I will continue to write about my progress on the FridaysToast blog since having two blogs; one for everyday stuff and one for WW seems extreme; but I at least wanted to dedicate one site to my trials and tribulations in playing the weight game.  So, here’s my story and check out the links.

How The Weight Was Won:

Unlike most Weight Watchers members, I never really had a weight problem.  I was born on November 17th 1979 at 5 pounds 13 ounces.  I was so tiny that my parents nicknamed me “Peanut”.  I was a normal toddler too.  I loved to run around and play on the slide at Juniper Park and I was always very active.  I had this cute belly that can be seen in several of my baby pictures but I was always a small kid.  I was put in the front of lines for Elementary School Fire Drills and always seated in the front rows of classes and for Class Pictures.  By the time I was about 9, I was this tiny stick.  I have this one picture of me in a blue shirt and pants outfit that you can see my collarbone and both my arms and legs are thin and lanky.  I started to gain weight, like any child, when puberty set in.  I don’t know how much I weighed since you don’t really weigh yourself at 12 or 13, but I was a healthy weight for my age and height.  I settled into a size 10/12 (13 in Juniors) in High School and remained that throughout.  Of course I still had the little tummy, and now thighs, but at 5 feet 3 inches, that was a good size for me.

I started Queensborough Community College in the fall of 1997.  I was hanging out at school all day with classes from 8am to 4pm, having coffee for breakfast and crappy cafeteria lunch.  That Spring Semester I spent lunch up at Wendy’s or Burger King on Northern Blvd. with Steph, Teresa, Anthony, Gloria, Paul, Melissa and the rest of our crew.  Fall Semester 1998 is when I met Jeff and we started dating.  It was comfortable to eat anything in front of a guy.  Lunches in fast food restaurants became more frequent, but it wasn’t until Jeff and I settled into our relationship that I gained the bulk of my weight. 

How I Started Weight Watchers……and Quit:

I started Weight Watchers in 2000 sometime after my sister Lisa joined again.  I don’t have my first Membership Booklet marking my starting weight, but I do have the Continuing Booklet marking my last day which was March 20th 2001 at 161.8 lbs.  I don’t even remember why I quit.  I think I made some lame excuse to myself and ran with it.  A month later, I started working for Guardian Life Insurance Company as a full-time Group Sales Administrator. 

The next time I joined WW was June 14th 2003 at 181.0 lbs.  I had just bought a treadmill and I was on board to losing this weight.  But, I was also having horrible stomach pains leading up to my joining, then a week later I wound up seeing Dr. Diner.  After having an ultrasound, he confirmed what I thought; I had Gallstones and was a candidate for a Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (Gallbladder Removal Surgery).  I had my Gallbladder removed on July 25th 2003 and I had planned to re-join WW after I healed from surgery.  I remember Jeff putting the treadmill together during the two weeks I was home recuperating.  But as is with a treadmill of a non-committed WW member, it became a lovely clothes rack.  And all I have to show for my effort in 2003 is my first weigh in weight listed on my WW Booklet, the rest is blank.

Jeff and I married on April 18th 2004.  I was going to join prior to lose weight for my wedding, but with all the appointments we had to make, I decided to join after instead.  By the fall, I was really annoyed with my weight and re-joined WW on September 12th 2004 at 199.4 lbs.  I lost 10.4 lbs. that time around.  But, I quit on November 4th 2004 at 190.0 lbs. and about two weeks before my 25th birthday.  I don’t remember why.

The Wakeup Call

On October 15th 2005, I went to Melanie for my semi-annual ObGyn appointment (it’s so informal there, that I call my ObGyn Melanie instead of Dr. Jackson).  The nurse called me into an office where I took off my shoes and got on the scale.  This was a normal thing that I’ve been doing for 10 years now, but I couldn’t believe what I was seeing this time around.  The nurse used to put the weight marker at 150 and use the smaller marker to go up, since I was never 150, always a drop over.  To my shock, the nurse pushed the smaller marker back to 0 and pushed the larger marker that was at 150, up to 200.  I nearly fell off the scale when she documented my weight at 201.4 pounds.  I sat in the exam room waiting for Melanie to come in just thinking about that moment……that was strike one. 

