Blabbity blab blab lost weight blab blab blab

I have gotten a fair bit of email over the last few weeks from people wondering exactly what I did to lose weight. And wouldn’t you know? It’s your lucky day! I’ve got a completely arduous and exhaustive answer! Pull up a chair! Oooh! And an ottoman for your feet! And I’ll wait while you get yourself a drink.

Ready?

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this, but I lost 30 pounds once before. It was 2001, and I’d just graduated from college and moved to a brand-new city, without a job, where I had very little money for eating out (or eating PERIOD) and lots of big, hearty chunks of time to devote to exercise.

But I had also just started taking the appropriate dosage of medication to treat hypothyroidism.

The weight came off pretty quickly thanks to the medication. Yes, the restricted diet and the twice-daily exercise didn’t hurt (Why all that exercise? Because you can ONLY WATCH SO MUCH DAYTIME TV), but it was the medication that made the biggest difference. I’d spent the last two years of college hauling 20 to 30 extra pounds around despite trying to eat well and working out at least five times a week at the gym. I even lived in London for six months during those two years of college, and despite the fact that I walked EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME,  I didn’t lose a single solitary pound. (I spent a lot of them though! Get it? Pounds? Like, British currency? Oh shut up.)

But once I started the medication? POOF! I moved to

Atlanta

at the end of May as a generous size 14 and by September I was slipping easily into size 10 Abercrombie jeans (I’d obviously gotten a job by then). And I kept the weight off, for the most part, only gaining about five or seven pounds by the time I got married in 2003 even though I was commuting for three hours every day and had zero time for—or interest in—exercising.

Enter pregnancy. And cake. And then preeclampsia and then postpartum depression and then a hell of a lot of cheese. In April of this year, six months after giving birth, and despite 60 continuous days of regular aerobic exercise, I found myself approximately 19 pounds heavier than I was during that glorious

Atlanta

autumn of 2001. And I was unhappy about it.

So I joined Weight Watchers Online. This alone was a huge step for me: I am a strongly independent person (I despise being called “stubborn,” DAVE and MY MOTHER) and I do not like to admit that I cannot do things by myself. I don’t want any help doing anything—especially not something as personal as losing weight. But I had to admit that if I really knew how to do this, that I would never have gained back any of that weight I’d lost in the first place.

I started following the POINTS plan to the letter. I tracked everything I ate and I was surprised by how little I was supposed to be eating. The first two weeks were hard. Learning how to plan for meals and getting familiar with food values was a lot of work. Some nights I just ate an egg and two pieces of toast because I knew exactly how many POINTS it was worth and it was just too much of a hassle to research something else.

And though I wish I could tell you that I lost all the weight this time around by adopting a healthy, filling diet of lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, I didn’t. I eat toast for breakfast every single morning. I eat a sandwich for lunch most days: whole wheat bread and roasted chicken from the deli counter with a smear of light mayo. And I cook a lot of pasta, steak and ground turkey for dinners (because I SUCK at cooking chicken). But I do exercise every day. Most days I take Asher out in the stroller and we do anywhere from three to four miles of walking on paved trails, with lots of hills. We also take lots of short daily walks to the swings or to the field at the end of the street or just around the parking lot so Asher can ride in his little red car. On the weekends I sometimes take Hambone out for a 30-minute jog. I just make sure I do SOMETHING.

I don’t track every little thing I put into my mouth anymore. I wing it a lot of days. But that’s because I finally learned exactly how much I should be eating, even though it was kind of shocking at first. I don’t deny myself anything within reason. If I eat a handful of chocolate chip cookies on Tuesday, I am probably not going to let myself have a bowl of ice cream on Thursday, and I think that’s a healthy attitude to have.

I am now at the lowest weight I can ever recall having been at since high school. I am a good seven or eight pounds lighter than I was in 2001. I am only a few pounds away from the goal weight I set for myself in April, a goal weight that I set only because the online program wouldn’t let me set it any higher—I honestly didn’t believe I could get there, and I certainly never imagined it would be this easy. For the first time in my life, my BMI is out of the overweight range. But the most important thing is that I feel good about myself and my body feels firm and healthy and I’m proud of that.

On Monday, I have six bags of clothes that are way too big that will be picked up by a charity organization (ok, some of them were also really ugly). And I am routinely sleeping IN JUST MY UNDERWEAR. Now if that isn’t newfound confidence, then I don’t know what is. And it is AWESOME.

Comments

[Cat, Galloping]

I just want to know if you're finally going to post the wet-suit wearing dog-walking pictures you promised us, oh, about a million years ago. Did you think we forgot?

[Kim]

^Hee hee. I've been wondering about those pictures as well.

I am so proud of you, and you, along with a friend of mine who has also lost a bunch doing WW Online, have inspired me. I'm rather brokish right now, so I am not paying for the online service yet, but I am pumped just to eat healthier and finally lose this weight!

[Jess]

That's awesome. Congrats. I'm also doing Weight Watchers online and I've lost 27 pounds so far. Except that I still have a long way to go. But yeah, it's the best weight loss program I've ever tried, and the most sustainable.

[Daily Tragedies]

OK, OK, I will start tracking my damn points again. Because there are ten pounds stubbornly clinging to my frame that I would like to see disappear forever. Honestly, the thought of my thighs not rubbing together when I run ... bliss.

