Back for the Second Time

Hello everyone! I'm back! I know, I can't stay away this long. How long has it been? Well, about 10 or 11 months. You know what's happened in that time? I had a baby!!! Yup, that's right a beautiful baby boy. My first baby. What a blessing! I am so excited to be a mom and I am so ready for the journey.



 My baby, EJ, all dressed to go on a run with Mommy

(If you want to read more about my adventures with EJ visit The Mommy Diaries: Book of EJ)

 



Some of you may be thinking, "Wow, that's so awesome, but what about her weight-loss?' Or maybe, "Is she still a "skinny chick?" Ok so maybe you aren't thinking that and those are just the voices inside of my head. But, I still feel obligated to answer those questions. What about my weight-loss, well let's see...I gained about 35 pounds during my pregnancy which was within the healthy amount of weight-gain for pregnancy according to doctors.



 

Here I am at 39 weeks and 3 days (about ready to pop)

 



I can honestly say that I am pleasantly surprised about how great I looked and felt during my pregnancy. You always hear those horror stories about women who have gained an obscene amount of weight during their pregnancies and are virtually unrecognizable. I was prepared for that to be me. As someone who has struggled with her weight, I always tend to think the worst in that area. But, like I said, thankfully that was not the case. I made sure of it too, because when I first learned that I was pregnant I listened to my INNER SKINNY CHICK and she told me to continue with my normal habits and routines. Do not use pregnancy as a pass to forget all that you have learned and the lifestyle that you have grown accustomed to. So that's exactly what I did. I continued to remain active. (As active as I could later in the pregnancy.) But, most importantly, I made the decision that I would NOT STOP journaling all of the food that I ate daily. When people found out that I was doing this, they thought that I was crazy. "What?," they would say. "But, you're eating for two. You can have what ever you want." I quickly reminded them that I was eating for two, but not two adults! They had no choice but to agree with that. I worked really hard to keep journaling throughout my entire pregnancy. I am proud to say that I accomplished that.

 

So where am I now? Am I still a "skinny chick?" Well, it has been almost 10 weeks since I had my adorable little man and I still have about 10-15 pounds to lose. I have to admit, it has been a lot harder this time around to lose the weight. I knew that it wouldn't just "fall off," but I thought, given how careful I had been with my eating, that I wouldn't have to work this hard. I started going back to Weight Watchers meetings 3 weeks after my baby was born. I knew that Weight Watchers was the only thing that was going to work for me, since it worked so well for me before. I had to go back to basics. This time around my weight-loss journey has been a lot slower. Granted, I didn't have as much weight to lose this time, but it seems to be taking FOREVER. I lose weight one week and gain a little the next. This seems to be a pattern for me. Although, overall I am losing weight, it is just a very frustrating process. It's even more frustrating when you know you have lost this weight before and NONE of your old clothes fit and you are left with wearing maternity pants until the weight comes off.

 

I knew that once I got clearance from my doctor to begin activity, that would surely ramp up my weight-loss efforts. Not so much. Still very, very slow. I made a commitment to myself that I would register for the Peachtree Road Race (an annual 10K race in Atlanta that happens on July 4th). I have done that and begun my training. I knew this, too, was going to be challenging. I hadn't run in almost a year and in a couple of months my goal was to able to run 6.2 miles. Am I insane?? I guess I thought that since I ran a 1/2 marathon for the first time in 2012 and I did that in the same year that I ran my first 10K that this would be no different. I am on my way in my training, but not without my challenges and bumps in the road. There have been days where I have wanted to give up and say there is no way I will be ready in July. The great thing is I have an accountability partner, my husband, who is training with me. We trained together for the 1/2 marathon so it seemed only right for us to do this together as well. He keeps me focused and helps me keep everything in perspective. I am a new mom, it's only been 10 weeks since the birth of my son, and I just started back at work. I have to listen to my INNER SKINNY CHICK when she says to be patient with myself. This weight took 9 months to gain, it will not come off overnight.

 

 My husband and I at the finish line of the Atlanta Half Marathon on Thanksgiving Day 2012

 







One Year Later

BEFORE/AFTER

1 YEAR AT GOAL WEIGHT-40 POUNDS LOST!

Well, it's been a whole year since I reached my goal weight. Happy Anniversary too me!! I am actually more proud today than I was on the day I reached my goal. I didn't think that would be possible, but it is. One year ago, today when I stood on the scale before my weekly Weight Watchers meeting and they told me I had reached my goal, I think I was in a state of shock. Did I do it? Did I really just lose a total of 32 pounds? Then after they gave me the good news, they said the dreaded word...maintenance.

