Christmas is coming but despite the approaching festive season, Amy and Patricia are remaining focussed and determined to stay on track with their weight loss.
The girls are now halfway through their Weight Watchers challenge and they’ve been doing absolutely great. In their twice-weekly diary, they’ve been giving us an in depth look at just what it’s really like to live life while following the Weight Watchers plan.
In this entry, they’re talking about prepping for the holidays, coping with small mishaps and the importance of writing everything down.
To keep up to date with the girls’ journey, make sure you check out their previous diary entry by clicking here.
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Name: Amy Wall
Meeting: Carmelite Community Centre Whitefriar, 56 Auinger St., Dublin, Dublin 2
Starting Weight: 11 stone 9lbs
Current Weight: 11 stone 1 lb
It seems as though my birthday over-indulgence caught up with me this week! I’ll admit that I wasn’t feeling overly confident when I stepped up on the scales at my Weight Watchers meeting although I am pleased to tell you that I didn’t manage to do too much damage.
I put on one pound and you know what? I’m actually okay with that. I enjoyed myself, I had fun, I have no regrets and now that I know I’m a pound up, it’s spurned me on and actually improved my focus when it comes to sticking to the ProPoints plan over Christmas.
I think learning to deal with weight gain is something that’s important when you’re setting out on any kind of weight loss plan. I was beyond grateful for the attitude of my leader Mary at the scales this week.
She simply said that it wasn’t a big deal, told me that I should be proud of myself for having such a huge loss last week and that I’d manage to get that pound off again soon – sure haven’t I already lost a few over the past six weeks?
Her upbeat attitude and common sense approach to things made me realise that gaining weight isn’t the end of the world. Instead of seeing it as a negative, I just need to flip my perspective and allow it to inspire and motivate me instead. And that’s exactly what it’s after doing. In the grand scheme of things, gaining a pound isn’t a big deal and I know I’ll get it off if I stick to the Weight Watchers plan and use my ProPoints tracker every single day.
I’m using my newfound motivation to help me make some healthy, Weight-Watchers-friendly plans for Christmas. Taking the advice of Mary on board, I’ve decided that for me, Christmas will only last for two days this year (instead of fourteen). I’ll enjoy my Christmas dinner. I’ll enjoy a few drinks with friends on St Stephen’s night, but after that it’s strictly back on plan.
But that isn’t to say that I’ll be depriving myself either. I’ll still be indulging, but I’ll just be making clever, healthy swaps instead to ensure that I stay within my ProPoints every single day.
Today in our meeting, Mary asked to imagine what it would feel like to show up at our post-Christmas weigh-in half a pound lighter. I can’t promise that I’ll be half a pound lighter after the festivities, but I am going to try to remain the same and not do too much damage!
Name: Patricia Murphy
Meeting: Carmelite Community Centre, Whitefriar, 56. Aungier St. Dublin, Dublin 2
Starting Weight: 14 stone 11lbs
Current weight: 14 stone 4lbs
At my weigh-in on Wednesday I was down another 1.5 pounds and I am really thrilled to have lost nearly a half a stone since beginning the ProPoints programme. While I am looking forward to Christmas I think January will be a good month for me once all of the holiday temptations disappear. There isn’t a class next week so I will definitely have to try very hard to keep on track but I am going to enjoy myself too and hopefully come the 2nd of January I won’t have fallen off the wagon!
This week, my leader advised us to think of Christmas as one day rather than a whole week and I think that’s really important. I am determined not to spend my whole holiday looking into the bottom of a box of chocolate and instead I’m going to proritise spending time with my family and friends and getting out and doing something different. While it would nearly to be a sin not to enjoy Christmas dinner I am definitely more prepared when it comes to making healthy choices and being conscious of what I am eating since beginning this ProPoints programme.
I think the most important thing I have done since starting this programme is buy the Weight Watchers pedometer. If I don’t have enough steps racked up I am more likely to get out and earn those Activity ProPoints than if I was oblivious and for me that is really motivating. I also found some old issues of the Weight Watchers magazine in my mom’s attic and I really find the stories inspiring. They definitely motivate me to throw the runners on.
Although I have lost only a few pounds I feel better for it. I feel that the smart choices I have made in the last few weeks are definitely not difficult to keep to and I love being able to enjoy foods I love in moderation. Having control of your food and ProPoints is reassuring and although the scales will always be a bit scary to stand upon, it is usually worth it.
I hope you all have a happy Christmas and I am promising myself that if I’m not down a pound that I will at least be the same. I definitely don’t want to blow all my hard work. January will definitely be full of resolutions but Weight Watchers is one I plan to keep.
Do you want to join Amy and Trisha? Find your nearest Weight Watchers classes here.
