I've Lost My Son - In Weight...

Month three on Weight Watchers posed some challenges. In fact, one week I decided that I needed a break from the non-stop tracking. I didn't go crazy eating though, I just didn't track for that week but went with a mental sense of what I should and shouldn't eat - and isn't that the point of a lifestyle change like this? That week I lost about 1 pound, but I felt any loss was a win.

Weight watchers is work, but I'm finding that the work is worth the rewards. I feel like I want to randomly break out in dance (so if you see some crazy lady dancing in the aisles of Target it's probably me), and get down on the floor with my kids - I feel lighter on my feet (because I am) and I'm really feeling my body and the power in my body. I'm also noticing changes in the mirror and in my clothes.

This month I worked out a lot. I would drop my daughter off at pre-school and hit the YMCA. There was a great booty-shakin hip-hop dance class on Mondays, a knock me down and out intervals class on Tuesday, and a high energy Zumba class on Wednesday that I rotated through. I pretty much rested or took walks the rest of the days. I was feeling the work outs from head to toe. I also worked out at home on my dance pole which has helped me improve my upper body strength. I even 'taught' an intro to pole dance class for some friends in my home - which was a lot of fun, but even more laughs. I was excited I was able to do some core strength moves I hadn't been able to do before. 

I felt really frustrated for portions of this month because the weight was coming off SO SLOWLY - or at least it felt that way for all the extra work I was putting in at the gym. 

Ultimately in my last month I lost an additional eight pounds for a total of 30 lbs in three months. I did it. Not only did I lose the baby #2 weight, but I lost the amount of weight my son  weighs! I let that sink in and have felt very accomplished. However, there is MUCH work to still be done and more weight to be lost. Each day is a process - and some days feel like a battle. I'm glad I have my arsenal of helpful Weight Watchers tools, facebook support groups and my wonderful family to support me in my goals.

Here is my before and after three months picture. Not a huge difference, but I'm noticing a change and that's the most important part for me.

Now I have to pay out of pocket for weight watchers and I'm all signed up and ready to go. I'm paying a total of $65 for the first 3 months of online only access, which in my opinion is a bargain!

I'm planning to continue to blog about my weight loss experience, because it's a great way to keep me accountable. I also want to show that I'm no one special - and that anyone can work toward their weight loss goals with the right helpful tools. 

Weight Watchers Disclosure: People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

MomAboutCharlotte.com Disclosure: I have received a free 3-month pass to experience Weight Watchers online. I am not being paid to use or endorse Weight Watchers and thoughts are my own.

Read More

Losing Weight is a Piece.... No... a Small Slice, of Cake

I've just finished my 8th week with Weight Watchers Online!

Week 5
This was my first week with a gain.  It was after a girls weekend away with far too many points spent on alcohol, jell-o shots and flannel pajamas coffee. Yes, we were moms gone wild. I tried dancing as many points away as possible - luckily the gain was only 1 pound, but it was still disheartening to see it on the scale. I did work hard to keep the food under control and made sure I ordered mostly salads at dinner. This week I realized how many calories are in salad dressings and ended up bringing my own low point dressing with me. I'm also learning that with me it's all about location, location, location! So I'm repositioning my fruits and veggies in an easy to see, easy to grab and eat location in my fridge.

Week 6
We experienced a family tragedy this week which I still don't have words to describe my sorrow over. I did my best to keep within points but found my heart broken - which I would typically medicate with food for, but I didn't find myself doing that this time even though I was simply heart broken. This week I was down 4.8 lbs and I've met my 5% goal and had to re-determine my next weight loss goal.

Week 7
It was my sweet daughter's 5th birthday this week. My non-scale victory was that I only ate 1 slice of her birthday cake even though the extra cake was calling me from the fridge for 5 days after the celebration was over. I tracked religiously and did some mall walking. I keep re-committing to  getting active and getting my heart rate up, but I didn't make it to the gym this week. I'm able to start predicting the WW points that a food is going to be. Now that fall is approaching us the fruit options are starting to dwindle, but I'm making sure I'm keeping fresh veggies and tasty fruit always available. This week I'm down 2.4 pounds.

Here is an excerpt from my typical food day:

Breakfast
Greek key lime yogurt - 4 p
Coffee with 1/4 c of sugar free pumpkin free creamer - 2 p
Banana - 0 p

Lunch
Tuna fish 1 serving - 4 p
1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese - 2 p
3 pickles - 0 p
Lettuce to wrap it in - 0 p
Hellman's Mayo low fat 1 tbsp - 1 p

Dinner
Chicken cooked with spices 5 oz - 5 pp
Baked potato - 4 p
low fat sour cream 1 tbsp - 1p
green beans steamed 1.5 cups - 0 p

Dessert
Skinny cow ice cream sandwich 4 pp

Week 8
I'm making sure I keep fruit at the ready for when I'm hungry. This is majorly important to my success - having healthy food on hand so I don't make high point choices. This week I ate at Sonic. Holy goodness the points were high for that meal, but the thing I love about WW is that there is nothing off limits - AND I DIDN'T FEEL GUILTY LIKE I CHEATED ON MY DIET! I just have to accommodate the splurge with my points and eating and working out for the rest of the week to get the results I want to see on the scale. I also made it to the gym twice and got 12 activity points which I didn't even eat. This week I lost 1.2 pounds.