To be honest, this really FREAKED me out. So now after I have spent the last 6 months losing weight, you are honestly telling me I get to eat MORE food and maintain my weight??!! This was very frightening. I didn't want all of my hard work to go to waste and I didn't want to look like a failure to myself and to all of my friends and family that supported me throughout this journey. 

My leader could see my face and recognized the familiar look of "maintenance panic." She quickly gave me the advice that I give to my members now who are headed into maintenance: Take it one day at a time, just like you did when you first started to lose weight. There is an adjustment period. You will learn where your body is comfortable and how much food (points) to eat in a day to maintain your goal weight. 

I did just that. Now after a year of maintaining my goal weight, my life looks totally different. Well, first of all, I am now a Weight Watchers leader myself. I spend the bulk of my days helping, advising, motivating and inspiring members to reach their weight-loss goals. I am also one of the "faces" of Weight Watchers. People have seen my face and read my story online, on TV commercials, in newspapers and in meeting rooms across the country. 

I think that the thing that I am most proud of is my athletic ability. I am stronger now than I have ever been. I am currently training to run a half-marathon in the fall. This is something that I NEVER would have thought would be possible for me, but now it is. I look at myself in the mirror when I am at the gym and I see a toned, defined body and I think, "Who is this person?" It's me. It really is me. All I can say is WOW!

Weight Watchers has truly changed my life. Not just the way I look, but the way I think. Most people don't understand that truly making a lifestyle change, not just losing weight takes a state of mind. This is not something that will just happen. People ask me all the time, "Does Weight Watchers really work?" I say to them, "Yes, if you really do it. If you kinda do it, it kinda works. If you don't put anything into it, it will not work." It's all about taking control over your life and putting yourself in the driver's seat. I just have one question for you, "How bad do you want it?"

Now What?

One of the questions that I get asked most frequently is, "What's harder: Losing weight or Maintaining your weight-loss?" I think it depends on how you look at it. Losing weight is a very motivating and inspiring process. If you follow what ever wight-loss plan you are on and stick to it, you should see a loss on the scale. While losing my weight with Weight Watchers, there was nothing more euphoric to me than stepping on the scale and seeing a loss week after week. That was a definite reward for my efforts throughout the week. However, once I reached my goal-weight the "high" that I would experience week after week was gone. So the question is, "Now what?"

Getting back to the original question, which is harder weight-loss or weight-maintenance; I really think they are both difficult in their own right. Weight-loss is difficult because it is a commitment to a change. It requires breaking old habits and adopting new ones. Some of the old habits may be more difficult to break than we really think. Weight-loss also involves lots of self-realization that can be down right painful. There are also plenty of setbacks and challenges to overcome while on your weight-loss journey. But, the great thing about weight-loss is that you get to see validation for your efforts in the form of a lower number on the scale, clothing fitting better or dropping sizes, increased level of activity, and improved health. This validation is positive reinforcement and drives you to continue.

Weight-maintenance is difficult because nothing is really "physically" changing. You have gotten to the point where your weight has stabilized and you are maintaining the loss that you have achieved. The compliments start to fade and people start to get used to you being the "Skinny Chick." And then, heaven forbid, people start to treat you like you've always been skinny. They may say things like, "You don't look like you would ever need Weight Watchers" or "Do people actually take you seriously when you say that you lost weight on Weight Watchers?" Not to mention the fact that you look at yourself in the mirror and you still see the "old" you. You also have the people around you who know that you have reached your goal and they ask you, "So now can you go back to eating regularly again?"

There is so much emphasis placed on weight-loss and the emotions surrounding it. Not to many people actually talk about the emotions around weight-maintenance and how to deal with those. It is so tempting to think, "Well, I'm at my goal now...I can splurge on this or that. One more piece of pizza won't make that much difference." The truth is, just like we had to commit to a change to lose weight, we have to commit to a lifestyle of maintaining our weight-loss. It begins with the realization that what ever it was that we did to lose weight, we must do the same thing to maintain the loss. If we go back to our "old ways," we will go back to looking like our "old" self. Here are some tips that have really helped me stay focused while maintaining my weight-loss:

1. Create a new goal each week to focus on. This can be anything from a specific activity goal or something food related like increasing your amount of protein or vegetables. 

