I have to say that over the course of the last month, for the first time in years, I feel — liberated — with my weight loss. I am honestly amazed at the transformation that is happening with me, and I have Weight Watchers to thank for that. I really do.
Many friends and family keep asking me — “WOW! What are you doing to lose weight? You look amazing!” Then, it’s my turn to be amazed because I step on the scale and I have honestly only dropped 7 pounds since starting WW. Really? 7 pounds makes that big of a difference? Not really, I tell myself. I think it has to do with the mindset that I have adopted since starting Weight Watchers.
- It’s really all about what you eat. One thing that has helped me is that I have almost completely cut out sugary and refined sugar products. I do allow myself a cheat day every week so that I can indulge, but for the most part, sweets are gone, white bread is gone — and it’s place I have added wheat bread and whole grains. I cannot tell you what a difference this has made in my life.
- Eating more veggies. It took me a while to realize that with Weight Watchers, veggies and fruits are ZERO points, so I can eat all of that stuff I want. Instead of choosing a big burger and fries, I go for a hearty salad, filled with delicious vegetables and then add in a grilled chicken breast for my carnivore side.
- Trying to exercise at least 3 to 4 times a week. I still have not mastered this yet, but I am getting there. I am amazed at how it makes me feel afterward.
- The scale lies. Never believe the scale. This I have learned a lot over the course of the last couple of months. While my body is changing, the scale is not moving that much. The scale causes severe frustration and will have you spiraling down if you let it. My theory? Don’t be a slave to the scale. Accept that you are getting leaner and your muscle always weighs more — so don’t believe the number. Believe your body and what people are saying about you.
I am super excited that I have now reached 155. I am 7 pounds lighter and I cannot wait to reach my goal weight of 130 pounds. That number is perfect for me — not too skinny and definitely not overweight.
Weight Watchers definitely is worth doing. It is making a difference and whether I can see it or not, others have noticed and that makes me a happy, happy girl!
I was provided a 3 month membership to Weight Watchers online in order to write this review. All opinions listed are my own.
As I write this, I am sitting here with so much stress knotted up in my shoulders. I feel angry, sad, depressed, confused, and just plain NOT happy. I know that I am normally happy and cheery, and just yesterday I told my husband I was in a great place emotionally. But somehow, during the night, my thoughts turned inward to everything going on with me and I could immediately feel the stress piling on.
Stress of being a Superwoman.
You see, there are a ton of things I am accountable for — running my home, helping my husband, teaching our kids, working from home, writing my book, on and on I could go with this list. Sometimes this life is great and I enjoy it, then other times like right now, I wish I could just take a break and just breathe.
Honestly — the world sees us supermoms as someone who looks like this–
when in reality we really look like this –
God never made women to be this bombarded. We were made to nurture and to love and help. When we put so much on ourselves, our bodies and our minds begin to crumble — both physically and mentally.
I’ve decided to really take a step back and look at what I have going on and begin to trim things away that are eating at my health. I am to that point that I must do something or else I feel like I am going to drown.
Do you ever feel that way? How do you handle it?
So many things have been going on with me this week! Health issues, having to give up coffee for a while (boo hoo) and other things. If it wasn’t for my ShapelyGirl workouts, well — I think I would go insane! So how has my week been? Watch my video to find out.
About ShapelyGirl Fitness:
Debra Mazda’s Shapely Girls focus is…
No Matter what size you are- even if you’ve never worked out before- start moving, breathing and feeling great. Debra is living proof you don’t need to be a size 2 to be Fit & Fabulous! At 315 pounds, Debra decided that diets were not the answer and discovered that exercise can transform your body and your life. Debra & her Shapely Girl Team will work out right along with you and teach you to embrace your curves while getting fit and healthy. She’s now a Healthy and Fit size 10.
ShapelyGirl Fitness is a Health/Wellness/Fitness company whose platform passionately believes that “FITNESS COMES IN MANY SIZES”. We want all women, no matter what size, shape or weight to move their bodies in order to be fit/healthy. Our goal is to give all women the chance to look good and feel even better about themselves. In the past, the fitness industry has catered to the average size woman who was under a size 10. Today, the average woman is a size 14.
Historically, plus size and overweight women have not worked-out for many reasons, including fear of what people might think about them, not being able to do the workout, fear that they might get hurt and not understanding what kind of workout to do. And historically fitness classes have not appealed to plus size women because most fitness instructors are small and do not cater to the larger woman.
