Struggle Leads To Success

It’s no news to anyone, I’ve said it a million times and I created dietSNAPS for this reason alone, but I’ve literally struggled with weight for as long as I can remember. Even when I was at my thinnest at 118 lbs, I thought I was fat. So, it hasn’t always been a matter of the actual number, but rather an overarching issue with being comfortable with my body.

Over the years, this discomfort as well as my issues with food (Stressed? Eat. Sad? Eat. Bored? You guessed it – eat.) has slowly but surely resulted in my putting on the pounds. I’ve lost 27 lbs since 2010, but I still have a long way to go. I started Weight Watchers in April after being so inspired by Lexy and Carman and I’d done WW before and knew that it worked. In my first 11 weeks on WW, I lost 7.6 lbs. I know, I know…I am a slooow loser. I work out 3-4 days a week and always stay within my points, but after decades of dieting, my body does not let go of the pounds willingly.

About a month ago, Lexy and Carman started talking about Visalus. It’s a company that sells weight loss products, most notably protein shakes, and they invited me to take the Visalus 90-Day Challenge with them. I should tell you that Visalus is an MLM – multi-level marketing – and I was raised to always think MLMs were a scam. I’m not trying to be harsh; that’s just what I believed. But, I trusted Lexy and Carman. I was also really excited about the idea of adding two protein shakes to my day and getting in my “dark leafy greens” (Lexy makes her shakes with spinach and I knew I would too). It also didn’t hurt that Lexy told me the shakes tasted like CAKE. I figured I had nothing to lose — no pun intended!

I started three weeks ago today. I didn’t use the shakes as a meal replacement, but rather I simply counted the points and added them into my day. I routinely added one first thing in the morning, around 7am, and one after dinner, around 9pm. Prior to this, I didn’t eat breakfast until 9am or so. I just can’t really “eat” until then. I thought that with the shakes I would end up waiting to eat my “real” breakfast, but I found that I was still hungry at 9am, so that didn’t change.

Anywho, my first week I actually had a burger and French fries for the first time in months. I also only got in two of my four workouts. Come weigh in, I didn’t lose anything. Nada. I stayed exactly the same. I didn’t go over on my points, but I used my Weeklies and Activity Points and I almost never do that.

Week two, I had potato chips twice, a tuna salad sandwich (which I never eat) and I made pizza at home. And, I only got in ONE of my four workouts. Again, I didn’t go over on my points, but I used my Weeklies and Activity Points again. Now, I usually weigh in on Sundays, but I was leaving on a 3-day road trip on Saturday morning, so I weighed in then.

I got on the scale and could not believe my eyes. I had lost FOUR pounds. At first, I literally thought I had gained 6 pounds because the last number was an 8 (it had been a 2) and so I thought it must have gone up. I was floored! This NEVER happens to me. I was pressed for time to get on the road, but I stopped and called both Carman and Lexy and they were just so happy for me. I was on cloud nine. I didn’t expect to take my shakes with me on the vaca, but you can darn well bet that I did once I had seen that number on the scale!

Now, not surprisingly, the road trip made it hard to eat well and I gained two of the pounds back (I probably should have gained more!), but I lost them again this week. Again, this never happens for me. It usually takes me two or three weeks to re-lose any gain.

I’m telling you all of this in detail so you understand what’s been going on, but the absolute biggest thing for me in all of this is that I finally feel like I turned a corner. I knew that when I started on WW that I would not stop until I reached my goal, but I was still eating things that weren’t going to get me closer to my goal and even though there are many out there that can eat their Weeklies and Activity Points, I’m not one of those gals. I need to stick to my Daily points only.

For whatever reason, this four pound loss has finally, after 27 total pounds, given me that real taste of success. Now, I only want to eat things that feed my body, but more important, things that feed my spirit and feed my commitment to health. I’m turning 40 next summer and even though I wanted it more than anything, now, I can truly see myself at 40 having the best body of my life: strong, healthy and lean. My 40th birthday present: a surfing excursion with my sisters and close girlfriends. : )

As Carman likes to say, “You gotta keep on keepin’ on!” Let’s do this! We CAN do this! All of us! I know how hard it is and I’d love to hear how you’re getting there. Or, if you’re not getting there just yet, what’s your journey been like? If you’ve had that a-ha moment, what did it for you? Speak up, please! We love to hear what’s working, or not working, for you! It takes a village…