Melanie met me in the room and explained to me during the exam that All Island ObGyn had now been offering blood work as part of their routine semi-annuals and annuals if the patient was interested.  Considering I couldn’t remember the last time I had a blood test, I let the nurse give me one after my exam.  A couple of days later, I came home to a message from Melanie.  I don’t remember how she said it, but the phrase of “You’re cholesterol was a little high” stuck in my head.  I called the office back and left a message.  While waiting for the call back, I did some research of my own.  I was beginning to get worried when I saw what a normal cholesterol rate was.  When Melanie called back to let me know that mine was 237 and considered “Borderline-High”, I freaked out.  That was strike two. 

I knew something had to change.  I wasn’t going to wait for strike three.  Bottom line, I did not want to be 25 (almost 26) and on Lipitor for High Cholesterol or 201.4 pounds and rising.  That was NOT going to happen.

Why and How I Started Weight Watchers for Good!

I was tired of being fat and looking bloated.  I was wearing a size 16/18 pants, Extra-Large shirts, I had borderline-high cholesterol and most of all, I was 201.4 lbs.  I had had it.  I was just done.  As I later heard my Weight Watchers leader Marianne to say, “I’ve put the Fat Chapter of my life to rest”. 

I joined Weight Watchers for the final time on November 13th 2005, with Lisa, at a starting weight of 201.4 lbs.  I bought a small spiral notebook to use as my “Food Journal” and I even dusted off my treadmill and had Jeff move it into our bedroom.   The treadmill did take up a lot of nice space we had by the window, but I wanted it in our bedroom for a reason.  If it was in my view every morning when I woke and every night I went to sleep, it would serve as a constant reminder of what I needed to do to lose this weight.

When Lisa and I stepped into the WW room on that Sunday morning, I felt happy that I was finally doing something good.  I sat in that room waiting for Marianne to come in.  She noticed me right away, looked at me and said, “Welcome back”.  It was nice to have Marianne recognize and remember me since it was a year since I had been there.  I do have to admit, I felt warm and fuzzy :0).  After the meeting, I stayed with her and a couple other “newcomers” for her to review the program.  I decided to go on the Flex Program instead of the Core Program, since counting points seemed better to me than eating Core Foods and stopping when satisfied (Flex and Core are explained on How Weight Watchers Works page).    Most of the stuff I remembered from previous times, but the points and weight category had changed.  Instead of having between 20 and 25 points or something if you’re 150 lbs or less, you’d get a set number of 20 points for your daily intake.  That took a little time to get used to, but it wasn’t too bad.  The heavier you are, the more points per day you get.  At 201.4, I started with 26 daily points and I needed to lose 2.4 lbs. to get to a 24 daily points target (which I did with ease the following week in losing 4.0 lbs.).  As soon as I got home, I did what Marianne said.  I raided my food cabinet and fridge and tossed any unhealthy “trigger” foods – especially stuff that Jeff wasn’t going to eat and I would.  Most of that stuff, Potato Chips and Cookies, I had gotten rid of prior to my joining in preparation.  I also took a black marker and used my Points Finder to put point values on all my boxes, jars, cans, etc.  I even made a healthy shopping list and Jeff and I went shopping. 

I didn’t originally admit to anyone that I was on Weight Watchers.  I had all the faith that this was going to be my final time joining, but I was a bit skeptical since I was a repeat offender.   I was afraid that if I told people that I joined and I failed on program or quit again, people would judge me.  I figured it would be best to wait and see how I did. 

I also joined at the oddest time too.  It was a week before my 26th birthday and two weeks before Thanksgiving, which is basically the kick-start to the holiday season of family and friends gatherings and the season of eating.  I had all to do with my Office Holiday Party and Jeff’s, but my boss also insisted that Arlene (my co-worker) and I joined him at two of our General Agents Holiday Parties, so December was a horrible month.  I couldn’t wait until after the New Year so I wouldn’t have to deal with any more parties.  All in all, I handled the holidays very well.  By the start of the New Year, I was 11.4 lbs. lighter. 

