WW Weigh-in Week 2

Updated to add: I have placed a weight loss ticker on my sidebar. I'm going to be putting one small goal at a time on there. I'm not sure yet what the long term goal is, so I'm just going to be going with baby step goals and we'll see what the larger ones are as I go. However, the long term goal is not about the numbers, but about a healthier life for me and my family.

I had my 2nd weigh in this morning and I lost 3 more lbs. That makes my total for the last two weeks 7.6. The first time I ever did WW (8 yrs. ago) I lost 8 lbs. in the first two weeks then my weight loss slowed down to 1-2 lbs. per week. That time I lost a total of 20 lbs. in 10 weeks, which puts the average at 2 lbs. per week. That's really what WW considers a healthy weight loss. So, I'm not expecting huge numbers every week, but I'm certainly excited to have had such a great start.

I had a GREAT weekend, but food wise I knew it was going to be interesting. We had a retreat to go to on Friday night and Saturday and my son's birthday was Sunday. I was unsure how I would do when the menu was not within my control or when there were many desirable high fat foods available. I was very excited to realize that at the retreat if I just made good choices I could eat well and remain well within my points range. The first night we had spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and chocolate cake. I had a small serving of spaghetti (probably half of what I would have normally eaten), I ate two bits of the crust on my bread (those parts did not have butter on them) and I had two salads. I took plenty of my own snacks (fun size milky way (2pts.) Nutty Bar (3 pts.) and a few other things, so I turned down the cake and decided if I needed something sweet I'd go for one of my snacks later, but I never did. We had to leave for a few hours for my son's first baseball game of the year (they won and he recieved the game ball for scoring1 run and 2 RBIs), so I was able to grab breakfast from home. For lunch we had sub sandwiches. I mad wise choices about what I put on my sandwhich, I avoided chips and pies and instead had another salad and fruit for dessert (I really love fruit anyway!). I was excited to realize that even in situations that are beyond my control, I can make good choices and have healthy meals. I also found a new Salad dressing that I LOVED and was pretty good on the calories. It's Kraft Sundried Tomato Vinagrette, YUM! I will be bringing some of that home as soon as I next hit the grocery store.

On to my son's birthday. I had initially thought that I would be very cautious for that meal, trying to fill up on veggies and lean meat, but in the end I decided (after a discussion with my sweet, VERY supportive husband) that if this really is a lifestyle change I have to make decisions that will make sense for life and avoiding things that I LOVE while everyone else is splurging for a special occasion will quickly make me feel more deprived than is practical. So, I just carefully watched my portions, I ate a very low point breakfast, and I was able to do really well. I ate a good size burrito with chicken, veggies, cheese, sour cream and sausage on it as my main entree, then I had a very small serving of mexican lasagna (it was so YUMMY, I will be trying to figure out how to make it in a healthy way!) and some seven layer dip with tortilla chips. I realized before I finished that I was feeling VERY stuffed, I even gave over half of my chips away. I just could not finish. When it came time for dessert I allowed myself one piece of cookie cake (about the size of a small brownie) and about a Tbsp. of ice cream, so I had foods that I really enjoyed, but I was cautious with my portions and made sure that the primary part of my meal was very healthy and it worked out great.

I have to say that typically the first two weeks of any major food change are usually the hardest, but this has been so easy for me. I know that is because God is guiding me through this process! I could not do this without Him. I encourage you to go to Him with the desires of your heart and ask for what you need. Ask Him to curb your appetite, to give you the desire for foods that are good for your body, for the ability to avoid temptation, etc. He desires for us to be healthy, to not be gluttonous. His Word says in 2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for LIFE and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. If he has given us everything that pertains to life then He is certainly willing to give use everything we need to attain good health and to take care of these bodies that He has given us. Don't leave Him out of the process.

*Another Update: I think I've finally decided on some long term goals. I'm really hoping for around 8 lbs. per month, but don't think that's realistic, so I've scaled back. Here are my goals:
10 lbs. lost by April 22nd (my step-sons Basic Training Graduation)
15 lbs. lost by May 16th (Beach vacation)
25 lbs. lost by July 7th (Our church's kids camp)
30 lbs. lost by September 1st (Our 15th anniversary)
50 lbs. lost by Christmas
60 lbs. lost by March 29 (1 year WW anniversary)
That would get me to a size that I feel like I can easily find clothes that I love and a weight that I was pretty comfortable with. I'd really like to lose 17 more lbs. than that, but I'm not sure it's feasable. We'll see. This averages out to about 5 lbs. lost per month, which feels doable to me. I'll not be beating myself up if I don't achieve all of these numbers in this time frame. Frankly I'm not sure what my body will do, if I'll hit plateaus, lose weight at a slower rate than 1.5 lbs. per week, etc. We'll just see where the Lord takes me on this journey. Once I get into more of a rhythm I may adjust these, but it's a great starting point.