The Losing It winner is not JUST a chick!

Congratulations to ALL the ladies who participated in Losing It. I loved reading about your weight loss journeys and was truly inspired and motivated by so many of you - some who lost lots of weight and some who didn't but persevered anyway.

The winner of our prize is Dedra at Just a Chick - but let me tell you, she is FAR from JUST anything! I met Dedra at Blissdom this year and loved her. She is sweet and funny, and through this challenge, I have been completely blown away by the changes she's made and how she's made them.

Way to go, Dedra! (E-mail me your address, so we can get you your prize!)

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Losing It - Week 10

Well, here we are. The last week of our Losing It Challenge. So . . . ?

Ten weeks ago, Jessie from Vanderbilt Wife, Ashleigh from Heart & Home and I had a crazy idea. We were lamenting our weight loss woes on Twitter, and somebody suggested a blog challenge.

So, just like that, we started one. Just a few days later. Without a whole lot of planning. Or thought. And yet?

The Losing It Challenge seemed to work.

Not for me. I didn’t lose any significant weight. But you all? Oh my goodness! You ladies of #LosingIt10 have blown my mind.

You’ve been honest. You’ve been inspirational. You’ve shared your struggles, your successes, your lives. Some of you have lost a lot of weight. And some of you haven’t lost any pounds but have gained resolve, motivation, even wisdom. (I’m putting myself in that category, by the way.)

As you report your percentage of body weight loss, we will have a winner. But, as clichéd as it sounds, I believe everyone who’s pushed through this last 10 weeks has won something.

But let’s talk about the winning and the prize for a moment. If you linked up at least six out of the 10 weeks, you are eligible for the prize package of a six-month subscription to The Six O'Clock Scramble (a meal planning service), a Weight Watchers pedometer and a gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods.

The winner will be the person who loses the largest percentage of his or her body weight during the 10 weeks. So make sure you include that info in your post that you link up below.

But wait! There’s more!

No, not super-sharp knives. But more community, more sharing, more weight loss. Kathy at House of Hills has agreed to continue hosting Losing It as a weekly carnival. The friendships and support that have been built over the past 10 weeks is incredible, and I’m so excited Kathy is going to keep it going for us!

But before you leave me (Don’t leave! Or, at least, please come back!), please answer this question in the comments: What does weight loss success look like to you?

Does it look like a certain number on the scale? Or a size of jeans? Or maybe a pair of jeans from college or pre-pregnancy? Or perhaps for you it looks like a fridge and pantry stocked with healthy foods or the ability to eat your favorite treat in moderation?

For me, weight loss success will look like this:

• A certain number (or below), healthy food choices on a consistent basis
• The ability to shop in non-big-lady stores (sorry, Lane Bryant)
• The ability to use my body for what God intended it (Hello, water skiing. It's nice to see you again.)
• And an absence of negative thoughts (particularly no longer singing, "I hate myself for loving food" in Joan Jett style).

How about you? What does weight loss success look like to you?



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Losing It: Ice Cream Treat Edition (Week 9)

I know, I know. Eating ice cream isn’t really going to help me meet my weight loss goals any better than not counting my points and eating McDonald’s for breakfast.

And I’m not even a big ice cream person. Mark can eat half a gallon in one sitting, but not me. Unlike most unhealthy tasty foods, like Pop Tarts or cheese dip or chocolate frosting, ice cream can be in the freezer without me feeling even the slightest bit tempted.

See, just like hot wings, ice cream takes too much effort to eat. The getting out of the freezer and the scooping and the waiting for it to thaw a little bit and the eating slowly to avoid brain freeze? Eh. I can do without it.

However . . .

Several weeks ago, I was looking for blog ideas and discovered that 2010 is the Dairy Queen Blizzard’s 25th anniversary.

And I couldn’t just ignore that little nugget, could I?

Thankfully, there’s not a Dairy Queen near my house or my office, so it was really a one-time celebration. (Because, seriously, if one was close by, you know I’d be celebrating all year!)

Sonic is another story. (Which might make you wonder why I even brought up Dairy Queen, but I’m getting there. I promise.)

After I picked up Annalyn from daycare on Wednesday, we stopped at Sonic and got a Butterfinger Blast for Mark and an Oreo Blast for us.

Just like her daddy, that little girl loves her ice cream! She ate at least ¼ of my ice cream – and then wanted to share with Mark, too!

[Side note: As we shared the treat, using the same spoon because why wouldn’t we, I thought, “Good thing she’s not sick or anything.” Yeah. Guess which TWO members of our family woke up with a cough and scratchy throat yesterday?]