My total weight loss for 8 weeks is 22 pounds. I feel like it's slow and steady, which I'm ok with. My scrubs for work are starting to feel a little loose on me and slowly I'm starting to fit into clothes I haven't been able to wear in a while. I keep telling myself - this is a marathon not a sprint. If I don't see the results I'd like to see I always have next week to tweak it as I see fit.

I'm so lucky to have the love and support of my wonderful husband Jim. I'm a member of a Weight Watchers support group on Facebook, and I'm saddened by how many women are harassed by their partners over their weight and the torment they deal with from the lack of support and negative words. I'm counting my blessings he's in my corner and I'm counting the pounds away as I work toward my goal.

Weight Watchers Disclosure: People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

MomAboutCharlotte.com Disclosure: I have received a free 3-month pass to experience Weight Watchers online. I am not being paid to use or endorse Weight Watchers and thoughts are my own.

Read More

Saying 'Goodbye' To My Deepest Darkest Secret - With The Help Of Weight Watchers

I’m not a dieter – I’ve never liked diets. I’ve always believed that dieting meant major limiting and deprivation – and I’m a more the merrier kind of gal. As a result I’ve always shopped in the plus sized department typically rocking a 14/16 – and while I certainly didn’t have my ideal body I was comfortable in my own skin, had plenty of dates, a great job, played sports and I didn’t feel limited by my dress size.

Fast forward to baby number 1, I went up a dress size. Fast forward to baby number 2, I still hadn’t lost the weight from baby number 1 and I was up another dress size. Sigh.

Now I’m going to share my deepest darkest secret…. My son is 14 months old and I’m still wearing my maternity pants. If I’m not wearing maternity pants I’m wearing loose fitting yoga pants. I hate getting dressed every morning. None of my cute outfits fit anymore. I don’t really recognize myself in pictures. I don’t feel like my usually confident sexy self. I’m not me.

The problem is – I LOVE to eat.

Sadly, this LOVE has left me feeling ick about my body and it’s just making me unhealthy. I’m feeling limited, uncomfortable, tired all the time and desperately in need of a change – but I didn’t know where to start, after all – I’m not a dieter.

Then fate intervened, I was offered an opportunity to try Weight Watchers Online for 3 months and write about my experience on my blog MomAboutCharlotte.com and Katie’s blog MomFavorites.com. I felt very hopeful, but nervous that I’d fail. Ultimately I told myself that I had nothing to lose – but the weight.

My goal is simple – to feel good in my skin again and to feel healthy. I’ve also made a goal to run a road race or obstacle course for my 35th birthday in March 2014. I had to sit on the sidelines as my husband did the Ridiculous Obstacle Course last month, and this year I will become a participant instead of an out-of-shape onlooker. First things first – I’m going to get out of these maternity pants. Here is my story.



Week 1
I’ve downloaded the Weight Watchers app and Weight Watchers scanner. It all seems pretty intuitive. Each food has a point number (2 points for an egg, 4 points for a yogurt, 0 points for fruit and vegetables etc.). I’m given 43 points each day, and that number will decrease as I lose weight. I’m spending lots of time in my pantry scanning food items to get a sense of each food’s point value.
I have spent $40 on fruits and veggies at the farmers market and I’m ready to get started. As the week progresses I’m amazed by how much I’m not shoving into my mouth because I have to account for it. I’m not eating an extra piece of cheese as I’m making lunch for the kids, and I’m not stopping for an ice cream just ‘because it’s summer’. I’m also realizing how few fruits and veggies I was eating, because now I’m eating them non-stop. I forgot how much I actually enjoy them.I purchased a food scale and I have measuring spoons and cups at the ready. I honestly had no idea  what 3 ounces of chicken looked like. Now I know.



This week my husband wanted to go out for BBQ, and it’s the first real challenge about living life on a diet – will I be able to eat out? The answer was unequivocally – YES! I was even able to get a pulled pork sandwich for dinner. Instead of eating 2 biscuits I didn’t eat any. I had my pulled pork sandwich and 1/2 of the portion of mashed potatoes. I was able to find the point value for the menu items because Weight Watchers has hundreds of restaurant menus listed on their app. I didn’t even have to break into my weeklies. I’m starting to think I can really do this.

