Making Food a Priority

I started my first weight loss journy in 2001. I wanted to lose a few pounds before I had baby girl #1. I ended up losing around 30 lbs with Weight Watchers. It was relatively easy and just required some tweaks to my eating habits here and there, and to my recipes, as well. Here is me before Pregnancy #1.

 The Pregnancy of baby girl #1 in 2002-2003 gave me an additional 50 lbs. Ugh.   So, several months after her arrival, I started the WW process again and got within 5-10 lbs of my original pre-baby weight. It was A LOT harder this time around. Maybe because, I don't know...I had a BABY now. I couldn't go to the gym 5 nights a week. I didn't have the time to adequately prepare foods the way I had before. I found myself eating A LOT of SmartOnes, Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisines because they were quick, thoughtless options when I was chasing a crawling baby all day! And today, I cannot eat ANY of those items. They ALL taste the same to me, no matter if I'm eating spaghetti, chicken and broccoli or an enchilada. I just can't stand them. That was almost 10 years ago...I still can't eat them.

By the time I was pregnant with baby girl #2, I'd gained back probably another 10 pounds. This second pregnancy saw a weight gain of about 30 lbs. Several years after her arrival, and not being able to shake the baby weight, I did Weight Watchers for a third time. I started in January and "ended" in May and lost about 25 lbs, but I couldn't maintain it. My kids were getting older and eating "real" food and hated all the "healthy" options. I couldn't work out like I wanted...okay...lets be honest...I just plain hate to exercise. Forcing myself to do something I hate just wasn't cutting it. I hated running....walking I could do, though, so I did.

After my third go-round with Weight Watchers:

And through the years....the weight crept back on..and on...and on... because, well...the kids are even older and way busier. Getting a healthy meal on the table was replaced by getting ANY meal on the table that all four of us would EAT. I've never been a fan of boxed meals, so I've always started with fresh ingredients, but it may include 2 cups of butter or 1 cup or shredded cheese or 6 slices of bacon...you get it.

Last fall we had family portraits done. I loved them. There were some spectular pictures. But, I didn't order some of the ones I really liked. Why? I didn't like the way my arms looked. They looked fat.

I am 37 years old,  5'6" and currently wear a size 14. I hate that. And I realize that due to my hate of exercise, I'm never going to be able to maintain a size 6-8 body size ever again. I'm ok with that. I'd really like to just maintain a size 10...maybe even a 12. I can lose the weight. I've done it 3 times before. Its MAINTAINING that I have a problem with. I start out gung-ho and "I'm never going to be THAT size again", yet a year or two later...I find myself back there again. YO-YO.

So - here I am on my 4th go-round with Weight Watchers. The program has changed a little bit, but its basically the same. Its still counting points. Some people hate counting anything- points, calories, carbs, fat grams, whatever...but it helps me see what I'm putting in my body. And I need to have accountability to that number. That number of points I'm allowed each day.

But here is the thing about Weight Watchers, you can eat/drink whatever you want.Nothing is off limits - but you ARE accountable for those choices. While my daily points value is 26 - I'm allowed 49 extra points each week (basically 7 extra per day or to use all at one time going out for pizza, or having that piece of cheesecake that you REALLY want!). I like their tag line - when a program is built for human nature, you can't fail.

I haven't OFFICIALLY started with Weight Watchers yet- That "big day" is coming up on 2/19. I will do my first weigh-in and decide on my goal, which at this point, is only 15 lbs. I think I can maintain that.

I will be using this blog 99% of the time to post recipes or tips of what recipes were a hit with my family and other tips and tricks, as well as links to any other websites I find helpful. The recipes will be generally healthy, that fit a lot of different "diet" plans. I will try to post the points amount per serving if I have calculated it. If not - just add each ingredient point value together and then divide by the amount of servings.

I had been blogging about another "diet" journey I had been doing, but ultimately decided to ditch because it didn't work for me. However, there are some good recipes over there- if you need some recipes to get you started- check out: http://myadvo24journey.blogspot.com/2013/01/readysetgo.html
The days that have recipes are Days 3, 5, 6-7-8, 9-10, 12, 16-17 and 18-19. I will probably be re-posting those here eventually, too, though.

So, if you are on a weight loss journey or just want to find some healthier recipe options for your family - welcome!!