I’m still trying to get back on the Weight Watchers wagon, so yesterday morning, I looked up the points in a Blast. And then I wondered: Which is worse for you, a Blast or a Blizzard?

Just in case you’ve wondered, too (and in case you have the good fortune to live near both a Dairy Queen and Sonic), here’s the lowdown:

Dairy Queen Blizzard
Size: 10 oz.
Calories: 550
Fat: 20
Fiber: 1
Points: 12

Sonic Blast
Size: 12.8 oz.
Calories: 548
Fat: 20.8
Fiber: .7
Points: 12

The verdict? Go with the Blast. It’s still 12 points, but you get more ice cream!

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This post is part of the Losing It Challenge. How did you do this week?


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Losing It - Week 8

All day yesterday, I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. Or at least a Chrysler Pacifica. But no, I’d just spent the previous day driving said Pacifica.

I told Mark, “I feel like I worked out really instead of just sitting on my butt!” Too bad I’m sore from driving nine hours, not running nine miles. Or something.

[Don’t get worked up. I’ll tell you all about the driving and the nine hours and the whole reason I did it all . . . next week.]

I never would have thought that sitting perfectly still – aside from some very enthusiastic jamming to the sporadic radio stations and my favorite CDs – would make my stupid, weak muscles hurt. And all that random aching has made me think about the many different ways I’ve hurt those same, weak muscles.

• Crunches, leg lifts and lunges in my bedroom every night in high school.
• Running sprints and separators at early-morning basketball practice.
• Learning how to lift weights with my friend Jeremie and then with my boyfriend.
• Frequenting the student rec center that sat next to my dorm.
• Joining Curves. Quitting Curves. Joining Curves again.
• Walking with my friend Katy – at that rec center, of course – weeks before my wedding.
• Taking aerobics for an “easy” credit. Ahem.
• Kickboxing.
• Walking.
• Tae-Bo.
• Walk Away the Pounds.
• More walking.
• Water aerobics.

I’m sure there’s more. But I can’t remember now. So, tell me: What’s your favorite way to exercise? What’s the hardest thing you’ve done to burn calories? (Mine would definitely be the kickboxing class. It was super hard and super early in the morning!)

This post is part of the Losing It Challenge. If I’m one thing, it’s consistent: still not losing weight, but still not giving up. How about you?


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Losing It – Week 7

The last two weeks I’ve missed my weigh-in at Weight Watchers, thanks to my trip to Nashville and a daycare Easter egg hunt. And I realized yesterday that, because of that, I have no idea what kind of progress – if any – I’ve made. I have no idea if what I’m doing is good, bad or somewhere in between.

See, that’s the thing about a regular weigh-in. It tells me how I’m doing – if what I’m doing is enough or if I need to do more. Without that check, I have no idea if I’m losing weight or getting healthier – or not.

I am a Weight Watchers flunky. I’ve joined – and quit without reaching goal – at least half a dozen times. [That’s just a nice way to say SIX or MORE times!] But the ONE time I DID lose weight? It was thanks to Weight Watchers . . . and an awesome meetings leader and supportive co-workers.

A picture of me after losing 25 lbs, thanks to Weight Watchers, five years ago.
I found my collarbones again - and a clown, apparently.

For me, Weight Watchers is a program – and lifestyle – that works. As we say at my company, “If you work the program, the program works for you.” And as cheesy as that sounds (and believe you me, I know it does), it’s true.

Weight Watchers encourages eating what they call Core Foods – lean meats, plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole wheat grains and low-fat or fat-free dairy. It also suggests healthy behaviors like regular exercise and drinking plenty of water. [There are more, but I can’t remember them. I said I was a flunky!]

And then there are the points, of course. As the list-maker you know I am, I kind of love that. Less in reality of everyday reporting and counting than in theory, of course. But still, it’s good to keep track of what I’m eating. Really, it’s the only thing that works for me.

Oh, wait, I said it was the weighing in. Or is it the tracking points? Or is it the regular meetings with inspirational and understanding leaders? Or the fact that they let me rejoin time and time again, never judging, never questioning? Really, I could go on and on. But what I’m trying to tell you is this: Weight Watchers works for me.

[Even better than ranting about the similarities of my life with Kirstie Alley’s, believe it or not.]

