Tuesday 13 October 2015

Weight Watchers update: September



Well, it's been a month since my last post about Weight Watchers, and I feel like I've made some good progress. It's reached the point where it doesn't feel like a diet any more - this is a lifestyle change, and living a bit more healthily is part of me. And it's made a difference - I feel so much healthier in myself.


I've actually only lost about 4lbs in the last month, due to birthdays and whatnot, but it seems to have been a pretty pivotal 4lbs. Suddenly everyone is noticing my weight loss, and I'm really feeling the difference. I've got back into some clothes that didn't fit a few months ago, and for the first time in over a year, I feel excited about clothes again. I bought a few new dresses in the House of Fraser sale and they ALL fit - this hasn't happened, well, ever. And it's nice knowing that the next few times I go out, I'll have an option of clothes to wear, rather than that-one-presentable-dress-that-fits.

I'm starting a new job in a couple of weeks, and I've realised that I need to claw back my sense of style. I mean, this started as a fashion blog, I do have one! But I lost it when I gained weight - even though this isn't the first time I've gained weight, it just seemed to change me this time. I was reluctant to buy lots of new clothes that fit me at this size, so I cycled through the same frumpy dresses that I didn't like, which made me feel even worse about myself and then that made me feel even less like making an effort. I felt very self conscious about what I looked like at the start of this year - it kind of sucked. I feel like I'm getting that sense of self back though, and I'm actually really excited to make a new start at a new company, and own my dresses-and-heels look. And this time, I won't let it bother me if I'm the only one doing it and everyone else is in skinny jeans. That's not me, and that's ok.

Walking is still playing a key part, and I'm thankful to my Fitbit for that. It's really pushed me to meet my targets and get off my bum, especially at weekends. Recently, we did an 8 mile round trip at the weekend (with a Nando's stop in the middle, obvs) and it didn't phase me at all. We tried the same route back in April or May, and I only got about halfway before we had to stop. Matt's also commented that I keep pace with him now without struggling, which I used to always do - I had to constantly pull on his arm to make him slow down! As I'm 5'1 and he's 5'11, keeping pace with him is quite an achievement for me, and shows how much my fitness has improved. I'm not exactly FIT, but I'm so much fitter than I was earlier this year.

I'm trying to be stricter about tracking what I eat - I do find that writing down my intake helps me keep track, and stops me sneaking in extra snacks. I'm planning all of my meals now too, and almost everything is made from scratch. I'm still eating a lot less meat, and red meat is a rare treat now. But I'm not cutting out the treats, just cutting back on them, having one treat day a week, which seems to be working. I used to think eating what I wanted at the weekend was fine if you're being good the rest of the time, but if you're trying to lose weight, it's not really enough - especially when the weekend starts on Friday and ends on Sunday, that's almost half the week! Not letting one treat day bleed into two has a big impact on my motivation, and helps me snap back to the straight and narrow. If I have a whole weekend of indulgence, I find that I see the rest of the week as a write off, which isn't the way to do things.

Matt is being a big help, too. He's never needed to lose weight - he actually LIKES exercise and sports, and is really slim, but he's using this as an opportunity to get healthier. He's happy to come out on walks with me and will even suggest walks we can do, which is great when my motivation is lacking. And he's eating what I'm eating, so I don't have to cook two different meals in the evening or even think about serving two different portion sizes. It really helps - it would be so much harder to eat well if I was watching him eating indulgent food at the same time! And he's a good recipe tester, too - flavour is so important to me, I refuse to sacrifice it while dieting, and he assures me that the dinners I cook don't taste like diet food.

Overall, at the moment I'm feeling really positive. I'd still like to lose around half a stone before our New York holiday at the end of November, and I want to introduce more exercise than just walking. But this all feels really sustainable. The key thing is that I'm not forbidden from eating any food, I can still go out for dinner or have a few drinks or eat chocolate - I'm just a bit more aware of what I put into my body.

Next month I want to stick to my routine, which may be difficult as I'll be in a new job. I want to try and up the exercise - I'd love to start up zumba classes again - and keep doing what I'm doing in terms of diet. I'm really excited about seeing more of a difference and having full access to my old wardrobe - that's the biggest motivator right now.

What are you doing at the moment? What's working for you?
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4 comments

  1. So good to hear that you're feeling a bit more back to yourself and excited for things like dresses again. It's such a vicious circle when you hate what you see but you feel too self conscious to dress around it and stop caring or looking after yourself.

    Sending positive and routine adhering wishes for the next few weeks.

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  2. Well done you! Keep up the great work, sounds like it's doing your health and confidence the world of good! Good luck on your new job xx

    Ioanna | Hearting.co.uk

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  3. I've switched allegiance and moved over to Slimming World the past month, no fault of WW it just wasn't working for any more. I knew too many 'cheats' and had become a little bored of it and as my mum is successfully a target member at SW she's helping me now which is much easier without having to join groups etc... so far I'm 4lb down and much like yourself retraining myself that a krispy kreme over the weekend Fri - Sun isn't a treat when it happens every week!!

    Victoria x
    FlorenceandMary.com

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  4. Glad things are going well for you, it's so nice to feel like yourself again! I have plateaued in my weight loss but as I want to lose another stone, I actually need to focus myself!

    Maria xxx

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