urban:masala

A New Beginning

urban masala on 12 7, 2008

For the last year or so I have mistakenly believed that I can simply lose weight on my own without the help of a support network and external accountability. I figured that since I had successfully lost 51 pounds on my own in 2003/2004 (from 256 to 205), I could simply do it again. Well, obviously that is not the case anymore because it’s not working for me this time around. This protracted period of denial, coupled with much food abuse and overall self-neglect has manifested itself in a very ugly way, resulting in my tipping the scale at a whopping, all-time high of 283 pounds. Not only am I back to where I started in 2003, but I now have an additional 27 pounds to lose. And that SUCKS!!!

Well, I have finally awakened from denial and accepted the fact that I am in a different place right now; one where I do, in fact, need assistance and accountability. At this point, my biggest problem is portion size, followed closely by poor food choices. That being the case, I’ve decided to combine my past healthy eating philosophy with the Weight Watchers Points System.

I thought long and hard about this decision and I feel that WW will provide not only accountability, but also the support I will need in making the transition from binge eating to eating normal-sized portions. It’s not that I don’t know what proper food portions are, rather it’s a matter of re-learing to actually eat within the normal range again. There have been way too many times when I would prepare perfectly healthy meals, only to sit there and mindlessly eat and eat and eat…until I was stuffed, simply because the food tasted great. I sometimes think being a good cook is both a blessing and a curse.

I attended my first WW meeting yesterday and it was quite encouraging. The group leader has a sense of humor that I can appreciate, the mix of members is quite diverse and many of the members were willingly participating and sharing. Unfortunately, I entered the meeting about 20 minutes late, so I didn’t get to see and hear about the week’s weight-loss successes, but I could tell from some of the conversations that some have been attending meetings for quite a while and have achieved a respectable level of success.

An added bonus of joining WW (one that I am totally diggin’) is eTools, a variety of online resources designed to help members achieve their weight loss goal. I plan to use many of thems, particularly the online points tracker, weight track and recipe builder. Since I have issues with excessive sodium, cooking will be a enormous key to my success and the recipe builder is an indispensable tool for those who like to cook their own meals. It allows you to enter each ingredient of a recipes and then the system calculates the points-per-serving value for you. Being primarily a calorie counter, the WW Points system was the main reason I had hesitated joining. I felt that counting points for the food I prepared (and anything that didn’t have a nutrition label) would be way too much effort. The recipe builder is definitely a God-send for me.

I am a firm believer in positive reinforcement, and being the good little accountant that I am, I’ve decided to give myself monetary rewards for efforts. I am setting aside a weight loss and exercise fund. For every pound I lose, I will contribute $10 to fund. As an added incentive, I will also contribute $5 for each time I work out for at least 30 minutes. This is a good way for me to stack back quite a few bucks (a total of $1,330.00 from weight loss alone) and not feel guilty about it. The funds will not be available for withdrawal until I have lost at least 25 pounds. After that time, I will be able to use the funds whenever I wish, but exclusively on gift purchases for myself. I plan to continue rewarding myself this way until I reach my goal weight. I’ve been wanting a new smart phone, so this will be the perfect way for me to justify the purchase. I will keep a running total of my rewards account and update it weekly here on the blog.

I am so excited about this new approach and am definitely looking forward to the rewards it will bring. In a nutshell, my goal is to develop a healthy and mindful eating style and I have a gut feeling that committing myself to the WW plan will help me get there. Ultimately, I WILL achieve my goal … one pound at a time, one day at a time. BELIEVE IT!

Cheers to new beginnings…
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Image credit: Author unknown; this is a sample image from my computer.