50 Pounds- See Ya, Wouldn't Want To Be Ya!

Today was the day. I went to weigh in and I was down 1.2 pounds for a total of (wait for it)...50.8!!! YES!!!

Obviously, I follow the Weight Watchers program but I thought I could list some tips that helped me get here.

1. Measure your portions. Almost every day, I eat a cup of cereal with a half cup of skim milk for breakfast. You'd think I'd be able to eyeball how much to put in the bowl. No way Jose, I get out the measuring cups everyday and measure my food. Then I always know how much I am eating.

2. Write down everything you eat. I have notebooks worth of daily menus from the past 15 months. It keeps me accountable throughout the day so I am sure to not overeat.

3. Drink water!!! Here's a story for you- one week I worked out three times a day and followed Weight Watchers to the letter- or so I thought. When I weighed in, I was UP three pounds!!! How could it be? I realized that over the course of the week I had drank very little water and was probably extremely dehydrated. When you don't give your body enough water, it clings to the water it does have- thus you retain water, making you heavier. The next week when I did drink the water, I lost 5 pounds and exercised far less.

4. Don't drink soda- even diet. Or at least cut down. I was on a very LONG plateau (the scale didn't move) and when I cut back on my soda intake, ot started moving again. Soda is just a bunch of chemicals anyway- you might as well throw back a few bottles of nail polish remover. It would probably be better for you.

5. Enlist allies. I have lots of people on my side when it comes to Weight Watchers. Hubby is naturally thin yet he eats all of the healthy foods that I eat and has improved his own health. I have several friends from work who have joined Weight Watchers which makes for an awesome support network.

6. Find an activity that you think is fun. I really get into competition so I started training to walk races. I get really pumped up when I train for an event and it boosts my weight loss as well. Also, hubby has joined me in participating in races so it's a great couple activity for us.

7. Be patient!!! It took me six months to lose my most recent five pounds but I didn't give up. I've recognized that I'm changing my life here, not going on a 12 week program after which I can "go back to normal". This is my new normal and it's a good normal.

I don't know everything about weight loss (clearly- if I did, I'd be some celebrity's dietician) but I've learned a thing or two...or seven.

PS- If you are a celebrity who needs a dietician, CALL ME!