Weight Watchers is all about making small goals.  I could never have said walking in there for the first time at 201.4 pounds that I wanted to lose 71.4 pounds.  WW focuses on 10% increments of your total body weight and I was to focus on losing 20.1 lbs.  When you hit 10%, you are awarded a WW Key Ring Chain for your accomplishments.  I hit my first 10% on February 12th 2006; 3 months after my start date.  I had lost 20.8 lbs. and I weighed 180.6 lbs.  I was so happy that I was able to steadily lose weight, week after week and it had accumulated to 10% so quickly.  When I told Marianne that I reached my 10%, she was so happy.  She held my hand when she gave me the Key Chain and said, “This Key Chain is a symbol of how hard you worked to lose your 10%.  If at any time, you feel that you can’t make it or it gets tough, I want you to take this Key Chain out and hold it.  Remember how far you’ve come.  You are stronger than you think”.  She congratulated and hugged me.  And through it all, the good times and bad, I remember that moment.  It was truly the moment that Marianne made me look at myself and I realized that I do have the strength to lose this weight.  I have the strength to get back to my High School weight of 155-160 pounds.  I have the strength to surpass that and reach my Goal and make Lifetime. 

Where I Am Now:

As I write this on July 23rd 2006, I am 151.4 pounds and I couldn’t be happier!  I have successfully lost 50.0 pounds in a little over 8 months and have dropped 4 sizes.  I am finally at a point in my life and weight loss that I am comfortable sharing, hence the reason I decided to go public on the web.  I am now LESS than what I weighed in High School, when I was 17 and when I started Queensborough.  My family, Jeff and my friends are now seeing the Nancy I used to be……more importantly, I’m seeing the Nancy I used to be.  I’m wearing a size 12 Levi’s (yes, I’m wearing jeans again!) and I’m almost down to a size 10.  My cute baby tees that I used to wear almost 10 years ago fit again!  I had kept them for “when I lose weight” and that day has finally come.  I’m still trying to get used to the “new” me……or am I supposed to say, the new old me.  I sometimes still see myself as the heavier 201.4 pound person since gaining weight was gradually over 9 years, as opposed to losing the weight in 8 months.  Looking at pictures helps which is why I put the before, during and eventually after pictures on this home page and why I created a “Weight Loss Journey Through Pictures” page for the site.  People are starting to notice the slimmer me.  Several agents in my office have nicknames for me like “Trim”, “Slender” and “Skinny”.  One of my neighbors stopped me outside of my apartment (while wearing my Levi’s) and said, “You’ve lost weight”.  My WW Leader Marianne has been an inspiration to me since day one – she keeps me coming back week after week.  My parents and sisters tell me when they see me how great I look and my friends too.  Jeff has been my cheerleader from the very beginning.  Not a day goes by that he doesn’t hug me and say, “You look beautiful; you’re getting so skinny”.  Everyone has been ultra-supportive and sweet in helping me stay in a positive frame of mind.  I have to say, I have a wonderful Support Team.  And the best thing in the world is that I found the strength in myself to achieve the weight loss.  Marianne was right, I am stronger than I think.  It’s really something else to lose 50 pounds.  I’m loving it and I’m never going back to where I was.  That’s one promise I’ve made to myself and I intend to keep :0)

How I Overcame My Battles with Food and My Weight:

I never turned to food for comfort or ate when I was depressed as other Weight Watchers members.  It’s taken a lot for me to admit to why I was eating the way that I was.  I truthfully began my eating with social occasions that began in college.  It wasn’t even a conscious decision at first either.  On breaks, our crew would hang out by the Science Building near the Cafeteria.  It started out small in going to Wendy’s or Burger King instead, snowballed into going out for dinner when Jeff and I started dating and escalated to an every weekend-all weekend thing.  Jeff and I would eat out Friday nights and both Saturday and Sunday for almost all three meals.  Most of my meals were consumed by someone else’s cooking.  It was either Georgia or Omega Diner, TGIFridays or Applebee’s or even White Castle or McDonalds.  I’d host dinner parties and game nights, make Baked Ziti for dinner and have Potato Chips and Onion Dip for snacks – every weekend or every other weekend.  It wasn’t Jeff’s doing either.  It was all me.  I was the one to say that “we should go out here or there”.  I was the one who had the problem and I was not leading a healthy lifestyle.  We’d order appetizers, salads and the entrées, depending on what restaurant we’d go to and I’d eat it all.  Even when I was full, I’d sit there and pick at the food and wind up eating more than I wanted.  I’d go home feeling stuffed and it just wasn’t good for me.  It’s no wonder why I was that heavy and looking back on what I ate; I’m surprised that I wasn’t heavier.  I know now that I can’t ever go back to that lifestyle. 

