Oh well.

The week started out well, and then I faltered.  I was at Trader Joe's on Wednesday and walked past some maple cookies that intrigued me.  I read the ingredients and they were vegan.  I bought them with the intention of only eating two.  I should've known better.  Several hours later, they were gone.  I just can't seem to stop making bad choices.

But, what I did do on a positive note was to track this binge.  I wrote it down and calculated the points and moved on.  It was a LOT of points, but I acknowledged and accepted it. 

Today I weighed in and gained 1.2.  The lady told me "you're up a smidge."  After my big loss that week, she wasn't surprised.  I didn't tell her about the cookie incident.  I was just glad that I didn't completely undo what I'd done the week before.  I'm still on a downward trend.

This week I'm going to plan my meals, cook them in advance, eat lots of fruits and veggies and keep working on my exercise.  Here's to a good loss next week!

And we're off!

Weighed in this morning and lost 4.4 pounds.  It was a great week--I cooked all of my meals at home, except for one, I drank all my water, I tracked everything.  I only faltered in exercise, but I'll remedy that tomorrow with a Zumba class.  Now my challenge is to keep the momentum going.  There have been plenty of times in the past where I'd come off a good loss, and then go crazy with the eating over the weekend, only to gain the following week.  My challenge this week is to keep tracking, keep drinking my water, get in the exercise, so that next week, I do not gain weight.  I especially need to keep on track over the weekend.  No more "I'll start again on Monday."  I've got to continue today, tomorrow and Sunday.  And, so far, so good.

The journey begins continues.

My name is Vee and I've been struggling with my weight since I was 11. I'm now 41.  In November 2010, I reached my highest weight ever (274.6) and after seeing photos and a video from my birthday celebration back then, I joined (re)joined Weight Watchers.

I'd done Weight Watchers in the past and heard they were launching a revamped program in December 2010.  I thought that might be the kick in the pants I needed to get on program and stick with it.  And it was, for a while.  Between Thanksgiving and New Years, I lost 15 pounds, and ended 2010 at 259.6.  I was thrilled.  But then, after a vacation to the Dominican Republic in February 2011, I went back to old habits.  I then gained and lost the same 5 to 10 pounds for the rest of year.  I ended 2011 at 265.  So, in one year, I gained a net of 5.4 pounds.

Wrong direction!

now it's a new year, and I'm setting goals for myself.  My goal for 2012 is to lose 50 pounds.  That's totally doable.  WW says that the safe rate of weight loss is .5 to 2 pounds per week.  If I lose an average of one pound per week, I'll meet my goal.

So, here I go again.  To lose 50 pounds, I need to lose five pounds 10 times.  That's not so bad.  It's easier to look at the task through mini goals instead of that big final number. 

Here are my stats as we go into 2012:

12/30/11
Height: 5'5"
Weigh-in: 265.0
BMI: 43.47 - over 30 is obese...this is what you call Morbidly Obesity. But, it was down from 45.7 in Nov 2010 (At least that's something positive.)
Waist Circumference: 44" (Hey, it was down 2.5 inches from Dec 2010--one more positive thing)

I've said this plenty of times before, but I really want this to be the final time I make an attempt to lose this weight. I have started so many times, but this time I'm going to finish. My ultimate goal weight is around 150

Instead of focusing on the fact that I need to lose 115 pounds, I'm going to focus on the first 50 pounds for this year, five pounds at a time. Other goals are listed to the right. As I hit each one, I'll check it off.

I'm doing this for me. I want to be healthy. I want to walk into a store and buy clothes outside of the women's department. I want to buy tall boots to fit around my calves. I want to feel comfortable in my own skin. I want to reduce my chances of heart disease and diabetes. I want to feel good about myself. It's not going to happen overnight, so I need to remain vigilant and diligent. I'm doing this for me.