Those of you participating in the Losing It Challenge have been sharing all about your weight loss challenges and struggles and successes and wins. I, on the other hand, have mostly told you about how I drink a lot of water and have an inability to lose weight. So I thought I’d focus on something a little more positive this week!

And, oh yeah, I’m going to weigh in later today, too.

If you need more info about Losing It, read this post. And link up your posts. And comment with something fun! (No giveaway today, but remember, you have until tonight to enter the other three giveaways.)



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Look Who's Talking - about not losing weight.

I feel like I’m the Kirstie Alley of blogging.

No, I don’t mean that I’m starring in movies where babies talk and it’s somehow cute not creepy (at least in the first one). I mean that I keep saying – loudly and in public – that I’m going to lose weight, only to, well, not lose weight.

From the grand goals and empty promises to the ridiculing myself (For instance, “Am I a good cook? Uh, yeah, obviously. I’m a great cook!” That may or may not have been heard on The Marriage Ref. Probably not. Because of course I wouldn’t watch that kind of dreck on TV. Nope.), I’m following Kirstie’s path.

[Please note that I refrained from saying that I’m following Kirstie’s alley. Because I could have. But I didn’t.]

I don’t mean the path that took her from one of the longest-running and most-loved TV shows to blockbuster (I think, but I’m not looking it up) movies to outlandish reality shows.

Nope. Just the one where I think admitting my weight issues will make me face them and deal with them, only to flop on my face.

*sigh*

I know. You don’t need to tell me to be nice to myself, to give myself a break, to cut myself some slack, not to be so hard on myself. As you may have guessed, I’ve heard it before. And I know it.

But honestly? Going easy on myself – in this department – is what’s gotten me to this place in the first place. And it’s what has kept me here, too.

I keep wondering – WHAT is going to be the last straw? WHAT will make a difference? Keeping my issues to myself didn’t do it, but neither has confessing them publicly. Beating myself up hasn’t worked, but giving myself a break hasn’t worked, either. So what will?

One time when Smitty and I were in high school, we were walking at the park and passed an older lady. [She was probably my exact age now, that’s just how OLDER she was.] I don’t remember what she was wearing, but whatever her attire was, it showed some unfortunate rolls. And Smitty and I swore to each other that no matter what, we would NEVER have back fat.

Um, yeah.

I also swore I’d never shop at Lane Bryant or wear a size that starts with a 2 or be as big as her (whoever “her” was that day). And yet . . .

I’m not writing all this to get sympathy or pats on the back or anything like that.

(Side note: Annalyn has really gotten into “patting” lately, like patting someone’s arm or asking me to pat her back when I put her to bed. Unfortunately, we’re also dealing with some hitting issues, and I’ve discovered that it can be difficult to draw the line between nice, yet firm, patting and outright hitting. Anyway. Back to my rant.)

Nope, I just wanted to be honest with you all and let you know how I’m feeling. AND to ask those of you who ARE losing weight during our Losing It challenge: What has made the difference to you?

Please don’t tell me, “You just have to be ready. You’ll do it when you’re ready.” Because a) That is not encouraging. (Hello? Ready! I’m ready now!) and b) I truly want to know what’s made the difference in your lives.

And as for the next week of Losing It, I’m going to try and implement some of the goals I made last week: eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking even more water, and getting my exercise ball out of the garage and into the house!

P.S. This morning's Losing It post is the one where you can link up and I remind you of the rules.

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Losing It - Easter Week

I'll write about my week later today, but wanted to get the linky up for you! So link on up and tell us how you did this week!

What is Losing It? Well, Jessie from Vanderbilt Wife, Ashleigh from Heart & Home and I are talking about weight loss journeys.

Link up to Lose It (#LosingIt10 on Twitter, by the way) by writing about your own journey, linking to this site in your post, and sharing a link to your blog post in our weekly carnival. The bloggers who have linked up at least six out of the 10 weeks will be eligible for our prize package of a six-month subscription to The Six O'Clock Scramble (a meal planning service), a Weight Watchers pedometer and a gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods.

The winner will be the person who loses the largest percentage of his or her body weight during the 10 weeks.



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Losing It - including my sanity!

 {How cute is this card? Thank you, Jessie!}

Update: After reading your posts, I have come up with four new goals. First, I'm bringing my exercise ball back into the house and will use it this week. Second, I will work hard to avoid emotional eating (this is huge for me). Third, I will aim for a gallon of water a day. And fourth, um, shoot. I don't remember.

So - if I commented on your blog about a goal, would you remind me? Thanks. You guys are great. And, yeah, next week I'll take notes as I read your (obvioiusly) inspiring posts!!

