Rules & Tools of My Weight Loss Journey

 

Hello, dear friends.  I hope this post finds you well.  Did you have a good weekend?  We made it to two Open Houses but unfortunately, no offers were made on our end. 

I've gotten several letters from my readers asking me about my weight loss journey.  You can read a couple of excerpts below.

 

I have been inspired by your Weight Watchers journey. I started it last year and initially had success but have stalled. I am writing to you to ask you to please write a blog post on your weight journey favorites! 

Favorite tricks, recipes, and how you have stayed focused and motivated.

I really have fallen off the track and need some really good motivation! 

You asked for it, you got it...

Let me begin by giving you a brief history of my yoyo weight battle.  Like many of you, I was just your average size as a kid.  I then hit puberty, and before I knew it, the number on the scale went up while my self-confidence took a deep dive.

 

I boarded five days a week at my all-girls Catholic high school, and I loved every minute of it.  The food was great, and meal times were my social hours and the highlight of my day.  Every day after classes, we would all meet in the cafeteria for gouter - a fancy French term for an afternoon snack.  It consisted of unlimited Lorna Doones and Bug Juice.  Nothing tasted better than this combo coupled with rehashing the day with my buds.

This is where I learned one of the most important lessons about food and weight.  No one is the same when it comes to weight gain and loss.  I started to notice that my plaid uniform skirt was getting snug while my skinny friends' skirts looked the same.  

I've never forgiven them for that.

My Mother was the first to notice and never ceased to bring it to my attention.  While home on weekends, I would sneak in the fridge for a forkful of leftover Pepperidge Farm cake.  

It never failed - my Mother would always catch me mid-bite and deliver a disappointing look that she had perfected over the years.

You would have thought that I ate the family dog!  

  

Marie Claire

It was during these calorie-filled years that I went on my first diet.  Does anyone remember the Cambridge Diet?  

I lost a few pounds, but then I couldn't look at another shake without gagging.

I then customized a new diet in college.  It consisted of Tab, Marlboro Lights, and cafeteria food.  My best buddy, KTG lived on a diet of chips and regular coke.

She was (still is) skinny as a rail.

One day, I took a long look in the mirror and asked myself a very important question...

Why do I keep picking skinny friends?

Anyway, as the years went on, cigs and Tab were the only staples in my erratic diet.  I never ate a meal without accompanying it with a can of Tab and always followed my dessert with a cig.  

I married a chef whose favorite ingredients were creme fraiche and butter.  Before I knew it, I was pregnant with my #1.

Bye-bye butts, hello baby!

...and pastries, potatoes, and pasta.

Before I knew it, I was the mother of two licking every crumb off of my kids' plates.

And then 27 years later, this happened...

I was bound and determined to ditch the baby weight by the big wedding day.  

I didn't start dieting right away, though.  

It's a lot more fun to fantasize about being skinny than actually doing something about it.

I considered going back to my customized diet.

But then I realized that no one smokes anymore, and I hadn't seen Tab in stores for years.

I scoured the Internet for every diet known to man.  

I wanted to find that magic pill where I could eat anything I wanted and lose weight.

I finally decided on Weight Watchers because I figured if it was good enough for Oprah, it's good enough for me.

lithos pos

I also chose WW for its nutritional benefits.  

Everything that had zero points were foods that I should be eating anyway for good health. 

I signed up for the mobile app, which also gave me access to attending in-person meetings.  I never attended the meetings because I didn't feel the need.  Lots of my buds that use WW feel that the meetings really helped them.

 

As many know,  WW operates on a point system.  The site is user-friendly and informative.  I spent the first two weeks on my phone looking up and tracking my points.  

I drove the Mister crazy.

I looked at what foods I did not want to give up.  There were only two - Cremora in my coffee in the morning and a glass of wine in the evening. 

I then looked at what I was presently eating, which wasn't working.  I decided to fill my diet with 0-point foods.  That way, I wouldn't go over my allotted point goal if I wanted an extra glass of wine. 

I was big on frozen, low-cal breakfasts.  I decided to replace them with fresh fruit, fat-free greek yogurt, with a side of a 1 pt. muffin (recipe at the bottom of page).

