weight-loss lifestyle is old hat.

My progress, like I said, has been slow and steady:

There was quite a while there when I’d “lost that lovin’ feelin'” and wasn’t working the program as much as I could — marked on the graph by that slow gain over the majority of 2009.

Topping 200 pounds at my weigh-in on January 5, 2010 made me refocus my efforts. I started tracking more regularly and more accurately, especially on weekends. I worked on increasing my activity (something I’ve had to refocus on lately, since I’ve been working through my normal lunchtime walks). I tried harder to find healthy options when going out to lunch with my co-workers, rather than throwing up my hands and succumbing to a piece or three of veggie pizza.

Last weekend was kind of an eyeopener of sorts for me, though. My Mom came to visit from Texas, and we spent some quality time together in Toledo, and some time in my hometown of Medina, two hours away. And not only did I track every meal (including stupidly large breakfasts and a trip to Olive Garden with friends), but I also stayed within my weekly allotted Points… and I lost almost a pound at this week’s weigh-in!

It is a lifestyle change. It can be done.

I am doing it.

Sure, I have 20 pounds yet to lose before I reach my (tentative) goal weight, but it’s only a matter of time now. I’m not one of these ladies who never hits a plateau, and loses all of her excess weight in a single 17-week session. It’s a little more challenging for me, a little more time-consuming. But still possible.

The good news: I’ve started the Couch-to-5K running program!
The bad news: I gained 1.6 pounds this week.

I’ve deposited the requisite amount of money into my Oops-I-Gained-Weight-This-Week savings account, to be withdrawn only when I reach Goal. And that’s all I’m going to think about this week’s gain, except for the acknowledgment (or possibly just the hope) that it was due to starting a new exercise program.

Truth be told, while I was staunchly strict during my first 20-Point week, I was a bit lax last week: I only stayed at or below 20 for two days. Most days, I ate around 25 Points, and I went absolutely batshit overboard on Monday night (yes, the night before my weigh-in). Linda told me to increase my Points just a little this week, but I’m inclined to try to do another true 20-Point week, just to see if it makes a difference.

Tomorrow is a retirement send-off lunch for one of my IT co-workers… at Spaghetti Warehouse. The good news is that they have detailed nutritional information online, so I can decide on a few options before I head out. There are actually a few reasonable lunch options above and beyond spaghetti with marinara sauce, thankfully.

My plan for the week is to eat slightly larger lunches, focus on fruits and veggies (but be sure to eat my protein — my muscles will need it), and to continue with the C25K program. One month until my beach vacation, and I’m going to look good in the pictures this time!

As you may recall, my Weight Watchers leader suggested at last week’s weigh-in that I cut down from eating 25 Points a day (plus my 35 weekly allowance) to 20 Points a day, period. Since I regularly spread out my weekly Flex Points over the course of the week, that essentially cut down my intake by one third, from 30 Points to 20.

It wasn’t easy, but I did it. I rediscovered tasty salad options and reasonable portions of lean protein. I was reminded that eating complex carbs for dinner tends to stall my weight loss. (That’s one benefit of daily weighing.) And I realized that, yes, I do have willpower to draw upon. It all depends on my mindset.

See, Weight Watchers has me trained well. This is a lifestyle change; this is how I eat now. “Diets” don’t work.

Except when they do.

If I have the mindset of “I’m going to be eating this way for the rest of my life,” then I will naturally take all of the built-in flexibility that the program offers. I’ll use my weekly allowance to let me eat things that would be verboten on a normal diet, or to expand my portion sizes, or to otherwise play with the rules. Because, damn, if I have to eat this way forever, I’m going to find ways to make it tolerable.

This is why I’ve been plateauing for the past year-plus: I’ve been training myself on how to be in the Maintenance phase, apparently. I’ve got that downpat.

When I discover the tipping point, when I realize that I have to be more strict for now in order to lose weight, I’m on a diet again. And, for me, that’s a good thing.

I woke up on weigh-in day five pounds lighter than I had been a week before. Of course, by the time noon rolled around, the official Weight Watchers weigh-in claimed I’d only lost 2.6 pounds.

Only. Hah. That’s more weight than I’ve lost in one week since… let’s see… *checking WW eTools* …September of last year? And I’ve been in a holding pattern for much longer than that: since September 2008.

You’d think I would have thought to change it up long before now.

At any rate, I’m moving in the right direction again. I’m learning how my body processes food and how much it needs, and I’m getting more active with the nicer weather and longer evenings. I feel so much better, both physically and mentally, when I bring my A game to this whole health and fitness venture.

I’m on the 20-Point regimen again this week — I’m off to a rocky start, having gone over by a few points yesterday and today, but I’m stepping it up tomorrow and through the weekend.

Looking forward to seeing what I look like at my lowest weight ever. Just need to lose another five pounds… then keep going!

<mantra> I am a strong and confident woman! </mantra>