I've been at this weight-loss thing for 12 weeks now. Wow! Go me! I'm proud of making this commitment to my health and sticking with it this long. Joining Jenny Craig has helped with that significantly, I think: the structured plan, the weekly weigh-ins, and the feedback. I don't love everything about the program, but it has helped immensely to feel like a lot of the effort has been taken out of this for me. I just have to do what I'm told and stay the course. Which is not nothing; it's still taken considerable commitment. But as someone who has never done a structured weight loss program before (I've always been a DIY dieter), well, the difference is quite noticeable. Have I ever stuck with a weight-loss effort this long before? Yes. But I was always really struggling by this point in the game previously (I also lost weight A LOT more slowly when doing the weight loss on my own). Add in the stress of my job plus caring for a 16 month old, and I don't think there is any way this weight loss would have happened without the additional support and ease factor this program has given me.
Over the last 12 weeks, the weight has come off pretty rapidly. And while yes, it has taken effort and commitment, it hasn't felt like it has taken herculean effort for the most part (a major exception was this weekend when Will decided to bake my favorite kind of cupcakes. Arrrgh! WILL!!! But despite the significant temptation, I did not indulge, and I was proud of myself afterward. The cupcakes are tucked out of sight somewhere in our kitchen, at my request, and I am not going to be seeking them out. I knew that if I had to look at them, it would just be a matter of time until I caved and ate them.)
I went into this week's weigh-in feeling...I guess the best way to describe it is open-minded but unsure. I'm so close to the finish line at this point, who knew what the scale would show? I was diet-adherent this week eating my planned Jenny Craig cuisine and lots of veggies plus yogurt, although I actually underate a couple of days because I was (first) caring for and cleaning up after Magpie who caught a nasty stomach bug (I love you, Magpie, but gross!), which sort of killed my desire to eat, and then (second) a few days later I was dealing with mild symptoms of said GI bug (I have learned that it is hard not to catch someone's virus when they repeatedly vomit all over you). But the sickness seems to have passed for both of us, and I have returned to my regularly scheduled diet.
So, moment of truth, what did the scale show this week?
Weekly Weight Loss
Starting BMI just after Thanksgiving = 25.2 (officially overweight)Week 1: - 4.4 pounds (back into normal BMI territory, less than 25!)
Week 2: - 0.8 pounds
Week 3: - 3.6 pounds
Week 4: out of town so no Jenny food and no weigh-in (Christmas travel madness!)
Week 5: - 4.4 pounds since last weigh-in
Week 6: - 2 pounds
Week 7: - 1.6 pounds
Week 8: - 1.4 pounds
Week 9: + 0.4 pounds
Week 10: -4.2 pounds
Week 10: -4.2 pounds
Week 11: -0.2 pounds
Week 12: -3.0 pounds
Grand Total So Far: 25.2 pounds lost (BMI = 21!)Yup, I was shocked too - I LOST 3 POUNDS!!! Needless to say, I was thrilled with the weight loss this week. I couldn't believe it! Looking back, I think that probably a good chunk of the weight loss occurred in the prior week but didn't show on the scale for some reason. It just seems more realistic that I lost 1.5 pounds each week than that I lost basically nothing last week and then 3 pounds this week (especially now that I don't have far to go with the weight). I've been doing all the right things all along, so that makes more sense than these strange fluctuations.
So yay!! Very, very soon I'll have to choose my weight loss stopping point. At the MOST, I might lose another 3ish pounds, but we'll see how it goes and what feels right. Wow! So close now!
Mo
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Wow, 25 pounds. That's a lot. Congratulations on the weight loss.
ReplyDeleteYou are a rock star; I think that I need to take a page from your play book! Go Mo!
ReplyDeleteYour entire sidebar is gone! Has my computer lost it's mind?
ReplyDeleteI'm still seeing the sidebar. Are others having problems too?
ReplyDeleteI see your side bar.
