Over the past two years, I have learned two really important things:
- Food is food. With the help of a behavioral nutritionist and not following a diet plan for a year, I’ve really come to peace with food. I don’t feel guilty when I eat food and I’m proud of my ability to eat whatever I want. It’s incredibly freeing. It’s something I’ve never felt before.
- The scale can’t dictate your worth. I’ve used the scale as a method for tracking my success for years. Over the past couple of years I’ve accepted that it’s just one method. I like weighing in every week because it’s usually a good indicator of how my body responded to my activity levels and to what I’ve eaten, but there are some periods in which stepping on the scale is not good for my overall wellness. Regardless of what it would say.
I’ve received quite a few e-mails from readers these past few weeks asking whether or not I’m still following Weight Watchers. I am definitely still following Weight Watchers. About 4 weeks ago I had a week where I essentially didn’t track (the first week of school). I gained 3 pounds that week, but I knew why I did. I didn’t make tracking a priority and I was really stressed.
Since then, I have tracked pretty regularly. Weekends are still my toughest days, mainly because they aren’t structured. We’re out and about, tend to eat out 1-2 times, and my tracking isn’t perfect. I still strive to track on the weekends, but they are just my tougher days. The work week is usually a pretty solid week, as long as I have prepared for the week.
The truth is, with the start of the school year and some of the stresses, I’ve felt like going scaleless was best for me. I may have lost weight these past few weeks or I could have gained weight these past few weeks, either way, I knew from all the work I’ve done these past few years that it wasn’t a good time for me to weigh myself.
The past few weeks have been far from perfect. As I shared last week, I’ve allowed stress and being overwhelmed to impact how I eat. The 2nd and 3rd week of school involved a lot of tracking after the fact and using all of my weeklies. I did a horrible job of planning ahead and didn’t prepare foods for the upcoming work week. I just wasn’t organize. I was pretty frazzled. I still followed Weight Watchers, but it wasn’t perfect!
I’m feeling really good this week and definitely feel more on top of my health. The semester has started to settle into a regular routine and thus my life has become more routine. This past weekend I took the time to prepare lots of veggies for the upcoming week, I’ve made my lunch the past two days, and I’ve gotten in some great workouts! I actually have my first SoulCycle class scheduled for this Thursday and I can’t wait!!
A reader messaged me on Facebook the other day and shared how important it is to keep going. I appreciated her words. When I rejoined Weight Watchers at the beginning of the summer, that was my goal. My goal was to be consistent. I knew that I would have plenty of rough patches and I knew that I would see gains. What I wanted was to change my habits, my lifestyle, and to see weight loss over time.
It’s no secret that we want to have another baby eventually, so I am also surrendered to this phase of losing before pregnancy. I’m proud of the 10 pounds I’ve lost so far and even if I’ve gained some weight these past few weeks, I’m feeling really good. I’m happy to have gotten over the “back to school hump” and am feeling much better going into the fall. Sidenote: I am OBSESSED with the new Carly dress from Lularoe! Have any of y’all bought one?
Thank you to all who e-mailed or messaged me. I love hearing how many other women are also following Weight Watchers. It’s great being able to connect with you all!