On a Mission

I'm on a Mission. Two kids and 18 months later, I need to get rid of this saggy FUPA that I acquired during pregnancy. Yes, I've been fat before, but not saggy skin fat. Now, I have saggy skin and I need to eliminate this before it expands, or before I let my husband and myself get too comfortable with it.

I've been overweight for roughly 13 years of my life. The last 13 to be exact. It all started the summer that I worked at the Dental Center as a Dental Assistant and front office staff. They had this AMAZING Chinese restaurant upstairs which I frequented at least 3x a week. On top of that, I felt it necessary to stop at Dairy Queen on the way home probably 2x a week to get those awesome cookie dough blizzards WITH extra cookie dough. Be jealous. That delicious diet afforded me the advantage of gaining 25 pounds that summer even though I was going through rigorous swimming sessions every morning for the swim team. Amazingly enough, it was after I received my driver's license too. It was me making my own decisions to be FAT. Yeah, I'm awesome. I've literally been battling my weight ever since. Back then, I wasn't fat though, just fat for superficial high school standards. Now, I'm FAT. I'm down to pre-baby weight, still can't fit in my clothes. It's time. With no kids on the way, I'm going to do this. I've also enlisted my husband. He's packed on the pounds right along with me because I'm the one cooking the crap, and he's the one eating the crap. I don't want him to die. I don't want to die. AND most importantly, I don't want to show my two boys that eating like crap is the way to grow up. My Parents didn't teach me that [although they eat like crap now too].

So, HOW am I going to do this? Well, after much research on all the latest and greatest diet fads out there, I've decided to sign up for Weight Watchers. Weight Watchers will teach me portion control [MY BIGGEST ISSUE! because if the pan of brownies is there, the pan of brownies will end up in my stomach in all of two hours flat. I'm a glutton], and how to eat correctly [even though I already know]. My ultimate goal is to eliminate all the processed, hormone infused foods as well. I know this is a LONG way down the road. Right now, I'm just concerned about shedding some weight and doing it the correct way. However, like I said, my ultimate goal is to be a "most of the time organic vegetarian" with a few slight slip ups per year for a good burger, Italian beef, or steak [notice ALL beef-lol]. I'd love to eliminate cheese too, however, I just don't see that happening EVER. It's too amazing. I think a severe health problem would be the only way to make that happen and I'm going to shed these extra pounds in order to avoid that health problem. It's something I can control.

So-we have joined! After my first week, I've dropped 4.2 pounds. My goal is roughly 60 more. Yes, 60. SUCH A BIG NUMBER! However, the first week has definitely had its ups and downs. First obstacle-going home to Chicago. I tell my Mom we are limiting meat and that we are on weight watchers, but she really is not supportive. She has that mentality that you need to pound your body with protein. She doesn't realize that protein comes in different forms like beans, soy, quinoa, etc. Her idea of protein is MEAT. She can't have enough. She doesn't realize that meat has cholesterol, saturated fat, and all that other nasty crap. Yes, I know, not all meat is laced with death, however, the meat she cooks-yeah, it is. So we get home at 10PM! PM! and she has chicken wings in the oven, bbq beef waiting, potato salad, and something else that is not losing weight conducive. Which in all reality is really funny because she has been my biggest critic all these years. Telling me how I don't fit in my clothes properly, being a sort of embarrassment to her. You think she would be supportive. It's one of those situations where you are damned if you do and damned if you don't. I think I'll be damned if I do from now on. I now know that telling her I'm on weight watchers isn't enough. I'm going to be bringing my own food when we go there from now on, however rude it may be. Obstacle solved. Second obstacle? The BEST fast food joint ever-PORTILLOS! Portillos makes the BEST Italian Beef with hot peppers and has the BEST fries EVER. Now to the amazing people who have put the point values out there on the Internet-The Italian Beef is 18 points and the Fries are 24 or something close to that. I found it on the Internet somewhere and am now having troubles locating it. Well-I get a whole 31 points in a day [plus 14 for breastfeeding, but I have found I don't really need those if I eat my whole grains, fruits and veggies] and I was determined to have this delicious meal. AND I DID. It was my decision, I went over my points, BUT the beautiful thing is-I used those 14 breastfeeding points and I used some of the slush 49 points for the week and still lost. Weight Watchers is a beautiful thing. How am I going to overcome this obstacle next time I'm home? Well, I'm not. I'll probably do it again and I'm ok with that. As I said earlier, I'm going to slip up for a good Italian Beef and Portillos has the best! Obstacle #3-sweets! Oh sweets, how I love thee. I decided to buy some of the weight watchers sweets products like fruities, peanut butter bliss bars, and chocolate pretzel bars to satiate that craving. It worked, but let me comment that sugar alcohols and aspartame have been known to cause cancer which is not healthy. I want to make sure I can eliminate these SOON. I'm hoping that after a few weeks, these cravings will drop down significantly and I can substitute with an actual brownie made out of real sugar instead. Stay tuned for that obstacle.

Good things about the week? Well, I tried several new vegetarian recipes. I did a broccoli polenta one night. I added a few extra things for flavor like mushrooms, onions, and a little Parmesan cheese, but it was a definite winner. We have been roasting veggies on the grill daily since it's minimal points and beautiful weather. I've literally been eating 3-4 cups of these daily just so I can make it through my day. Everybody knows that when you start a diet, you automatically throw yourself in ravenous mode because you think you need all the crap you had before. The roasted veggies have REALLY helped. Oh, and finally, let's not forget the 4.2 lbs down. :)

So, there you have it. My first week wasting away in a semi-healthy way.