Back in Control

 

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After

Before Name Lindsay Age 29 Height 5'10" Was 230 lbs  Lost 55 lbs*  Weight 175 lbs  As of 3/25/2010 *People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week. It’s not always the number on the scale that’s most important. It’s how you feel in your pants.

Before starting Weight Watchers, I had struggled with my weight forever. My husband and a couple friends were planning a cruise vacation and I didn’t want them to see me in a bathing suit looking the way I did. I’d been trying different things that weren’t working. Then I heard about a friend who was successful with losing her baby weight on the plan, so I decided to start following the POINTS® Weight Loss System online.

Exercise is key:
I used to use my elliptical machine at a very low impact for about 10-15 minutes a day, but as I started to lose weight, I built up more and more time and resistance. I started running and trying different types of activities that I’d never tried before. Once you start seeing results, the plan gets much easier.

Time management:
I have a crazy work schedule at the hospital, so going to meetings wouldn’t work for me. Following the plan online was much more convenient. I could use the online tools at the hospital anytime and track my POINTS values at 9PM if I needed to.

I’m also not the most tech-savvy person, but the tools were so easy to use online. I also used the message boards for motivation and advice, so if I got a craving late at night and wanted to run to the vending machine, I would go online and there was always someone there to interact with.

Keep it healthy:
Since starting the plan, my husband and I cook much more often and eat out less. I often look at the recipes available to online subscribers to plan my grocery lists and cook healthier dishes than I might have cooked previously.

Overcoming obstacles:
One of the hardest things to learn was that messing up one day doesn’t have to ruin everything. I’d gotten stuck in this self-shaming cycle, where I’d go over my POINTS values one day and the whole week was lost. But everything is different day by day. If you fall off track you just get back on track the next day. That was hard to learn.

There’s also a challenge in unlearning bad habits like social eating. It’s hard to tell people “no” in a social setting. Like at parties and at the office, saying no to birthday cake is hard.

Added bonuses:
I love that my dimples came back and that I’m slowly getting the toned arms I've always wanted. I’m not afraid to try new things like running a 5k or signing up for a triathlon, which I did last year.

Weight Watchers by proxy:
To help me in my journey, my husband was willing to stop eating out and to exercise with me. Because of that, my husband has also lost weight during my weight loss. He tells his co-workers he’s on “Weight Watchers by proxy.”