Guys, I have a confession: I have no idea what week we are in. Can someone tell me? Please?

You may not know this about me, but sometimes I'm just not good with the numbers. Or I've lost more sanity than pounds. I don't know.

I'm not weighing in today, but not because I'm afraid of the scale (for once!). More about what I am doing today later. What I can tell you now is that I've written down all my food and counted my points this week. That might seem like a small thing, but it's HUGE for me.

The trick will be keeping it up this weekend, because it's going to be a hectic one.

How do you stay on track when you get busy?

Wonder what I'm talking about here? Each week for the next few weeks, Jessie from Vanderbilt Wife, Ashleigh from Heart & Home and I will be sharing a peek (or in the case of this wordy ramble, an oversized bay window) into our weight loss journeys.

If you’d like to take the challenge to Lose It (#LosingIt10 on Twitter, by the way), write about your own journey, link to this site in your post, and share a link to your blog post in our weekly carnival. The bloggers who link up at least six out of the 10 weeks will be eligible for our prize package of a six-month subscription to The Six O'Clock Scramble (a meal planning service), a Weight Watchers pedometer and a gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods.

The winner will be the person who loses the largest percentage of his or her body weight during the 10 weeks.

I can't wait to read about how your week has gone! (Although, I'll warn you: I will have to wait. Because of the previously mentioned hectic weekend. You know.)



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Beauty and Losing It – Week 4

This was me in 1990. Since then I’ve lost those hideous glasses, straightened and whitened my teeth (good heavens, how could a 5th grader have such horrible yellow teeth?), gained a few million pounds and gotten a somewhat better haircut.

Oh yeah, and my mom finally allowed me to wear makeup. (And shave my legs, but let’s be honest: I’m not nearly as excited about that as I was back then.)

But in my heart? I’m still that ugly duckling . . . and I’ll never be a swan.

I know, I know. That’s a ridiculous thought. Not because I’m some supermodel, though my mom insists on calling me Beautiful Baby Girl and my husband is smart enough to say I’m pretty.

No, it’s ridiculous because I Was Created In God’s Image. And we’re all beautiful, each and every one of us. I know. I KNOW.

But do I really believe that?

Well, no. Not really. I mean, I believe it about you. Sure. But me? No. I’m a nearsighted, yellow-toothed chubby dork. No matter what I see in the mirror, a small part of me still feels like that 11-year-old girl.

I’m not asking for sympathy or fishing for compliments. SERIOUSLY. I’m just admitting to one more bit of my CRAZY. My friend Sarah has had guest posters talk about beauty all week and asked us to do the same.

So there you have it. My kind of late night, definitely stream of consciousness thoughts on beauty – or lack of.

Now don’t go planning an intervention for me. I’m not dwelling on this craziness, I promise. But it’s there. Do you have a definition of beauty – or lack of – in a dark corner of your heart?

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On a related note, I guess it’s time to talk Losing It 10, huh?

This week I went walking one night with my friend Brittany (and Annalyn who was so excited to see her friend “Bernie” and actually cooperated when I put her in her stroller). And I’m drinking lots of water. (Yes, I will mention that every week. Sometimes it’s all I’ve got, okay?!) And even though I have not written down all my food and points, I have figured the points on most my food. So there’s that.

I am committing to writing down everything I eat this next week. I did it the first two weeks and lost weight. It’s really the only way I can keep myself on track.

How did you do this last week? And what’s your goal for next week?

Each week for the next 7 weeks, Jessie from Vanderbilt Wife, Ashleigh from Heart & Home and I will be sharing a peek (or in the case of this wordy ramble, an oversized bay window) into our weight loss journeys.

If you’d like to take the challenge to Lose It (#LosingIt10 on Twitter, by the way), write about your own journey, link to this site in your post, and share a link to your blog post in our weekly carnival. The bloggers who link up at least six out of the 10 weeks will be eligible for our prize package of a six-month subscription to The Six O'Clock Scramble (a meal planning service), a Weight Watchers pedometer and a gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods.

The winner will be the person who loses the largest percentage of his or her body weight during the 10 weeks.

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Losing It - Week 3

Today is the end of our third week of Losing It: Not Just Our Sanity. Each week for the next 8 weeks, Jessie from Vanderbilt Wife, Ashleigh from Heart & Home and I will be sharing a peek (or in the case of this wordy ramble, an oversized bay window) into our weight loss journeys.