It hasn’t been easy making this transition.  I had to drastically change my 25 year upbringing of international and fried cuisine and commit to a healthier lifestyle.  I had to stop being lazy by eating out every weekend and spend my time cooking in my own kitchen.  It’s not that I didn’t like to cook, I love cooking.  It was that I loved the social situation of going out to a restaurant and talking with the group of people I was with.  Once I realized that I didn’t need to have food in a social situation or put myself in that type of eating atmosphere, I was able to commit myself to healthier eating.  Instead of going out every weekend, I’ve limited myself to going out once per week (if at all).  If I have a busy social schedule that week, I make sure that I plan only one indulgence and eat healthier the other times I’m out.  I prefer going to Diners (Georgia, Omega, Majestic, etc.) over Chain Restaurants (TGIFridays, Hooters, etc.) since Diner food has many more options for eating healthy.  I can always order a Salad or Chicken Fingers that aren’t the size of the plate or dripping in fat (as I’d get that if I went to a chain).  I still go to TGIFridays and Hooters since they are two of my favorite Chain Restaurants, but I plan when I go.  I also plan what I’m going to order ahead of time based on how well (or not) of a week I’m having.  If my home scale is generous and I’ve lost weight, I might indulge and split Buffalo Wings with Jeff.  But if I know I’m having a bad week, that I haven’t lost too much or at all, I might just stick to a Salad and Chicken Fingers if I have to go out or I’ve even asked my friends to come over for a home cooked meal instead too.  I’ve made healthy dinners with Salad and Vegetables and serve Fruit for dessert.  This way I still get to have my social dinners, but I get to control my food choices much better than going out.  And when I’m invited out, I make sure to bring a Veggie or Fruit Platter that I’m sure to stick with and eat.  Everyone I know now knows that I’m on Weight Watchers and has been very great to especially have low-cal/low-fat options for me to eat. 

The one thing I’ve learned is that if I wanted to make a change in my weight, I had to make that change in my whole life.  My days of coming home and being a couch potato all night were over.  Yes, I still have those days on occasion which are usually when I’m sick, but for the most part, Monday through Friday after work, I’m on the treadmill.  On a typical night, I come home from work at 5:45pm and get on the treadmill by 6pm.  I do between 1 to 2 miles on it and I’m done about 6:20/6:40pm.  Then I meet Jeff downstairs, we’ll start dinner about 7:00/7:30pm and we usually eat about 8:00/8:30pm.  It does make for a late dinner, but daily exercise is extremely important in my weight loss.  I’ve learned the hard way in past attempts that without it and I didn’t lose weight.  I also make sure that I’m eating plenty of fruits and vegetables; taking bananas, cantaloupe slices or oranges as a snack at lunch, having a Salad before dinner and packing my dinner plate with vegetables before the steak/chicken and rice.  I drink plenty of water daily and try to fit in dairy; though I’m still really bad at that (not the water, the dairy).  I do my best daily to follow all of the WW Good Health Guidelines.

The Changes I’ve Made:

As mentioned above, here are some of the changes I’ve made in the past 8 months:

How I’m Going to Achieve Goal and Lifetime:

Achieving Goal is when you decide on a weight that you are comfortable with on all aspects……your BMI (Body Mass Index), your body type and structure, your overall size and your personal “weight goal” that you’d like the scale to reflect.  I’ve seen some Weight Watchers Members decide on their personal “weight goal”, but have a hard time keeping it since their body was not meant to be that low on the scale.  I will have to see what I look like at the size that I envision and decide from there if I want to lose more weight. 

