I Know

A few weeks ago, I challenged my Weight Watchers group to come up with a list of things that they know now...things that they did not know when they started WW 6 weeks ago...6 months ago...6 years ago.  Here is my list:

I Know...

how to count points

that I can drink fluids

how to fill in a tracker

how to move my body

which are the filling foods

the good health guidelines

how many points I need each day

I Know...

that I can do this

that I am worth it

that I am an inspiration

this journey is a choice

I have the skills to do this

what will happen if I stop

losing weight is hard work

I can do hard things

I Know...

I have the confidence

I have the tenacity

I have the knowledge

to persist

for one more meal

for one more day

for one more week

I Know...

I will get to my goal

What do you know?  Please leave a note in the comments with what you know about yourself, your ability to lose weight, your ability to stay motivated when the going gets tough.

~jen~

Daily Journal

Daily Weight Watchers Points Target: 28

Daily Weight Watchers Activity Points Target: 2

Breakfast:  5.5 POINTS

1 english muffin - 2

1T almond butter - 2

1c pineapple - 1

1/2c strawberry - .5

Lunch: 10.5 POINTS

lentil & spinach soup - 5?

wrap - 3.5

chicken - 2

lettuce, peppers, onion, tomato, spicy mustard, 2 pickles - 0

Snack: 5 POINTS

1 WW cookies n cream bar - 1

2 WW bbq pretzels - 4

Dinner: 8 POINTS

1/2 cup mashed potatoes - 2

1/2 cup carrots - 1

1 banana - 2

1 granola bar - 2

1 neo citran - 1

Beverages:  cups

water - ////

diet coke - ///

herbal tea - //

neo citran - /

club soda - /

Actual Weight Watchers Points Spent Today: 29

Actual Weight Watchers Activity Points Today: 0

My Weight Loss Manifesto

I wrote this one year ago...Feb. 18, 2009...I had been doing Weight Watchers for 3 months and had lost about 25 lbs...I was feeling fantastic and wanted to have a written record of the why.
Why I was depriving myself of food that I enjoy.
Why I was taking time away from my family every week to go to a WW meeting.
Why I was telling everyone in my life that I was a WW person.
Why I was changing my habits.
Why I was taking better care of myself.
I have re-read this several times since that first writing and I will continue to re-read when I am struggling and when I want to celebrate.

MY WEIGHT LOSS MANIFESTO...

I am doing this for vanity - I want to shop in all the stores, not just plus stores. I want to wear sleeveless shirts. I want to have a bra that does not have 6 clasps at the back. I want people to notice 'the girls' when I am dressed to the nines, not the belly/bum/hips etc. I want someone to turn their head to have a re-look as I walk by. I want people to think that I am pretty - not say/think "she has such a pretty face/complexion". I don't want my boobs to rest on my desk as I am typing.

I am doing this to feel good about myself - I want to glance in the mirror and like what I see. I want to feel comfortable in my own skin. I want to eat in public and not think that everyone is staring at me and wondering "why is that girl eating? she should just skip a few meals". I want to exercise in public (jog, run, play at park) and not feel silly and jiggily. I want to sit in movie theatre seats / airplane seats...and be comfortable. (already noticing a difference in this area...woo hoo). I want to stop feeling like I have to be the perfect mother - perfect friend - perfect sister - perfect daughter - perfect housekeeper - perfect everything to compensate for my weight. I think that if I am perfect in every way (except my weight) that everyone in my life will find enough good in me to like and love me anyway...despite my weight. I want my weight to stop being an issue. I want food to stop being at the forefront of all my thoughts. I want to stop feeling sorry for myself, making excuses for myself and just get on with it...like Nike says...JUST DO IT!

I am doing this for my profesional life - I don't want to shy away from challenges or other things at work because of my weight or my perception of what people think of me. I have this idea in my head that people think I am less capable because I am overweight and then because of my insecurity I live up to that and do less - jump in less - push less. It is a confidence thing. I want to feel confident going in front of customers. I want to believe that I am passed over for jobs / promotions because of my skills and work and nothing else...not because of my weight.

I am doing this for my intimate life with my hubby - I want to feel amorous again. I want to 'want' to do 'it'...and not just on Saturday night. I want to buy little things to wear at night; not to cover up, but to strategically show...to entice...to excite. I want to be a MILF.