The hardest part? I’m going through a mental depression about all the foods I can’t eat on a whim. Not because I’m hungry, but because I’m mentally hungry. This is the biggest hurdle – my mental addiction to foods and the wave of satisfaction that pours over me after I’ve had exactly what I’ve wanted to eat. I step on the scale – week 1 weight loss is 6 pounds! This is giving me hope.

Week 2
I’m looking up recipes on Pinterest for Weight Watchers friendly dinners and also using the Weight Watchers app to search for recipes. I’m really loving this app. I’m finding myself doing more meal planning in advance.

 I always make sure I have 2 pieces of fruit with me when I leave the house, or a bag of baby carrots. This way I won’t be tempted to make high point choices if I get hungry – and since veggies and fruits are 0 points I feel like I’m ‘getting away’ with something!

We have a date night this week that I’ve had planned for a while, and we’re going to my favorite restaurant. I’ve hoarded my daily and weekly points for this night and I’ve researched the menu to see what I will be able to order. I am even going to get a martini.

I spent another $40 on produce this week, and am trying veggies I’ve never tried before like okra.



The hardest thing? Trying a new creamer for my coffee because I don’t want to waste 3 points on the full fat kind! Luckily it’s fall and there is some fat free pumpkin creamer that has a low point value and tastes good.

I’ve ordered new sneakers because I want to start exercising as well to help with my energy level and weight loss goals. My first goal was set by the Weight Watchers app, and that is to lose 10% of my body weight. It seems feasible.

This week (according to the new scale) I’ve lost 1 pound. It’s not as much as I was hoping but it could be because of the new scale. Either way, a loss is a loss.

Week 3
This is starting to feel easier and more like simply eating and living my life versus dieting. I’ve also decided that I’m not going to eat anything after 7 PM if I can help it. I’m saying no to foods that people offer me. This week I’ve said no to french fries and birthday cake. This is big – birthday cake is my favorite. But I don’t feel sad about it because I know I’m going to see the results on the scale. I also have purchased some low point chocolate treats so I can get my chocolate fix when I want to.



The portion control is starting to work for me, now that I’m measuring food I know what a ‘serving’ is. I’m also not feeling hungry, and what I really love is that there is ALWAYS something I can eat for 0 points – any veggie and any fruit.

We had a moms night out and I had to bring an appetizer to share. I opted for fresh made salsa which was 0 points and baked Tostitos Tortilla Chips, 14 chips for 3 points. I ate the heck out of that salsa and loved every bite of it.

I’ve made it to a work out class and I’m feeling the pain of how out of shape I am!

I’ve made another trip to the farmers market and purchased an eggplant and made a low point egg plant parmigiana that was delicious and a hit with the hubby and the kids. We’re eating a lot of veggie full meals.

This week I have lost 4.4 pounds. Yeay!

The hardest thing? I’ve lost almost 12 pounds so far but I’m not really able to feel it in my clothes quite yet. Maternity pants allow too much sin to be unaccounted for, and they will be donated to Goodwill as soon as I’m able to comfortably fit into non-maternity pants.

Week 4
I’ve joined a Weight Watchers Facebook page and it helps to hear other people’s stories. I like to know that I’m not alone – and it’s a great place to turn to for support or suggestions. Weight Watchers also offers support forums through their website.

This week I find myself moving more, and feeling a little lighter on my feet. I’ve also been taking the kids out for short walks whenever I can. I’m not getting my heart rate up too much, but any moving is a step in the right direction. I was chasing my daughter around the couch as we played duck duck goose and I felt more able to move and get down on the ground.

I’m able to wear some of my largest-sized non-maternity non-yoga pants. They’re still not 100% comfortable but at least I’m able to fit in them and wear them. This is progress.

The hardest thing? All things pumpkin are starting to come out in the stores and saying no to them is SO hard! I’ve used the Weight Watchers app and Pinterest and I’m going to make some low point pumpkin muffins and pancakes. After all – pumpkin is 0 points!

Being prepared with low point options from the store has been my biggest help. Keeping the house stocked with produce ensures that I always have something to eat and that I won’t be hungry.

My husband’s support has been constant – he told me that he loves me at whatever my dress size is, but that he will help in any way I need so I can reach my own personal goals. He’s the BEST.

This week I step on the scale and have lost a total of 15 lbs in 4 weeks. I’m really proud of myself.

Next week my goal is to start exercising and getting my heart rate up.

Stay tuned for the next 2 months of my progress as I work my way out of maternity pants and into a healthier, happier me.

Weight Watchers Disclosure: People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

MomAboutCharlotte.com Disclosure: I have received a free 3-month pass to experience Weight Watchers online. I am not being paid to use or endorse Weight Watchers and thoughts are my own.

Read More