Weight Loss

Saturday, June 20, 2009
I'm not much for trendy diets - I fully understand that the proper prescription for losing weight is "eat less, move more." Simple. Elegant. Effective. But not easy. I don't really like fruits and vegetables much, and I'm a big fan of ice cream and the salty-crunchy.

So today I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting to help me drop the extra 60 pounds I'm carrying around. This is the heaviest I've ever been (not including being pregnant with the Smart Twins, I mean), and my physical and mental health require that I do something about it. I'm giving myself a year to lose the weight, in order to allow myself a level of flexibility in achieving the goal.

I'm the kind of person who likes structure. I like having a schedule and a plan. Spontaneity sometimes makes me anxious, and I do better in achieving my goals if I can analyze and execute on a structured plan of action with achievable goals. I think Weight Watchers will give me the structure I need. I had some success with their on-line program before, but I think actually going to meetings will provide a level of accountability that the on-line program lacked.

I liked the first meeting, and the members all seemed friendly and supportive. This time next year, I hope to be a svelte Hot Chick, rather than a Rubenesque one.

Go, me.

11 comments:

Jeri said...

Yeah, Janiece! Although I'd submit that you're a hot chick now and you'll be a hot chick then because that's a MENTAL and EMOTIONAL thing, not a function of your waistline.

I am the opposite of you - structured dieting triggers all sorts of OCD and compulsive eating triggers. I do best just focusing on making more healthy choices than unhealthy, and being extremely consistent about exercise.

I've actually lost a lot of weight in the past six months but can't take any credit for discipline or motivation until the last month or so. At first it was my new AD medication - and then grief and neglect like not eating and sleeping.

What I did do was try to make healthy choices about avoiding sugar and junk, and eating fruit and vegetables, when I did eat.

The exercise has been more of a mental health and energy level and tire-me-out-enough-to-sleep release than a conscious decision for healthy weight loss. I get a little compulsive about exercise.. but it's a healthy compulsion as long as I don't overdo.


So, I wish you well with your journey and hope that WW works well for you! Keep us posted.

Random Michelle K said...

Good luck!

For healthy loss, you should aim for about a pound a week, recognizing that at some point you're going to hit a plateau you'll have to work through.

Weight Watchers is good because it teaches life style changes instead of giving you a fad diet. But really, it all comes down to the willingness to eat fruits, nuts, and veggies instead of junk.

As Michael Pollan says, "eat food, not too much, mostly plants".

Don't diet. You want to try and permanently change the way you think about food.

You read the Omnivore's Dilemma, yes? I also recommend Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, most anything by Andrew Weil, and Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, which I'm eating right now.

What worked for me to cut out fast food was to consider the ethics of it. How were the animals involved treated? How are the workers treated? If it's really inexpensive, what quality ingredients am I getting and how were those who made the product treated?

I get what I pay for, and I'd rather pay for well treated animals and workers, even if it costs me more. Not for everyone, but it's helped me change some (not all) of my eating habits.

But again, good luck!

Janiece said...

Jeri, I know I'm Hot no matter how much I weigh. I just want to be a svelte Hot Chick - right now I'm a Rubenesque Hot Chick.

Michelle, I just finished "In Defense of Food" this morning.

Like I said, I know what needs to be done. It's execution that kills me.

kimby said...

YAY!
I hope the WW thing works out for you. I did it 25 years ago and it did not work for me, but I was young and stupid and didn't like to be told what i could and couldn't eat.

Curves worked well for me when I went a few years back, and had lost 35 lbs...although sadly, since I stopped going it had all returned :(

Giving yourself a year is a great time frame, and a sensible one too!

And Jeri is right, you ARE a Hot Chick now and forever will be!

Steve Buchheit said...

There's nothing wrong with Rubenesque. After all, it worked for the Pre-Raphaelite and Marilyn Monroe.

The Mechanicky Gal said...

Thanks for re-joining, I was ALMOST going to stop going to my WW meetings. I have gained about 6 - 7 (maybe more like 8 - 9) ellbees since meeting my goal. I was going to shrug and just say "I am at my set-point", but I will re-double my efforts to eat smartly. Sometimes I am just STARVING TO DEATH. Mechanicky Guy is a good cook, but that doesn't mean I have to EAT IT ALL IN ONE SITTING.
I am going to take myself out back and do a re-calibration on myself....

Janiece said...

Amy and Janiece portion control: "We only eat the donuts with holes we can see through."

Um, yeah. Weight Watchers is a good idea for us...

The Mechanicky Gal said...

Treasure the pictures of the last Feast because they will be a thing of the past!

GoldenMesa said...

I was going to note the Michael Pollan book too. Also, I hae a friend who is a WW coach -- seems to be a really good program (she started being a coach after it worked well for her -- it's sensible)

Janiece said...

Welcome, GoldenMesa.

I'm hoping the sensible approach works as a long term solution for me - I'm getting a bit tired of my weight going up and down like a yo-yo. Especially in terms of buying clothes.

Anne C. said...

My mum used the WW program with great (and continued) success. She pointed out that the quality of the coach was really important for her.

I'm like Jeri - I don't like people telling me what to do - so being conscious of my behavior is what works for me.

I'm there all the way for you, hon!