I would like to reach 130 pounds.  That is my personal “weight goal”.  I don’t know if it’s attainable or maintainable, but it’s something to work for.  It means that I have to work my hardest to now lose the last 21.4 pounds that it will take to reach my 130 pound goal.   

In order to reach Goal I will have to stay on program and increase my weekly exercise goals.  I have to stay in a positive frame of mind and not let anything ruin my progress.  I have to attend my weekly meetings and talk in them regardless if I had a loss or gain.  I have to remember that a small gain does not mean giving up, it means working harder the following week. 

I know that if I keep those thoughts and actions going, I’m sure to make Goal and achieve Lifetime (maintaining within 2 pounds of your Goal weight for 6 weeks).  I want to add that Goal Star Charm and Key Lifetime Charm to my WW Key Chain.  Those little charms will be the most important gifts I will receive.  They mark milestones of my achievements and will be constant reminders of how hard I worked to lose my weight.  I’m very proud of the accomplishments that I’ve made so far.  I figure if I could lose 50.0 pounds, anything is possible.  As Marianne says, “You are stronger than you think”.

To set 135 as Goal or continue on to 130 as Goal?

……that is the question.

I've been thinking a lot about Weight Watchers, my starting weight, my current weight, Goal and Lifetime. When I started WW back in November 2005, I had the number of 130 lbs. in my head of what I wanted to be even though the highest weight I can make Goal is at 135 lbs. Well, now I'm pretty close to 135 and I'm not sure if I should call that Goal or continue on to 130 as Goal. Why 130 you ask me??? I don't know why 130, I just picked that number when I started WW because it sounded nice and small. Now that I'm approaching 135, I'm leaning more towards setting my WW Goal at that instead. Why the question....to set 135 as Goal or continue on to 130 as Goal?

Here's the catch....why in my head, do I feel like a "failure" (for a lack of a better word), because I didn't "stick to my guns" and see my original WW goal of 130 to the end? Why do I feel like, if I set my WW goal at 135, I'm "giving up"? I know I must sound nuts because it's only a 5 lb. difference, but it's my own weird struggle over a stupid number (yea, I admit, it's stupid).

Some of my friends on the WW board say that I should call Goal 135 so I can stop paying for membership and as a Lifetime Member, enjoy the Free Membership benefits that come along with Lifetime status. But honestly, I don't care about paying WW money or whatever, that part doesn't bother me. I just feel like I want to be DONE with the losing part and maintaining my losses already...that's WHY I want to stop at 135 as my Goal and make Lifetime.

MOST importantly, I feel good about myself and the way I look now. I'm sorta feeling like, "Is it worth it to lose those last 5 lbs. before I call it goal?". I do want to tone my tummy and thighs, but I am overall happy being a size 6 and 135 sounds pretty good. I mean, how was I to know starting at 201.4 that 135 would look good as Goal? I am comfortably fitting into a solid size 6 pants and my shirts are either Small or Extra Small...so what more could I ask for? It's just amazing!!! I can finally look at my weight loss and Goal weight of 135 as, "I'm proud of myself and my accomplishments".

And just because I set 135 as my WW Goal, doesn't mean that I can't try and lose more. I should really take the advice of my leader Marianne and set my WW Goal at the highest range and if I really want to lose more, then just go ahead and do it. I mean, that's what Marianne did, Christine did that too, so did Lisa and a couple others I know from the WW Boards. And as Jeff said, it's OK that I changed my mind and set Goal as 135, there's nothing wrong in changing my mind and reevaluating myself and what I want out of WW.

I basically think that in all this, I've answered my own question. I'm going to set 135 as my Goal and talk to Marianne about it on Sunday.

As of today, Friday December 29th 2006, at 137.4, I've got 2.4 lbs. left to Goal :0) Wow, that's just amazing!

I MADE GOAL :0)

After 1 year, 4 months and 4 days, I lost 67.2 pounds, weigh 134.2 pounds and have made GOAL with Weight Watchers! 

