Four Days In...

Things are moving along so far.  I'm not super hungry... it's basically like normal.  Before I went back on Weight Watchers, I was a calorie counter... My theory?  It takes 3500 calories burned to lose a pound.  Have a calorie deficit of at least 500 every day & lose a pound every week.  Simple math.  Okay, so it didn't really always work out like that.  My weight was stagnant... so something wasn't working.  Good news is that I wasn't gaining... bad news is that I wasn't losing either.

One of the toughest changes I've implemented this week is not weighing myself.  I'm a scale watcher for real.  For REAL.  I have a cool Wi Scale that sends my weight & stats to my iPhone. It keeps a little graph and everything.

Go Go Gadget! The Wi Scale

For a gadget and fitness junkie like me, this scale is great.  I'm the kind of person who lets the scale dictate my actions.  If the scale isn't moving, I work out more or eat better.  If the scale moves up, I REALLY work out more & eat better.  If the scale moves down, I use it as motivation to keep doing whatever it is I'm doing.

With Weight Watchers, I don't want to let my scale at home affect how I'm following the Points Plus Program.  I'm trying to trust the program and see what happens when I weigh in on Sunday.

I've been on WW before, but it was not the same kind of plan.  WW works on a points system.  Every food has a points value.  In the past, fruit & vegetables had a point value, so you kinda watched it with the fruit.  Fruit has a lot of sugar, so you really didn't want to use your points on the fruit.  In the new Points Plus Program, everything is calculated a new way.  No more calories involved... points are based on a formula of Fat, Carbs, Protein & Fiber.... and fruit and most veggies are FREE!  ZERO POINTS!!!  You heard it... ZERO!

Grub on fruit as much as you like!

 Weight Watchers' theory is that people don't become overweight from eating too many fruits and vegetables.  I tend to agree with that.  If someone has made the choice to pay money & go to WW, they probably aren't going to go bananas on... well... bananas! Weight Watchers makes you want to grab an apple, grapes or a banana when you need a snack, instead of something less healthy... because it's ZERO points.  It kinda scared me when I first heard it, but the truth is, when I eat an apple it fills me up for at least a couple hours.  A banana? Forget about it.  I'm stuffed.  So I'm not going to overdo it with too much fruit.  Not to mention, the last thing I need is more fiber in my life... but that's a whole 'notha post! :-)

Okay, remember I mentioned some "before" pictures?  Well, I really didn't get to take a really good picture... but I tried.  I have a very strange tummy... I call it my Frankenbelly, but that's just because it has lots of scars from my surgery incision & stoma, combined with stretch marks from when I blew up from that dreaded Prednisone.  Funny story... when I was first starting to gain weight from the steroids, I was looking at my belly in the mirror... Me:  "Hey Mommy... come here... um, is this a stretch mark???"  She told me, "Yes, but don't sweat it.  It's a rite of passage for pregnant women."  Uh, NEWSFLASH, there is NO BAMBINO in this growing belly of mine!!!  Waaaaaah!  (Did I mention how miserable I was back then? LOL!)  That one little stretch mark multiplied in a big way.  I used to say it looked like a cat jumped up & grabbed me by the belly... and slid down. LOL!!!  In the past decade, I have grown to love my Frankenbelly.  It's just a part of who I am... and as long as it's eventually somewhat flat, I could give a rat's hind parts what kind of scars it bears!  Bring on the two piece bikini!

Back to my strange tummy... the top part of my tummy is sticks out more than the bottom part.  It's weird.  I'm sure my sister might have some medical explanation for it... or maybe that's just where I carry my abdominal weight.  The good news is that I can suck it in like a pro. LOL!

Side profile... 3/9/11... not sucked in.

Side profile... all sucked in!  Look ma! No Spanx!

In the next few months I'm hoping all of this shrinks down a little.  That's about it.  So that's where things stand... I'm looking forward to the weigh-in.  I hope it's good news!  You'll know right after I do!

Toodles!