ReplyDeleteAwesome effort to be sticking to your weight loss commitments and losing weight.
I lost 20 lbs on Weight Watchers after my first turned 10 months-it was a last ditch effort to lose the final pregnancy weight. And when it was finally accomplished, what a great feeling!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat job!
25# in 12 weeks is MOST impressive. I am glad you are nearing your weight loss goal. The real test, as I have learned more than once, is with maintaining the loss.
ReplyDeleteGood luck. I know you must feel great!
really proud of you mo... especially with cupcakes in house... is it your birthday? anniversary? what's the occasion for such a culinary seduction?!
ReplyDeletemaintaining the goal weight is the hardest part! taking it off seems so easy in comparison. I set my goal lower than I would have thought at the start, but, it is like my body/mind just wont allow me to settle there. it is low, so I am ok keeping it as the elusive attainment...
I also want to tell you that if you decide to search out those cupcakes and find no self-control, it is OK! sometimes you just have to indulge your deepest desires :)
once you are close to your goal, and you have the info, and you know what it takes, these little slips don't make such a difference IN THE BIG PICTURE. the other day I ate TEN granola bars throughout the course of my day, and I felt like such sh*t... however, I woke up the next day, re-committed, and it was all ok. those deep cravings come from trying too hard to stay at the low-end. I know this, so it is a matter of finding that magical balance.
you are doing so good mo, in just 12 weeks?! congrats!
25 pounds is such a big achievement!!! Congratulations Mo!
ReplyDeleteSidebar is finally back-maybe it's a WiFi issue here. Congrats on the weight loss-well done!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your weight loss success! That is great you have found Jenny Craig to help you along the way. There is definitely nothing to be ashamed of getting help from a professional. If we didn't need them they wouldn't be around! Do you play to stay on Jenny Craig for weight maintenance now?
ReplyDeleteI am just curious because for me the hard part is staying at my goal weight and no so much getting to it!
Kerri - Really good question. I don't have a complete answer on it yet - my hope is to find other go-to foods that will be easy, taste good, be less processed, and will help me maintain the loss. I'll definitely be posting about it, and yeah, I anticipate it's going to be harder than the initial weight loss has been (unfortunately!)
ReplyDeleteHi Mo,
ReplyDeleteHad you considered a paleo type of diet? I've just ordered the popular cookbook "against all grain" and I'm eager to start incorporating some dietary changes. I also had GD this time around (I strongly suspect I also developed it later in my first pregnancy), though my real reason for needing to make the switch is my 8 month old's sensitivity to dairy, soy, wheat, legumes, among others.
I think you've done a fabulous job. I was also thinking that your less than stellar weight loss every other week was water retention from ovulation/ menstruation but I was too lazy to comment with my phone ;-)
My unsolicited two cents is that you need to try cooking for yourself because sticking to such a rigid diet is unrealistic for most people. If you allow yourself little indulgences now and then, you're less likely to return to old habits. What I find easiest when dieting (though, bear in mind that I am 8 years younger than you) is to eat a lean meat, with lots of veges and salad, and NOT eating low fat. But with zero grains or starchy vegetables. I suppose it's a modified south beach/ paleo. I have to start "dieting" again and would really love to get my bmi between 19-20 again. I think I'm around 22 right now, which just doesn't feel good on me.
I read somewhere that you have to maintain your weight for 6 months before you lower your weight set point. I wonder whether it's true!
Love your blog! Glad I found it
ReplyDeletewww.mommy-dreaming.blogspot.com
You did good job! I like such posts, they inspire greatly to continue to work on my body! I'm glad that you resisted temptation and didn't eat those cupcakes! This feeling of pride is better than a million of cupcakes, believe me - it motivates to sharpen the saw. Personally I don't keep diets, just try to keep healthy way of living. I've got used to my weight loss calculator online, it helps me to estimate what products should I eat and that helps to avoid weight gain.
ReplyDelete