ShapelyGirl Fitness is ready to change all of this. We want to train POSITIVE/MOTIVATED women who are ready to take on the challenge of helping women everywhere to have a healthier, happier, better life. Through good nutrition, knowledge of exercise and a positive attitude we can change the lives of women who are ready to come on board!
Learn More about Shapely Girl Fitness on their website.
Connect with Shapely Girl Fitness on Facebook | Connect on Twitter with Debra Mazda
I received a free copy of this book/Ebook/Product to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.
I’ve really been thinking a lot about portion control lately. I guess what got me to thinking of this is that every single time I go to eat at a restaurant, I am SO Full before I even take more than 8 bites of food. The sandwiches have grown to enormous size and the portion sizes are unreal.
Another thing that got me thinking about portion control is that my grocery bill would be a lot less if I watch my portion sizes as well.
I found this nifty little chart on the Internet this past week at a website called Skinny Mom Fitness. It’s really neat and it helps to you visualize your portions better.
As you can see from this photo, our meat or protein should only take up a fourth of the plate! My portion sizes have been backward. I have been eating protein the size of the vegetable portion and vegetables the size of the protein portion.
No wonder my weight loss has gone stagnant.
I more determined than ever to lose my weight and get healthy again. Lately I have been feeling sluggish and horrible and I know it is because of what I am putting in my body. It is definitely time for a change.
Portion control is everything!
My husband made me confront something about myself recently that I had been to stubborn to see. In the search for becoming the perfect wife and mother, I have lost my voice. I thought he was seriously losing his mind, but he pointed out to me the fact that I almost no longer share my opinion on things. It has become a “whatever you want” kind of situation. . . like the one in the movie, Coming to America. Have you ever seen that scene?
Get my drift? At first when he shared this with me, I was angry. Wasn’t that what he wanted from me? To be a submissive and compliant wife? He basically told me that I had become his puppet–that I had lost my voice.
His words hurt. But more than that, the truth hurt. I realized for the first time in my life that I have been living in fear of displeasing him to the point that I no longer had been thinking for myself. Whatever he wanted from me, I would become.
It took his love and truth to make me realize how complacent I had become as a wife. For fear of losing him or driving him away, I had become a puppet and a door mat.
Men do not want that ladies. What they want from us is a strong woman–one who doesn’t mind sharing her opinion and her insight. One that can be independent and yet still let her husband know that she needs him.
I had totally lost sight of that. I started thinking–when did I get like that? Then it hit me. When I came home and started homeschooling our children, I started allowing my voice to take a backseat–all in the name of being a stay at home mom.
By being at home, I convinced myself that my voice, my opinions, and my thoughts did not matter. My husband is the head of the house and his opinion is the only one that matters. How stupid is that? Ladies–don’t be like me. Don’t lose your voice. In doing so, you lose yourself.
My husband began to see the signs of a woman who was about ready to lose it. He has seen this firsthand with many of his friends whose wives just picked up and took off after years of marriage. He wanted to stop it before it consumed me too. When I told him one night–I don’t even know who I am anymore–a warning sign went off for him and he confronted me and made me use my voice again.
He is helping me rediscover who I am by giving me some space to make my own decisions. It’s hard. I find myself saying Are you sure you don’t care?” when I should be saying This is something I really want to do.
I am telling you today–don’t lose your voice. Be who God created you to be. Share with others. Don’t be afraid to live. Speak up when you need to, but do it in respect. Your husband will love you more knowing that he has a wife who has a backbone. Thanks to my wonderful man I am rediscovering mine. This is a long hard road that I hate that I have to go down, but in order to find me again and be the ME that God created me to be, I have to–regardless of how much this hurts.
I challenge you today to stand up for yourself. Speak–live–love. Don’t let fear of “whatever” rule you and back you into losing your voice. Speak out.
Hi! I am Jen--a wife to the most amazing man ever and a homeschool mom to one teenager. I just graduated my oldest.
I have been blogging since 2007. I love to watch movies, spend time in the kitchen, crochet, dance, drink coffee, and lay on the beach. Between recipes, reviews, and hilarious life story moments you'll find many helpful posts on this blog. Welcome, pull up a chair and stay for a while!
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