Join the land of the Big WW!

Well everyone...Momma and I had a nice weekend together recently. We went on a gorgeous tour of the Maple Rock Gardens in Newcastle (which I will highly recommend to anyone next time these people open their doors to the public) and we had a "ladies lunch" at the Auburn Alehouse along with several other hat wearing ladies (we were unadorned). It was a wonderful lunch, great atmosphere and of course the perfect company. Over a plate of Sweet Potato Fries with Red Pepper Aioli (you heard me right....OMG they were good!) we lamented over our lack of weight loss. Shocking I know since that appetizer had to have about a bazillion fat grams and calories but nonetheless...there we were and yes we did laugh at the irony. Mom's main complaint was feeling alone in the dieting world and mine was simply not being properly motivated. Both we realize, are pure excuses and mean nothing in the world of dieting. Its put up or shut up and we've been doing the latter after filling it with food first.

In my mothers defense she is quite an active woman and I honestly don't know anyone who could match her energy for work stamina. The woman NEVER sits down and she's constantly going. I will not defend myself here. She looked at me and said "what do we do". I told her I'd do it if she would and we would work on it together (the way Jen has supported me lately). She agreed and we settled on what I think is the best helper...the good old fashioned Weight Watchers. No crazy fads or anything...just good old fashioned sensible eating and exercise that we could document online. We both thought meetings weren't for us right now so we'll just track online. I also told her about a new show on Lifetime starting Monday nights at 5:00 called COOK YOURSELF THIN!!! We are both going to watch it every Monday night...make the dish that week and report back what we find by Thursday so I can write it up on the blog. Anyone want to join my little cooking club let me know!?!?!

I started promptly the next Monday and so far I am LIKING this Weight Watchers thing. Something about having to put everything in the system and having it calculate it out for me speaks to my Internet obsessed personality. Seeing it on screen and knowing what I have left points wise for the day motivates me and I plan better. Plus you can't cheat and NOT put something down that you ate because who are you fooling...yourself? Come on! I like that I can just pop things in and create the meals that I use to make it more simple in the long run. I've basically eaten what I've cooked for the family each night...just added a few fruits and veggies in place of snacks and reduced my portion sizes to almost HALF. I no longer grab a plate to fill up. Just a small cereal bowl is about the size of my stomach and that's all I need to sustain my hunger. I'm working on not having to feel FULL...just satisfied and no longer hungry. That's a 3 week commitment to retrain my tummy and my brain. Here are my results so far...

Daily Points Allowance - 27
Weekly "Extra" Points Allowance - 35

Monday - Used 23 of the 24
Tuesday - Used 27 daily and 11 of my "Extra" points (had some red wine) Earned 3 Exercise Points
Wednesday - So far only 10 points and 17 left to use (which I won't) and planning a bike ride tonight with Frank...so far so good!

I'm going to call Momma and check in on her tonight. I hope the Internet part hasn't stopped her. If so we're having a tutorial because she IS doing this with me. I'll let you know how it goes and please let me know if you want to join the Lifetime Cook Yourself Thin Club so I can coordinate recipes and thoughts on the experience! Even if you can't take the time to do the meal but want to receive the recipe, thoughts and possible improvements (my family knows I can always make it even better) then let me know and I'll add you to my distribution list!