The dummy's guide to loosing weight

Here is my weight lost journey. I am about to release information about myself that not many people know . .my weight. This is a big step for me, so congratulate me later.

 As a teenager and young adult I always stayed very petite at a itty bitty 5 feet 2 inches tall and 115-120lbs but noticed as I got older my metabolism slowly slowed down. Even before I had kids I was yoyo dieting, loosing weight but gaining double the weight back. At one point I just gave up. After my first child I lost the baby weight after 1 year but never fully felt like I was myself. I gradually gained back all the weight I had lost and reached 165 lbs. I NEVER thought it was even possible to weigh this much. I felt horrible about myself however, I wanted 2 things so badly. 

1. to loose weight
2. to have another baby

After weighing my options (no pun intended) I decided it was time to pack on even more weight and pop out another baby. I got pregnant at a weight I felt awful in, and promised myself to eat healthy and gain little weight during my pregnancy. Lets be honest folks . .this is near IMPOSSIBLE! I ate horrible, swelled up the size of a small hippo and was truly a HOT MESS. and I mean HOT MESS.

A few weeks after the birth of my little girl I was actually feeling good about myself at my ultimate highest, 190 lbs. I put on some clothes I wore post pregnancy and took this pic.

Man ..I thought I looked GREAT! Once the picture was taken, I plugged my camera into my computer to see how cute I looked- BAM I was knocked out by how bad I looked. This was my reality check. It was time for a MAJOR change. I knew I had to do something quick before I lost all motivation.

I turned to a bowl of ice cream and contemplated what to do. I had questions:

• Do I try eating healthy on my own no diet gimmicks?
• Is my husband going to divorce because I am 70 lbs heavier than when he met me?
• Do I start execising with Charlotte in my front carrier every morning?If so, how?
• Do I do Jenny Craig? Weight Watchers? South Beach diet? Body by Vi?
• What the heck do I do to loose this weight?

After lots of research, I turned to something that worked for me in the past, Weight Watchers Online. I had once lost 25 lbs on it, so what the heck, it was worth another try right? I signed up that night and never looked back. I have since lost almost 70 lbs and have almost reached my "hay day" weight of 120. 

Quick before and after

Do I have stretch marks? YES! Are my hips permanently wider than ever? Heck yeah! Do I still have a "baby" pooch? You bet! But I feel amazing! I have the body of a mom and received 2 beautiful kids for the price of a ruined once tight body :-) 

Here are some tips on what to do and not to do to loose weight on weight watchers:

• Start when you say you're going to start. Don't give yourself a day, a week or a month to start. Waiting will only make it harder to actually do it! If you're thinking about it than get online and sign up now!
• Don't eat all of your unhealthy food prior to starting a diet. Having that food around will only build your will power and give you even more confidence when you don't touch it. Give the food to your husband, make him gain some weight . .
• You must track EVERY SINGLE thing you eat on weight watchers. You have a packet of sugar in your coffee? Track it! A bite of toast? track it. Yes it's a pain for the first 30 days, after that you become ammune to it. This really teaches you to see how much you really eat and how bad you need to just put the crappy food down!!
• Plan what your eating for the day ahead of time. If you know your going out to dinner that night, look at a menu prior so you can calculate points of the dinner you want to be sure you don't go over your points for the day. Having a big lunch? This means you need to have a smaller dinner. Get it? good.
• Want a piece of cake? Have it. BUT don't have the beer, the chips, the beer, the wine, the beer, the vodka cranberry, or the beer. Indulge, but know you limits. 
• Track your weight weekly and see your progress. When you gain a pound don't get discouraged, you will loose 2 pounds the following week. Feel free to get off the scale when you gain those 2 pounds, get back on, go pee, get back on it, take off your sock, get back on. You will notice that you have still gained 2 pounds, but it's fun to see if you can get your weight down in a matter of 45 seconds. 
• Brag to your husband/boyfriend/lover/friend/girlfriend when you loose weight. Force them to tell you how great you look. At least that's what I do. 
• Learn how to eat in smaller portions. The first 30-45 days of the weight watchers diet is tough. You will be hungry, you will want to give up. Don't!! This phase will past, and eating 8 slices of pizza in one sitting will be far lost memory. Or was the only one who would eat 8 slices of pizza at once?
• Don't eat until your full. Just stop. Put down the 2nd piece of lasagna. Let go of 3rd pancake. Your body will do just fine with 1 portion size. Your stomach will eventually adjust and you will start to feel full after MUCH smaller portions.
• You will hit a plateau, you will stop loosing weight. Figure out what you can switch around in your diet. I was able to cut out my nightly ice cream and start loosing again. 
• I was just reminded that I want ice cream right now. Guess what? I'm not having it. It's past 7pm . .don't eat past this time. You don't need. It is just your mind/body being a horrible horrible influence on you.

I religiously tracked my points for 6 months. I no longer track them for a few reasons; I eat pretty much the same thing daily and I know what points are for almost everything. I keep an ongoing mental calculator in my head at all times.

I hope I have inspired, influenced or helped at least one person who has read this! Stay tuned for even more weight loss tips and meal ideas!!