2. Track what you eat ALL the time! Tracking is what got me here. Tracking is what's going to keep me here. 

3. Continue to attend your weekly Weight Watchers meeting. The meetings offer support and accountability for Lifetime members as well. You can also weigh-in every week if you like, even though you are only required to weigh once a month. 

Here are some other tips I found in the March/April issue of Weight Watchers magazine:

4 Maintenance Musts
Here are the top 4 secrets of more than 10,000 successful dieters:

90% Exercise, on average, 1 hour per day
78% Eat breakfast every day
75% Weigh themselves at least once a week
62% Watch less than 10 hours of TV a week

Source: The National Weight Control Registry's ongoing study of adults who lost more than 30 pounds and have kept that weight off for at least a year.

Lights, Camera, Action!

As most of you know, back in August of last year (2011) I submitted my weight-loss success story to Weight Watchers. They LOVE to hear about member successes. At this time, they were looking to cast "real people" who had reached their goal-weight on the Weight Watchers PointsPlus plan in their next commercial ad campaign. I, along with 8 others, was selected to participate in the Weight Watchers commercial and print ad campaign---BELIEVE. Here are some of the print ads that I am featured in along with our group commercial with Jennifer Hudson.

MY MEETING ROOM POSTER

This is located in the meeting rooms at newly designed Weight Watchers stores across the country.

MY WINDOW BANNER

This is hanging in the windows of newly designed Weight Watchers stores across the country.

MAGAZINE AD

 Featured in Weight Watchers magazine, US Weekly, Life&Style and InTouch

GROUP TV COMMERCIAL

MEET THE CAST: BEHIND THE SCENES

I encourage you all to share your successes! You never know who you could be inspiring. This could be YOU one day!

Super Bowl Party Starters

So, my husband and I are having a few people over on Sunday to watch the Super Bowl. This is a very special occasion...his favorite team, The Giants, are playing. (Re-match from 2007). I want to make sure that we have lots of great snacks to keep the party going. However, I don't want to go overboard, like we know is so easy to do during these types of events. My inner Skinny Chick says: Take your favorite recipes and lighten them up. This way you don't have to worry about going overboard on the things you love. 

So here are some great Super Bowl party starters that are sure to be the talk of the party; aside from the Giants winning the game, of course. Enjoy!

BAKED SWEET POTATO CHIPS

http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeId=50409

CRISPY CHIPOTLE POTATO SKINS

http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeId=100501

LAYERED MEXICAN BEAN DIP

http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeId=105431

JALAPENO POPPERS

http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeId=90601

CLASSIC GUACAMOLE

http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeid=99671

BUFFALO WINGS WITH BLUE CHEESE DIP

http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeid=84571

BEEF, BLUE CHEESE AND SPINACH QUESADILLAS

 http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeId=89571

Inspiration Defined

Meet SKINNY CHICK Krystle

Krystle lost 94 pounds using Weight Watchers!

Krystle had the opportunity to meet one person who continues to inspire and motivate her during her weight-loss journey...Jennifer Hudson!

Now Krystle is an inspiration to so many others. Get inspiration from Krystle daily by following her blog: Skinny Jeans Dreams http://www.myskinnyjeansdreams.com/

A Little of This and a Little of That

As I was reading my current issue of Weight Watchers magazine this morning, there we so many interesting facts that I found really fascinating and helpful. I thought to myself, "Why not share these things?" So here they are:

Weighing Out Your Food Options
Here are some of our favorite foods and how much they weigh in relation to their PointsPlus values for Weight Watchers:

1 Medium Chocolate Chip Cookie- 10g-  1 PointsPlus
3 Cups Popcorn (Air-Popped)- 24g- 2 PointsPlus 
2oz Roast Beef- 56g- 2 PointsPlus
1/2 Cup Ice Cream- 68g- 4 PointsPlus
1 Cup Cooked Pasta- 140g- 5 PointsPlus
1 Thin-Crust Pizza Slice (1 Topping)- 78g- 5 PointsPlus
1 Small Bagel- 65g- 6 PointsPlus 


