57 in 2011

57 in 2011...that's my goal. I don't do New Year's resolutions but I guess this sort of is one. I think of it more as a goal that I have and plus it's kind catchy and sing song-y and let's face it, you can take the teacher out of preschool but you can't take the preschool out of the teacher.

So to reach this goal, I started back at Weight Watchers two weeks ago. I'll have to say I have a love/hate relationship with the new PointsPlus program!

Yes, you get more daily and weekly points which is great but the points totals of many of the foods I eat went up as well. For the first couple of days, I was quite frustrated by this fact. Things I ate for lunch and breakfast on the program long ago when I lost weight are now much higher in points and not as easy to fit into the day. However, after doing a lot of reading and studying the PointsPlus values, I started to realize that this is a much healthier program.

A big difference now is that most fruit have a 0 PointsPlus value. So for the past two weeks, anytime I feel a little hungry, I'm reaching for an apple or banana whereas in past attempts at Weight Watchers, I'd look at a 2 point banana versus a 2 point snack and of course choose the snack. I was making less healthy choices and still using 2 points! Now I'm able to fill up on fruit or carrots or whatever, not add to my daily points total and I'm making much healthier choices. And I'll have to say, I'm not sure if it's the fruit I'm eating or just a mental change that I've made, but I am making healthier choices overall this time. In past attempts I spent much of my time trying to see how much I could get away with while staying in my range.

So how is it working for me??

GREAT!!

I lost 2.4lbs the first week and 2.2lbs this week, my second week on the program. I did struggle the first week like I said. I think a lot of it had to do with starting the program before I went to the grocery store for the week. I was trying to do the program with the only the foods that had gotten into the program around the house. Once I made my list (admittedly that first one took a LOOOOOONG time) and loaded up on good foods it was a lot easier.

The thing I love the most is all the extra weekly points you get. You can use a little every day, all in one day to have a big blow out meal, or not at all! I was worried last week because one day out at the mall I got something to eat that I thought was A LOT less in points than it ended up being. I also had some wine...okay, a lot of wine!! But, I didn't even use up all of my weekly points and ended up having a great weigh in!

The other thing I love about Weight Watchers is the meetings. So many people sign up to do Weight Watchers online or go and weigh in but don't stay for the meetings. This just does not work for me. I need to go and listen to the leader talk, listen to others share their experiences whether success or failure, and get tips and encouragement from others going through the same struggles I am in this journey.

My biggest struggle right now is figuring out dinners for next week. I've noticed that Weight Watcher's recipes always have LOTS of ingredients. I prefer fewer ingredients! My brain doesn't go as crazy that way! So I'd love folks to share good recipes if you've got them!!