If you’d like to take the challenge to Lose It (#LosingIt10 on Twitter, by the way), write about your own journey, link to this site in your post, and share a link to your blog post in our weekly carnival. The bloggers who link up at least six out of the 10 weeks will be eligible for our prize package of a six-month subscription to The Six O'Clock Scramble (a meal planning service), a Weight Watchers pedometer and a gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods.

The winner will be the person who loses the largest percentage of his or her body weight during the 10 weeks.

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This week wasn’t quite as good as last week, and I had one particularly, spectacularly terrible night. Annalyn and I went to the store after I picked her up from daycare, and she was A Bear.

According to my darling child, I went to the wrong grocery store. Yes, my 2-year-old daughter knows the difference between our various grocery stores, and yes, she has her favorites.

And I had the nerve to go to the wrong one.

It was all downhill from there. Let me just say, there was screaming and crying and throwing herself over the side of the cart in loud desperation. Not throwing herself OUT of the cart. Just over it, like she was passed out. But she wasn’t. She was just protesting the injustice of my terrible parenting skills and grocery store choices.

I cracked. I bought a frozen pizza. And a box of chocolate Pop Tarts. And a bottle of Coke.

I know. I KNOW!

Then, because I have a feeling you might understand just exactly how frustrating this was, I couldn’t get the Coke open.

I tried. And tried. AND TRIED. But I could not, for the life of me, get that 20 oz. open.

Despite that sad situation, I still ate more food than any one person should in one sitting. And I felt TERRIBLE. Oh, my stomach hurt so bad! I even felt sick the next morning. As I should. I totally deserved that stomach ache!

What I’m not sure I deserve is a weight loss when I go to my Weight Watchers meeting today. I did okay, but not great. And obviously had this crazy night of gluttony that was not exactly “on plan.”

So, we’ll see. I have still been drinking my water, and I have still not been exercising. But I did talk to my friend Brittany about walking next week, so I’m hoping that helps.

Oh, also – I tried Thomas’ Bagel Thins. They are tasty and only one point. But they are THIN. Yeah, I know, that might seem obvious from the names. Bagel THINS. I’m just saying that they’re so thin I wanted to eat two. And, maybe I did.

So, that’s me – the kind of good, the bad and the Pop Tart Ugly. How was your week?

UPDATE: I gained a pound back. The moral of this story? Don't buy the Pop Tarts!! (Or don't take your 2-year-old to the grocery store . . . as if I can avoid THAT!)

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Losing It - Week 2

So, here we are. The end of our second week of Losing It: Not Just Our Sanity. Each week for the next 9 weeks, Jessie from Vanderbilt Wife, Ashleigh from Heart & Home and I will be sharing a peek (or in the case of this wordy ramble, an oversized bay window) into our weight loss journeys.

If you’d like to take the challenge to Lose It (#LosingIt10 on Twitter, by the way), write about your own journey, link to this site in your post, and share a link to your blog post in our weekly carnival. The bloggers who link up at least six out of the 10 weeks will be eligible for our prize package of a six-month subscription to The Six O'Clock Scramble (a meal planning service), a Weight Watchers pedometer and a gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods.

The winner will be the person who loses the largest percentage of his or her body weight during the 10 weeks.

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This week I was on my weight loss game. Mostly. Kind of. Okay, let’s just compare my week to my goals (and then, yes, I want you to compare YOUR week to YOUR goals. It’s only fair.).

• Drink 10-12 cups of water a day. I’m all over this one. If I have one good habit, it’s drinking water. Of course, it means I spend half my day walking back and forth to the bathroom. But I think it’s worth it to be able to say things like, “I’m all over this one.”
• Stick to my weekly allowance of points (Weight Watchers). As my daughter has taken to saying, “Welllll . . .” I haven’t stayed within my points. But I did write down my food and count all my points almost every day. So there’s that.
• Exercise three times a week. I did a Walk Away the Pounds video on Monday after work. Annalyn alternated between marching along with me and saying, “No, Mommy! Not dance!” I know I need to exercise to complete my healthy transformation. But I can admit that I’m going to have to work up to the multiple times a week thing.
• Lose 20 pounds during our competition. I’ll let you know after my weigh-in today!

Edited to add: I lost 1.2% this week! Woo-hoo!

All right, that’s how I did. Now tell me how you did!

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“She’ll lose her baby fat when she starts walking.”

Welcome to the first official week of Losing It: Not Just Our Sanity. Each week for the next 10 weeks, Jessie from Vanderbilt Wife, Ashleigh from Heart & Home and I will be sharing a peek (or in the case of this wordy ramble, an oversized bay window) into our weight loss journeys.