The Skinny on Omega-3 Fatty Acids 
-Great for your heart
-Helps with depression
-Helps with inflammation of joints

You should eat at least 2g of Omega-3s a day. Here are some great sources:

Flax seeds- 3/4 cup- 7g of Omega-3's
Atlantic mackerel- 4oz- 3g of Omega-3's
Walnuts- 1/4 cup- 2g of Omega-3's
Salmon- 4oz- 2g of Omega-3's
Soybeans, cooked- 1 cup- 1g of Omega-3's 

Skinny Chick Note: If you are going to eat fish to fulfill your serving of Omega-3's, remember don't fry it. Frying eliminates all the health benefits that fish offers.

Ponder This:
3 in 10 people who'd been told by doctors that they were overweight or obese still DIDN'T see their weight as a health issue. (Source: University of Florida, Gainesville) We need to do better and make our HEALTH our first priority!

Can You Sum Up Your Weight-Loss Journey in Six Words?

Weight Watchers magazine has examples of six words that can describe your weight-loss journey. Here are 3 of the the phrases they had:

-Ate too much. Changed my ways. 
-Love food. Love life much more.
-Been every size. Insides never change. 

Here's mine:
Inner Skinny finally meets Outer Skinny. 

What are the six words that describe your weight-loss journey?? Post them in comments and share with the world! 

BELIEVE in Yourself!

See how we all BELIEVED and succeeded with Weight Watchers. 

http://www.weightwatchers.com/templates/Marketing/Marketing_Utool_1col.aspx?pageid=1240831

My Success Story

Check out my success story! Posted today on www.weightwatchers.com

Young and Healthy 

http://www.weightwatchers.com/success/art/index.aspx?SuccessStoryID=15921&sc=17

The Next Treadmill Over

To run or not to run; that is the question. Well, that was the question that I always had in my mind. As I stated in an earlier post, I am currently training to run a 10K(that's 6.2 miles for the metrically challenged) race in January. January 28th to be exact. Here is the link to the race I will be running, for those of you who are curious. http://www.tartantrot.com/ That may sound like a great accomplishment to some of you. Believe me, for me, it is. It took a lot for me to get to this level.

Before joining Weight Watchers, I had a personal trainer that I worked with for about 9 weeks. He used to say to me all the time, "If you wanna really be in shape, become a runner." I could hear him saying this to me in my head over and over again. Running was something I desperately wanted to be able to do. But to no avail. I remember in the beginning I would get on the treadmill and walk. I would look over at the person on the next treadmill over and they would be running. Sometimes the person was heavier than me and they would STILL be running. I would try, but I just couldn't do it. So, I came to the conclusion that I just was NOT going to be a runner and I could still be in shape.

This conclusion is actually a true statement. There are many things that you can do to get in shape that don't involve regimented training. My inner Skinny Chick says that: you should find something you truly enjoy doing. That way you will be looking forward to being active, not dreading it.  If you don't have an idea about what it is you truly love to do, here's a rule of thumb. Think about what you loved to do as a kid. Chances are, you still love to do the same activity. My fun thing is DANCING! I absolutely love to dance. I am not really sure people would say that I am good at it, but I definitely have a great time doing it. Because my fun activity is dancing, I started to look into ways I could incorporate it into my week. My husband and I went out with friends and tried country line dancing, which is something I never thought I would do. To my surprise, we absolutely loved it and we both worked up a nice sweat! We started going once a week. Sometimes, I would just turn on my radio when I was at home and dance around the house. No one was there (except for my dogs) to see me looking crazy and I burned a lot of calories by simply having fun. Think of all the fun ways you can burn calories. If you have gone to the mall recently to do Christmas shopping, I am sure you burned some calories doing that! To find out other  fun ways to get activity in, visit a Weight Watchers meeting this week. Activity is the topic for the week. To find a location near you, visit www.weightwatchers.com.

So, I'm sure you are wondering how I went from dancing to training for a 10K race. Well, it was a gradual process. Like I said, I focused on things that I liked to do, like dancing. I also tried activities that I had never tried before, like kickboxing, which is now one of my new loves. I spent quality time with my husband (and dogs) and friends by walking in the park together. I tried to incorporate some type of activity into my day every day, even if it was just for a few minutes. My inner Skinny Chick says: Some activity is better than no activity. Research does show that doing short spurts of exercise throughout the day (like 10 minutes intervals) has the same effect as doing a lengthly workout.

