"How Did You Stay With It?"

This is the new reoccurring question I keep getting. How did you STAY at weight watchers, how did you STAY motivated, how did you STAY on track? Often, I have people ask me how I lost my weight. I tell them Weight Watchers. Then I might hear a comment like, "Well I do Weight Watchers and I haven't lost any weight," or "I go for about a week, lose 5 lbs. and then I'm over it." These comments are always perplexing to me. I think the difference might be beyond motivation or will power. I think it's about your mind set. I had tried other diets before and had little success. I jumped on the Oprah diet bandwagon. I bought all of Dr. Phil's weight loss books. Even had a short love affair with Phen Fen. The problem was, I had a DIET mind set while on these. My thoughts would be, "How fast can I lose this weight," and "I can't wait until I lose weight so I can eat bread again," etc. This type of mind set will lead to failure ever time. I think the people who say they're on weight watchers and can't loose weight have a diet mind set. A quick fix mentality if you will.

I am a very goal oriented person. I needs goals in my life. When I joined weight watchers, I had a goal. My goal was to get to a healthy weight to no longer be prediabetic AND to be able to get pregnant. My sister-in-law had joined WW and lost 50 lbs. so I saw that it worked. Once I walked into my 1st WW meeting I was hooked. I did everything they told me. I figured out my points, wrote EVERYTHING I ate down, drank my water, made sure I was getting my fruits, dairy, and veggies. Well, I guess I shouldn't say everything, because they want you to get 2 tsp. of healthy oils daily, and I do have a problem getting that in. Anyway, I was on a mission and kept going until I accomplished my goal. There was never, "Maybe I'll get to goal or I might get to goal." It was always, "When I get to goal or I have to get to goal." I wasn't in it for a quick fix. I was in it to change my life. My mind set was on a LIFE STYLE change rather than on a diet.

After I had stopped nursing my darling duo, I knew I couldn't wait to get back to WW. I hear of people stopping and starting WW many times, of people getting to goal weight, leaving the program, and then coming back because they gained their weight back. I have not been one of those people. I have joined, committed to changing my life, and have stayed. WW is not just about tracking food, they encourage daily physical activity and different mind set tools. The mind set tools are what I will continue to work on since I have not yet conquered my thoughts yet.

So how did I stay? There was never any other option for me. If I didn't, I would have type 2 diabetes by now, continue to have acid reflux and be medicated daily, continue having to wear my darth vader mask at bed due to sleep apnea, puff on my inhaler daily, and probably just be the mother of one rather than 3. Not staying was never an option in my mind. I wasn't wishy-washy, I wasn't just going with the flow. I make a conscious effort every day to make positive changes for myself. I don't see doing it any other way now.

On the exercise front, here's how my week and HM training went:
Monday- Pilates bun and thighs, Week 3 Day 1 push up challenge: 25, 17, 17, 15, 25
Tuesday- Ran 3 miles, did 2:00, 2:30, 2:30 sprints, 2 miles for a total of 6.25 miles
Wednesday- Day 2 push up challenge 27, 19, 19, 15, 30
Thursday- Ran w/ 4 1:30 sprints and 6 gp for a total of 6 miles
Friday- Ran 4.5 miles
Saturday- Changing my long runs from Sundays to today, so I'm off to run 8 miles!