If you’d like to take the challenge to Lose It (#LosingIt10 on Twitter, by the way), write about your own journey, link to this site in your post, and share a link to your blog post in our weekly carnival. The bloggers who link up at least six out of the 10 weeks will be eligible for our prize package of a six-month subscription to The Six O'Clock Scramble (a meal planning service), a Weight Watchers pedometer and a gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods.

The winner will be the person who loses the largest percentage of his or her body weight during the 10 weeks.

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Apparently I was a chubby child. I say “apparently,” because for my entire life my family has teased me, from reminders of my grandma’s promise (see above title) to my parents thinking the trash bag commercial slogan was a perfect fit for my brother and me.

I’m talking about “Hefty, Hefty, Hefty! Wimpy, Wimpy, Wimpy!” I’ll let you guess which one was me, and no, they did not mean that I was strong.

And then there’s the Sears girls size: husky. Husky? Are you kidding me? Was there not a single compassionate woman on that panel?

Oh, my. The memories, they are so warm and fuzzy. Kind of like my gigantic, stretched out and faded yoga pants.

Honestly, my family isn’t nearly as mean as those overly sensitive adolescent stories may indicate. But still, I don’t remember ever not thinking I was fat.

I remember my mom telling me I had nice legs and thinking she was crazy.I remember towering over my tiny friend, Nichole, in a three-legged race and wondering if I’d crush her if we fell.I remember doing hundreds of crunches and lunges in my bedroom after I was supposed to go to bed.And I remember not being able to shop the popular mall store, 5-7-9, because I did not, in fact, wear a size 5, 7 or 9.

I remember being fat.

The funny thing is – and I suspect I’m not alone in this – that when I look back at pictures of myself, all I can do is cringe. Because really? That was “fat”?

Oh, to be “fat” again.

It appears that at some point, I actually did lose my baby fat. Unfortunately, even without the chubbiness of my early years, the curves were still there. Meanwhile, my friends – and, of course, the popular girls I so envied – were stick thin.

I was curvy before curvy was cool.

And so the self-image issues continued. Not that things like basketball uniforms helped. (Please, God, don’t ever make me put on a pair of those ridiculously tight shorts again.) But I wish I could have seen myself for what I really was. And I wish I would have learned then how to care for this body, curves and all.

But I didn’t.

So when I started dating Mark and eating out at restaurants, things like “portion control” and “salads with the dressing on the side” didn’t even cross my mind. And when I went to college and experienced the all-you-can-eat buffet? It didn’t occur to me not to eat scrambled eggs and hashbrowns every morning for breakfast.

Even when my clothes stopped fitting and I gained the Freshman 15 30, I didn’t change my eating habits. After all, who can resist sharing a bag of tortilla chips and jar of Tostitos cheese dip with her roommate? In one sitting? At midnight?

I did lose a bit of weight before my wedding, but it didn’t last. That weight returned so fast that I still have lingerie in my closet with the tags on it. Because it didn’t fit. And yes, I realize it’s silly to keep it in my closet for 10 years. Don’t start with me.

In the decade since I got married, I have gained 80 pounds. And just so you know, saying that out loud makes me want to climb in bed, hide under the covers and never come out again.

Except to eat. Because that always makes me feel better. [Insert sarcastic font here.]

In 2002 – yes, eight years ago – I joined Weight Watchers. I have been a member six times since then.

Thanks to Weight Watchers and countless magazine articles and infomercials, I’m not nearly as ignorant naïve as I was in high school and college. I KNOW how to make good food choices. I KNOW I need to exercise regularly. I KNOW what’s healthy and what’s not. I KNOW.

It’s just a matter of DOING IT. And that is something I have failed at, big time, every time.

Not this time, though. As we kick off Losing It, I’m saying, “Yes, Grandma, I will lose my baby fat!” I will lose it when I start walking. And kickboxing. And dancing. And eating vegetables. And measuring portions. And counting points.

I will lose it.

How are you going to lose it?

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I’ll edit this later today with my percentage weight loss. I weigh in at my weekly Weight Watchers meeting over lunch, and I’m going by their scale. (Because you cannot tell me my doctor’s scale was right on Wednesday. I refuse to believe it.)

UPDATE: I did not lose. And no, I don't want to talk about it. But next week WILL be better!

How did you do? Link up below – and remember, use the permalink to your post, not the link to your blog.



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