The First Day Back.....

....on track is always the easiest for me. Whenever I TRULY decide that things need to change and decide that a certain day is "day 1" - it's usually the easiest day. Today has been no exception. I feel pretty awesome about today.

Since I have no pics that really relate to today's topic I'll just bombard you with pics from my kids first day of school today!

With the new WW PointsPlus system, I am allowed (and supposed to) eat 33 points a day! In addition to those 33 points, I get 49 additional weekly points and then you can also "earn" more food points when you exercise (called activity points). The way it works is you are supposed to be able to continue to lose weight whether you just eat your daily points (33), eat your daily points + some weekly points, daily points + all weekly and all activity points. Basically this program gives you the freedom to decide how much or how little you're going to eat with an idea of what is too much within the week. You can use your "extra" points any way you want. If you want to just eat your daily points every day and then have 1 big "splurge" day and use all your weekly points and activity points - you're allowed to do that!

Here's how Mary felt about the first day of school...

It's funny to me that the science has seemed to have caught up with what I did in the past. Sounds like a smart alec comment, but here's what I mean. I've done WW several times in the past. I usually would be REALLY good and "on program" for 5-6 days of the week. Usually it was 6 days and the day that I weighed in I would usually eat light all day and then totally gorge myself after weighing in. Yes, I admit, perhaps not the best thing to do; BUT it kept it actually under control....and I would still lose weight! What would happen is that it was truly one meal (usually + dessert). And I would actually lose weight BETTER (more, faster...whatever word you want to use) when I did this than when I ate only my minimum points each day (which of course were calculated differently back then)But, in this new system, I would likely stay within my points for the week even with doing something like that. I do want to work on getting away from the binging mentality, but I like that I have the "freedom" to do this if I want. Or, perhaps I should say that I like that this is "allowed". If it's "allowed" it takes the guilty feelings away and that makes all the difference in the world to me. If I feel guilty I go the complete opposite!

And how Robbie felt about the first day of school....

Right now my plan is to really focus on my food. I still have to get my running in because I am still training for the Columbus Marathon. However, the training program I am following only requires 3 days of running per week. For right now (this week at least), I plan to get my 3 days of running in, but otherwise simply focus on the food. Obviously over the years I have found that diet is 90% for me! If I'm not paying attention to what I'm eating, I'm NOT losing weight...and frankly I'm gaining. This time around I think the gain has been at a slower rate due to my activity level, but it's gaining nonetheless even with the crazy amount of activity I was doing. So, right now I'm going to scale back the exercise and focus on the food.

Time to get on the bus!

Today was GREAT! I was able to fit the points system around my eating today (instead of the other way around). I LOVE programs that give me the flexibility for when I'm perhaps not making the best decisions. I figure as long as I can still limit my calories, than it's all good.

So, today I was still able to have my favorite big breakfast at a local diner. It cost me 21 points, but I figured it out the night before and was well aware of it. I wanted that breakfast and it was worth it to me....today....but it's not going to be as often as it was before when I was counting calories. In the past when I've eaten this breakfast I would usually not eat lunch or eat a small snack (like a hard boiled egg or something). Today I packed some pineapple, grapes, a banana, and an apple. Fruits are "free" with WW so this was awesome! I ate some of these fruits around lunch time (noon) and then the rest on my way home from work. Was I hungry? Yes. But did I make bad decisions because of it? No. My kids decided they wanted to celebrate the first day of school with a dinner of grilled cheese and tomato soup. This meal isn't completely "diet" friendly, right?? Well, last night I figured out the points values for this meal and found that I could fit it in without even having to limit my meal (i.e. just eat the soup). We sat down as a family and all ate the same meal. It cost me almost the rest of my points at 11 for the meal. I had 1 point left this evening. So, I measured out 1/4 C of guacamole (my addiction of late) and dipped celery, radishes, and carrots into the guac! And actually....YUM! That snack cost me 2 points, which resulted in 34 points on the day - so I used 1 of my weekly extra. Not too shabby for the first day back. I have also had so much water to drink today that I've been peeing a LOT! ;) That's good...that means perhaps I'll have a great week 1 weigh in with a nice water weight loss!

A successful first day!

Day 2 is usually just about the hardest day for me. I'm not sure why. I need to remember how I feel after today. I'm hungry as I type this, but I'm not eating or falling off the wagon (already). I know that these first few days are going to be tough. I've been eating a LOT lately. Part of the reason why I used to not eat lunch or eat a small snack after eating my big breakfast in the past was because I was legitimately not hungry. However, lately I've been eating the big breakfast, then a big lunch (late around 2), plus a big dinner. It's been a LOT of food. So, naturally cutting back is going to cause hunger pains and I realize this. I just have to get through this first week (or so) so my body can get more acclimated to eating less.

First day DONE (in more ways than 1)!

Disclaimer: I'm new to this whole blogging thing, but I feel like I should point out that all of the comments in this post (and entire blog) are my own thoughts and opinions. WW is not paying me to say anything about their program. I chose to re-join on my own and am simply providing a recount of my experience with the program. Also, I am in no way a medical professional of any sort. Anything I talk about on this blog are my own personal experiences with diets and exercise programs.