Week 17 Update: FIRST GOAL REACHED

Current Weight: 248.2
+/- this week: -2.0
+/- total: -19
Short Term Goal: 250 (5/26/09)
Short Term Goal 2: 225
Long Term Goal: 150

What a meeting today! It was the best meeting I've been to since I started attending Weight Watchers. It was also the most emotional.

This week's topic was Motivating Strategies. As part of that, some people shared what their motivation was for coming to Weight Watchers - or what Paula called "The Last Straw". She has been a lifetime member since 1984 and is a wonderful leader. Hearing her talk about going to K-Mart to buy a pair of larger pants just to "last until she lost weight and the old pants fit"... it was something that I'm sure every single person in that room could relate to.

We talked about what we were doing (the thing we wanted to move away from) and what we are doing (the thing we are heading towards). People shared old habits and new lifestyle choices. Mine was this: the thing I am moving away from is having other people (and myself) being worried about my health and well being. I'm moving towards people being proud of me and not having a second thought about my health.

One person shared that they were moving towards being happier and several people chimed in about how they didn't realize how unhappy they were at their heaviest until they started trying to lose weight. Paula said that when she lost her weight, she felt like she'd gotten her personality back.

I can't even describe the awesomeness and support of being in a room full of people, being close to tears with the weight of it (literally and figuratively!) and knowing that every single person there shares feelings with me. That everyone there knows what this feels like, knows how hard it is, how much work it is, and that we are all there so support each other. I don't think I would be able to do all of this without going to the meetings and without blogging here. The support I feel from your comments, and from the acknowledgment in the meetings when we do awards means so much to me that I can't even describe it.

Today I reached my first goal! This is a huge milestone. I weighed in today at 248.2 pounds! It's the first time in over a year that I've been under 250 pounds. It also puts me at 19 pounds of weight lost, which is only one pound away from 20, which seems huge. And sort of awesome. I only have 7 more pounds to go until I reach my 10 percent, and I actually feel like I can do it! I am also sitting at less than 100 pounds to lose right now. I feel like my thyroid medication is really working now, I've been seeing more consistent weight loss and it is amazing to feel this kind of motivation.

I'm down to 30 points a day now, I started the program with 32 points a day. How many points you get per day is based on a lot of things including your weight, level of activity etc. If I reach my long term goal weight of 150 lbs, I think I'll sit at 22 points a day or somewhere near there. I also have changed my Body Mass Index from 41.8 to 38.9!

I didn't eat perfectly last week, but also earned TONS of activity points from walking. The weather has been beautiful and I got outside every single day last week with Sam, which meant pushing him in the stroller and running around with him playing at parks. I am really looking forward to spending tons of time outside this summer, and it is awesome to be able to get some exercise just over the course of the day.