When I added up the calories of all the gummy vitamins that I was ingesting, it gave me indigestion. 

 

I trashed the gummies for the vitamin pills.

Btw... if you have trouble swallowing those gargantuan vitamins like me, take them with yogurt.

They go down as smooth as silk.

I usually had a salad for lunch every day.  I looked at the ingredients that I was using and found a lot of empty calories.  I replaced the crunchy salad toppers with shredded carrots, olives, and raspberries and blueberries.

I love shredded rotisserie chicken and always use it as well as a dollop of cottage cheese.

Btw... there is no measuring in WW.

You've heard me sing the praises of Walden Farms Calorie-Free dressing.  It comes in several varieties.  You can find it on Amazon or this company, which I have just started using.  It always has the best price and lots of great deals on vitamins.

Amazon

I also never leave home without my trusty dressing.

At around 2PM, I always hit a slump.

It's amazing how a cup of tea sweetened with this, and a side of a muffin keeps me satisfied for the rest of the afternoon.

Or sometimes, I nosh on some nectarines or watermelon.

A fellow dieter told me that whenever she feels a craving coming on, she brushes her teeth.  

Sometimes that's all I need.

Other days, I want to eat my toothbrush.

It's 5:00 somewhere!

I love these individual packets of popcorn with my vino.

My favorite thing for dinner is a shrimp cocktail with big old fat shrimp.

Otherwise, I have chicken or fish with fruit or roasted veggies that the Mister makes ahead of time.

Since moving to the apartment, I have taken my exercise regime up a notch.  I went from walking three miles a day to six miles.

When you live in a small apartment, it is during a pandemic, and you've finished every available show on Netflix, there's not really much else to do. It also helps if I am listening to a really good book.  This is what I am listening to and loving now.  

Last-Minute Notes

Amazon

It took me 9 months to lose 20 pounds.  I only weighed myself once a week.  This scale would be my best friend one week, and my worst enemy the next.  The key is not to get discouraged.  

I was told that the longer it takes to lose the pounds, the harder it is to gain it back.  That proved correct in my life.  I had gone on two vacations after I lost the weight and ate and drank what I wanted and I didn't gain a pound.

Amazon

Drink as much water as you can.  

I am not a fan of plain water, so I mix this lemonade in, and it helps me to increase my intake.

If you are looking for me, I'm in the bathroom.

On average, they say that it takes 66 days to form a habit. 

 That's about how long it took me to get into the habit of healthy eating.  It's become second nature to me.

This was a lot easier for me now that we don't have kids at home.  Any snacks you will find in our kitchen are the Mister's.

He has his own cabinet and places his treats on the highest shelf, which is out of reach for me.

Btw... our step stool is in storage.

Now, I enjoy cheat meals without the guilt.

I know I will be right back on the WW train in the morning.

Weight Watcher Muffins

Don't forget to spray the muffin molds.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix:

1/2 can of pumpkin

1/4 cup of plain nonfat yogurt

1/4 cup of carbonated water

(regular water is fine too)

Then add the bread mix.

The resident chef says it keeps the lumps out.

Scoop into pan.

Bake for 25 minutes.

You may have to adjust it to your oven.

Voila!

I bake several dozen at a time and freeze them.

 

Lastly, the Mister took this pic at lunch right after I bought my MOB dress.  I can remember how happy I was that day.  Not only was I relieved that I found my perfect dress the first day out, but I could fit into the size that I set as my goal.  

There's no better feeling.

If I can do it, anyone can.

Now it's your turn.

I want to hear your thoughts on dieting and what has worked for you.

Until next time...

It is my pleasure to introduce you to one of my favorite readers, Holly, and her little darling, Zoe.

I am sending you a picture of Zoe, our poodle /bichon rescue we adopted in 2009 from Houston Poodle Rescue. Twice a year she travels from Texas to New Hampshire on a road trip with my husband and me. She is the best dog we have ever had, and she was actually house trained when we got her.

Zoe (and I) have been in a book. An author friend of mine, Cynthia Lord (Newbury author) is a children’s book writer and her book Half a Chance is loosely based on our NH lake. Zoe is quite a kayaker with her pink life vest. She hates water, but will go anywhere with us!

Thanks, Holly!

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