[Anna]

I've been "doing" WW online since June. Really though? I haven't made much of an effort and I've only lost about three pounds. You are certainly an inspiration. I had been wondering what exactly you were eating. I was SURE you were eating loads of fruits and veggies. Something I can never seem to do. Now I know that the secret is toast. I like toast! I can do toast! Yay!

[maggie]

I know! Toast?!

I've been doing the low carb thing (mostly) for a while now and the baby weight is slowly coming off. But I am AMAZED by how much faster it goes when I drag my kid around the 3 mile lake more than once a week. Exercise! Who'd have thought!

Your story has been super inspiring for me. Thanks!

[Holly]

I lost about 15 pounds with WW online during a six-month period last year. I was, like, skinniest ever since MIDDLE SCHOOL. I've gained something like six of it back, all in the scarce couple of months since my husband and I found out we're moving next month. Because now every meal is giant celebration!

I'd like to pick it up again, because I know it works, but I'm afraid that with a plethora of farewell fetes and moving and being on the road and being between houses for like two weeks, I'd just be setting myself up for failure. And so, I will comence again once I'm moved in... at precisely the same time I should be enjoying my gorgeous new granite countertops and eating my way through my new city, and going out to dinner while making new friends. Timing, timing...sigh.

[Hope]

Congrats! I've lost about 8.5 pounds since April. I'm not quite at the "oh man! I need to get smaller clothes now!" but I'm hoping to be there soon.

[JP]

I'm so proud of you, you really are an inspiration to me. You make me think about joining WW, but I wonder if I will actually stick to it.

How do you stay motivated to exercise everyday? I'm so over excerising, but I need to keep losing weight. Suggestions?

[abbersnail]

Congrats! I know exactly how you feel. I keep looking at myself in the mirror and going, "Hey, that cute girl is ME!" You look beautiful, and you should be so proud of yourself!

[Lisa]

Consider me officially inspired. I don't want my thighs to rub together anymore and I'm determined to make it so. Thanks for updating and telling us all how you succeeded - you look great!

~Lisa

[Jennie]

I've really been struggling the last few weeks with my insane weight gain. I've been off and on Weight Watchers (but mostly off) the last few months and even though I've been exercising quite a bit more than, oh, ever before, it's not doing the trick by itself. This post has really given me the motivation, so a sincere thank you.

[Amanda]

For some reason I am always captivated by your posts about weight watchers and weight loss, etc. Maybe because you were my inspiration to start the program and my experience has been quite similar to yours. It's so good to hear what's worked for other people and glean a little bit of wisdom for yourself to see if it works for you too. Like remember when you emailed me and suggested that I eat frozen fat free cool whip on berries? Well, in the past 4 months I have gone through DOZENS of tubs of the stuff. Steve says he thinks it's made of plastic but I think it's the best plastic I've ever eaten.
PS: Yesterday I bought a pair of pants in a 4. They are stretchy and tight as H-E-double hockey sticks. Do I care? NO! They're a 4!!!

[Jen]

You will be my inspiration!!!

I just started WW Online last Tuesday, and I've already lost 4 lbs. I even used up all of my weekly budget points (plus a couple- eek!) because I made pizza one night (but it had SPINACH on it! That's healthy right?!?) I cannot BELIEVE how little I'm allowed to eat. The first few days I was starving. But now, it's better.

I have a similar history to yours- in 2003, I lost 23 pounds doing pretty much the same thing was WW but I did it my way, for free, using an online food tracker. It took a lot longer to see results, mainly because I was just tracking calories, not fat AND calories. WW is much stricter! I of course gained all of that weight back with the baby, and then some, so I have a lot of work to do. I never believed it when I heard moms say it, but baby weight is SO much harder to lose than 'normal' weight.

Also? I'd like to lose it all before I'm not able to call it 'baby weight' anymore. How long is that term valid? Till the kid is 7? 10? 18? hm.... ;)

[Alexis]

Hey!

You look amazing, and your writing has encouraged me to join WW online. I joined tonight and have been putting together menus for the weekend, sauteing curly kale, and ordering groceries online - whew! The year before I met my husband I lost about 25 pounds by going to the gym and eating alot of Lean Cuisines - I am determined to get the weight off for good now as I can see how well you have done!!

Thanks for all your awesome posts!! x x x x

[MBKimmy]

oh i remember the days that I slept in my undies ... my husband has never seen those days ... maybe one day ... after I am done breast feeding ... which is in the next 2 months I am going weight watchers here local!

[Sarah]

So how many POINTS are eggs and toast? And how do you figure your POINTS? And are POINTS always capitalised?

Tell! Tell!

[Luisa]

Congratulations! And being fit makes such a difference on the overall happiness scale as well.

[Cheryl]

I'm so glad for you and all the people you're inspiring, but I just have to say....

Go Dawgs!

Sorry, I heart you but I couldn't resist.

[Becky]

You actually inspired me to join WW Online, and wow! it works!

Thanks for all of your inspiration and congrats on your loss. It rocks.

[Lissa]

I was just about to email you about this very subject. Thanks for cutting me off at the pass. I hope you are doing great and you look fabulous!

[suz]

Congratulations! That is so fabulous! I had nearly exactly the same experience with hypothyroidism and 30 pounds about 5 years ago. I lost the 30 but it took me 2 years I have gained back about 5, probably (I haven't weighed myself in about 2 years), but I was awfully thin without that 5. It's amazing what the right amount and balance of thyroid hormones will do for your body (and your mind, for that matter), huh?