I took a much-needed break from everything the last two months of 2018. 

I wanted to enjoy myself and try to grab onto some holiday cheer.  I did not go crazy with Christmas shopping, stress about family events, or let the looming year-end close craziness at work affect me.  I also didn’t go to my Weight Watchers (WW) meetings.  In fact, the last meeting I went to was November 24th!  At that point, I was down 14.0 pounds.   Even though I didn’t track my points daily and attend my weekly meetings, I tried to follow the plan as best as I could.  The structure of WW is what really contributes to your success.  Of course, my greatest vice is portion control.  If I love it, I eat it.  It all went to hell when my Mom made BBQ Ribs for Thanksgiving, but boy oh boy was it worth it!

I’m not perfect.  Instead of fooling myself into thinking I could eat everything in sight, and risk falling off the bandwagon, I remained realistic and kept my eating at a minimum.  So today was the day that I decided to get up, put on my big girl yoga pants, and head back to the WW studio for my first weigh in for the last 2 months.   I honestly did not know what to expect.  I didn’t think that I’d gained back everything I lost, nor did I think I lost anything at all.  

I stood tall on the dreaded scale and waited for the associate to either sigh in displeasure or give me an encouraging sign.  Lucky for me, I experienced the latter.  I actually lost 1.2 pounds, so I am at a total loss of 15.2! It’s a great feeling to know that I actually maintained the entire time. Wow, this means something is clicking within my carb-loving brain!  I should receive my 15-pound charm at my next meeting.  If you aren’t familiar with the process, when you reach a milestone the group leader points you out and it goes something like this:

Leader: We are celebrating a milestone today! 15 pounds!  How did you do it?

Member: I watched what I ate, stayed true to the plan, and tracked everything!

Audience: applause!  Great Job!  

Well, when I return and accept my coveted charm I know it will not go this smoothly.  I am going to be totally honest with the group and myself.  I didn’t track as I should have, I barely exercised (unless running around Marshall’s and Kohl’s counts for something) but I did keep the principles of the plan ion the back of my mind.  I was still conscious of what I was doing and eating and I am thankful that I lost something.  This proved to me that Weight Watcher is not just a diet, It really is a lifestyle. 

Should I have lost more by this point? YES.  Will I continue to lose? YES.  Am I going to give up? HELL NO.  I am still going to take it day by day.  Loss or Gain I am going to go full steam ahead and change my lackadaisical lifestyle.  

Recently, I decided to participate in a virtual 5-day challenge with my friend Nancy.  I doubt I will be able to do all of the combat moves in the exercise videos, but I’ll give it my best shot.  Next month I will walk/jog/crawl in my second  Run Like A Diva Race in Temecula Wine Country!  Two of my girlfriends are participating with me.  Last year was my very first Diva Run and I had a blast.  What’s not to love about a race that ends with a free wine tasting? (and yes, I will make sure that I track my wine consumption).  

This year, I am going to update my Weight Watchers Midlife Freestylin Journey bi-weekly versus weekly.  I believe sharing the ups and downs on this journey with cyberspace helps with the accountability factor. There will also be more recipes on the blog!

I’m not planning on going crazy and start training for the Ms. Olympia competition (is that still a thing?) but I am going to take steps in improving myself in a variety of ways.  Watch out 2019 I’m coming for you!  

Do you have any fitness or health goals for 2019 and beyond?