Using this plan for activity (without running) I was able to lose 20 pounds! I felt so great about myself. Not just because of what I had accomplished, but I physically felt better. So much better that I thought I would give running another try. I still remember my first time back on the treadmill after I had sworn off running. I looked at the runners on the treadmills on either side of me. They were really in shape. They ran with ease as if they could literally run all day. I pledged to myself that day, "I am going to do this. I WILL be a runner." I started out slowly, running for a minute and walking for 4 minutes. Then I would run for 2 minutes and walk for 2 minutes until I would run for a full 5 minutes and walk for 2 minutes in between. I was becoming a runner. This was around April of this year. During this time Weight Watchers was promoting their annual Walk-iT event. This was a 5K (3.1 miles) race. The goal was for members to get out and walk the race. I committed to running the race. For 6 weeks I trained and on May, 22 2011, I ran my first 5K!! On May, 29 2011, I made my goal weight (35 pounds lost) and have maintained it ever since!

So now I am running almost every day. I run at least 3 miles. Hopefully, by January 28th, I will be running at least 6 miles almost every day. I am now the person on the next treadmill over that inspires others! A couple weeks ago, I was at the gym lifting weights. I had just finished running 3.5 miles, so as you can imagine, I was a bit sweaty. I overheard two guys talking to each other about me. One of them said, "I've never seen a GIRL sweat like that before!" I said to him, "You don't lose 35 pounds by not sweating." That posed a question in my mind, "Are some women afraid to sweat?" I remember having conversations with some of the women I know and a lot of them expressed that they would be more active, but they didn't like to sweat. My inner Skinny Chick is saying to you: Don't be afraid to sweat like a Skinny Chick!  I am definitely not afraid. In fact, here are a couple sweaty pictures of me today at the gym after running 3.5 miles!

 

If you are not afraid to sweat like a "Skinny Chick,"(even if you're a guy) email me your sweaty pics to skinnychicknotes@gmail.com and I will upload them so that everyone will see you sweat like a "Skinny Chick!" Be proud of your sweat. You worked hard for it! 

Skinny Chick Recipe Pick

NEW Weight Watchers One Pot Cookbook 

If you really want to cook, but short on time. Try this new Weight Watchers cookbook. All recipes are prepared in just one pot! 

The book includes: 

Nutrition information and Weight Watchers PointsPlus values for all recipes

Easy tips for healthy additions to each recipe

An introduction to the types of pots used for the recipes-from skillets to slow-cookers

And much more 

Click here for more information and to purchase the book http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118038126,descCd-buy.html

Look Who is Giving WW a Try...

Check out this link and see how Charles Barkley is planning on sharing his success with Weight Watchers.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2011/12/charles-barkley-gets-serious-about-losing-his-round-mound/1?cid=sm_fb&sf2731214=1

Inner Meets Outer

I am a "skinny chick". Not just on the inside anymore (which is still hard to believe). My inner "skinny chick" has now morphed into a new outward "skinny chick" appearance for all to see. This sounds like a great thing to most people, and don't get me wrong, it is. I am happy to be 35 pounds lighter and healthier than I was before. It's just that now I can't hide from her. She is now living on the outside instead of just on the inside. I still hear her voice, now it is speaking to a room full of people instead of just to me.

Losing 35 pounds has totally transformed my way of life. I now work full-time for Weight Watchers, which is the weight-loss plan that I followed to lose weight. I am a meeting leader who is responsible for motivating, educating and inspiring people to reach their weight-loss goals. I absolutely LOVE my new job! There is nothing more rewarding than being able to share my experiences with Weight Watchers in order to help others like me.

I have to admit, though, that there are days when I struggle with the outer "skinny chick" that I have become. I look in the mirror and say, "Who is this person?" I hear her (my inner "skinny chick" that is ---because she is still there) say to me, "It's you."

I truly can't believe the person that I have become. I actually cook now instead of going through the drive-thru. I am training to run my first 10K in January. I eat things like Greek yogurt, skim milk, baked sweet potatoes, brown rice, wheat pasta, sugar-free everything and I actually LIKE it! Who am I!!!

It will take some time and adjustment, but I think I can get used to the outer "skinny chick" that I've become.