I am doing this for my health - I need to walk up the stairs and not get winded. I need to run with my kids. I want to jump on our trampoline lots and not get tired. I need to be able to swim to the rock at the cottage. I need to be able to catch my kids if they run into traffic. I do not have high blood pressure - but if I keep going this way I will. I don't want to get diabetes. I want more energy, I want to make exercise part of my everyday life and even if I never love it I want to still do it because it feels great when it is done and it is good for me.

I am doing this for my dad - I love my dad and I want him to be proud of me, it is really all I have ever wanted in life. I want him to want to go skiing with me, I want him to proudly introduce me to people, I want him to put photos of me up in his home. I want to have conversations with him that do not involve us talking about my weight / health / exercise.

I am doing this for my mom - I want my mom to see me as a role model and start to take care of herself...if I can do it she can too! I want her to be around for my kids for a long time. I want her arthritis to stop causing her such pain, and when she eats well the pain goes away.

I am doing this for my husband - I want my husband to be healthier and to live a long full life. I want him to eat better and I hope by having better food in the house and modelling this, he will start to make some good choices.

I am doing this for my son - I want him to have an image in his mind of what a wife/mother can be so that when he is choosing his mate, he chooses well. I want O to be proud of me and not feel shame as he gets older and is bringing friends home. I want to be an athletic role model for him - modelling the behaviour I want him to possess.

I am doing this for my daughter - I want to be a better role model than I had (no offence to my mom xoxo but she was/is not a great eater/exerciser). I want B to learn to put herself on her own 'to do' list - to think she is as important as everything and everyone else in her life - to learn to value herself...and the best way for her to learn this is by watching me.

I am doing this for me!

Daily Journal

Daily Weight Watchers Points Target: 28
Daily Weight Watchers Activity Points Target: 2

Breakfast: 5 POINTS
1 organic pumpkin granola bar - 4
1 granny smith apple - 1

Lunch: 8 POINTS
1 large salad - lettuce, peppers, onion, peppers, spinach - 0
feta cheese - 2
black olives - 1
barley salad - 3
mixed bean salad - 2

Dinner: 9 POINTS
1 big salad - lettuce, carrots, cabbage, peppers, cucumber - 0
dressing - 2
Weight Watchers stone fired pizza - 7

Snack: 2 POINTS
6 cups popcorn -2

Beverages: 18 cups
water - /////   diet coke - ////   tea - ///// /  
milk - /    nestea zero - //

Actual Weight Watchers Points Spent Today: 24
Actual Weight Watchers Activity Points Today: 0

About this site

Welcome to Tales from the Scales!

Losing weight is not easy, is not the most fun you will have in life…but it does not need to be the worst or hardest thing either. Losing weight is rewarding. Losing weight is exciting. Losing weight is inspiring.

I created this site as a place to record my weight loss journey and in the hopes that I may inspire others to do the same. It is a place where I will share recipes, my weight loss ups and downs, Weight Watchers information, exercise stories and so much more! It is a place for honesty, humor, information, challenge and inspiration.

My Weight Loss StoryI have been struggling with my weight for about 20 years. I started to gain weight in high school when I stopped playing team sports and my eating habits drastically changed. I steadily gained about 10 pounds a year until I hit 200 pounds in my mid twenties.

Over the years I tried everything from Dr. Bernsteins, Atkins, starvation, cabbage soup diets, home remedies, multiple gym memberships and diet pills to rid myself of this unwanted weight. I am so thankful that I did no permanent damage!

In November 2008 we had our family photograph done to send out in our Christmas cards and when I looked at it, I realized I was heavier than when I was pregnant. This was my “Ah-Ha” moment. If I was going to be around to play with my kids, to see them grow, to see my grandchildren I was going to have to take control of my life and put myself on my own priority list. I was a whopping 286.4 pounds!

The next day, I bought a 6 month membership to Weight Watchers. It has been one of the most important and life changing decisions I have ever made. So far I have shed the combined weight of both of my kids. I have new found confidence and my energy level has soared. When I hit the 50lb loss mark, I joined a gym and find that I look forward to my exercise classes…something that I never thought was possible. We do many more active things as a family now; bike rides, play backyard baseball, tennis and Wii Fit. This winter I am have been ice skating and skiing again; these are activities I gave up years ago and could wait to get back into. I am looking forward to taking up jogging again in the spring.

It has been 15 months since I joined and I have lost a total of 60.8lbs. I have been at this 60lb mark for over 6 months now and need to kick things into gear. I need to make some changes to lose the weight and be the best version of me.

I hope you will join me on this journey and find your best self.