It felt so great to have Marianne award me with the Goal Star for my 10% key ring.  She gave me such a huge hug and asked me to talk about my journey to Goal.  It was weird because since it’s the day after St. Patty’s Day and after having the huge ice storm, there weren’t many people there to celebrate my Goal with me, but none the less, the people that were there applauded and made me feel like a million bucks :0)

I am extremely excited!  This has been a VERY HARD journey that I’ve made, but so well worth it!  My whole life has changed since I’ve lost this weight.  My confidence level definitely boosted, my outlook on my life and its direction has shifted and my overall feeling about myself and my ability to do something, follow through and succeed is just amazing. 

FROM THE WEIGHT WATCHERS WEBSITE:

Weight Tracking Summary

Your current weight : 134.2 lb 

Weight change since your last recorded weight | -2 lb 

Total weight change to date | -67.2 lb 

YOU DID IT! YOU'VE ACHIEVED YOUR GOAL WEIGHT!

All of us here at Weight Watchers congratulate you on reaching your ultimate weight goal. Well done. This is a fantastic achievement and we hope you'll take a moment to reflect on all that you've accomplished before doing something special to celebrate.

Now that you've reached this important milestone, you move onto the next phase—maintenance.

Maintenance means "keeping your weight steady" and you do this by sustaining your current activity level and eating a bit more food until you find the right balance.

If you follow the POINTS® Plan, retake the Personal POINTS Quiz to see if you need to readjust your daily total. For Core Plan® followers, go to the Overview within the Plan Manager where you'll see the question, "Are you on Maintenance?" Click on the link and follow the steps.

Congratulations again and have fun celebrating your success!

Now onto the 6 weeks that follow Goal to achieve Lifetime status at Weight Watchers......wish me luck!

I MADE LIFETIME :0)!!!

I was able to maintain within 2 pounds of my weight loss after 8 weeks and have made LIFETIME with Weight Watchers on Sunday May 13^th, weighing 136.2 pounds :0)  Of course, I don’t make things easy on myself and made it after 8 weeks instead of 6 weeks.  No harm in that, I made LIFETIME!!!

Here are my stats:

I have the Key :0)  FINALLY!!  It felt so great to have Marianne award me with the Lifetime Key charm for my 10% key ring and to accompany my Goal Star charm!!  Marianne asked me to get up in front and talk about my journey.  It’s been a tough one, but so well worth it.  She also gave me a huge hug and I took a couple pics with her.  I feel that she has been such a positive influence on me, not only with my weight loss, but a positive person all around.

Weight Maintenance is HARD, but not as bad as I thought it was going to be.  Since I’ve been doing Weight Watchers for well over a year, there really isn’t much difference from maintaining the weight loss and losing weight (well, in my opinion).  You still have to journal, count points, exercise and so forth. 

I believe that “maintenance” in itself, is really finding the right balance of Points (Food Intake) and Exercise that you can live with and maintain in daily living. 

Points/Food Intake: 

I am at 20 daily points and I’m supposed to add 4 daily points for maintenance.  I have noticed that I can’t add the full 4 points to my daily intake or I will gain too much weight but I can’t just have 20 points or I will lose too much.  I have found that sticking at about 20-22 daily points is what works best for me.  I still only dip into the 35 extra Flex points when I go out to eat or have a party.

Exercise: 

As far as exercise, using my treadmill a handful of times a week for 1 mile and walking outdoors on weekends (a couple of miles) works best.  On average, about 4 to 6 miles weekly keeps my weight and energy level consistent.  Less allows a gain and more exercise allows a loss.    

Weight: 

As far as my weight, I am totally fine with being anywhere below 135 (my goal weight) and up to 137 (my 2 pound allowance).  But in reality, if I go above my 137 allowance, the MOST I would allow myself is 139.8 because after that, my pants don’t fit (I’m serious!).    

I think that with the right combo I’ve mentioned, I can maintain past Lifetime status and remain maintaining my healthy weight range. 

After trying to lose weight since 1995, I FINALLY have done it in 2005.  I have been able to maintain that loss in 2007.  And guess what?  I will NEVER have to lose over 60 pounds again!  And THAT makes this journey worth it! 

Nancy :0)

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