I have had a relationship with Diet Coke for years....longer than my relationship with my husband, in fact. I first fell in love with the calorie free liquid in high school when due to peer pressure I strayed from the calorie laden Coke and Pepsi. The bubbles and smooth taste appealed to me and I was hooked!
When my son was a baby, my chiropractor at the time convinced me to give it up. He was an extremely persuasive man and filled me in on the acidic nature of pop and how it wreaked havoc on the pH of the body. He said if I gave it up, I would increase my lif expectancy and therefore live to see more of Nathan's life and that of my future grandchildren. Yeah, that did it! I gave it up cold turkey for almost one year and honestly I'm not sure what made me go back to it!
Before getting pregnant with my second, I read a book called "Skinny Bitch" and they also spoke of soft drinks as poison and detailed everything that was wrong with them. Since I was planning to get pregnant, I decided to give it up again. I lasted about 11 months this time. I will never forget sitting in a local restaurant with my Mom who does not drink soda. As I pereused the menu, I considered ordering a DC to see if I would still like it....as Julia Roberts said in Pretty Woman, "Big mistake, Huge!"
That was three yeas ago, and here I go again! Although this time I have realized why I failed so miserably before...,I did not give myself healthy and tasty alternatives. And as I type this, I have my iced tea (sweetened with lemon and Truvia) next to me and am not missing my DC. Time will tell! I hope to be like my mom and my friend Fran who both gave up soda pop over a decade ago and do not miss it! They are my role models!!!
Here is an article from Livestrong.com.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/87981-dangers-diet-soft-drinks/
-Melissa
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Meet Melissa
Hello, my name is Melissa and I am an emotional eater....seriously. For as long as I can remember, I have been eating my feelings. I use food to comfort and to reward depending on the events of my life. As any emotional eater can attest, after the reward or comfort comes the inevitable guilt. It is a vicious cycle!
I have struggled with my weight since childhood, but pregnancy brought on all kinds of indulgences...and after gaining 60 pounds with my first child and 40 with my second, I was not in a good place and no amount of nursing was gonna help this Mama!
I joined Weight Watchers in June of 2009, and am proud to say that it has changed my life! It gives me much needed structure, motivation and through it I now have built friendships that I hope to have for the rest my life!
I dropped 52.8 pounds and achieved my goal weight in March of 2010 and became a Lifetime member in May. I was beaming with pride and so thrilled to be at a weight/size that I hadn't been since high school!!!
But I never kicked my emotional demons....and when my little girl ended up in the hospital three times that summer, I started to ignore my clothing sizes and gave in to cravings....I will never forget leaving the hospital early in the morning and stopping at the grocery store for doughnuts. I somehow believed in that hazy moment that those jelly-filled, sugary discs would somehow make my pain and anxiety go away....rather, after snaring down two of them and laying down for a nap, I woke up feeling like I was going to be sick. What was I doing to myself? I would love to say that this was my epiphany, but I would have many more of these emotional episode in the coming months.
So, where am I today? I am 13 pounds from my goal and determined to get there. I miss the confidence that I onc had, the clothing sizes that I was proud to wear and the photographs that I used as proof for myself that I really was thin!
I will get there and so will you. It is a lifelong choice that we all have to make and to EMBRACE.
I have struggled with my weight since childhood, but pregnancy brought on all kinds of indulgences...and after gaining 60 pounds with my first child and 40 with my second, I was not in a good place and no amount of nursing was gonna help this Mama!
I joined Weight Watchers in June of 2009, and am proud to say that it has changed my life! It gives me much needed structure, motivation and through it I now have built friendships that I hope to have for the rest my life!
I dropped 52.8 pounds and achieved my goal weight in March of 2010 and became a Lifetime member in May. I was beaming with pride and so thrilled to be at a weight/size that I hadn't been since high school!!!
But I never kicked my emotional demons....and when my little girl ended up in the hospital three times that summer, I started to ignore my clothing sizes and gave in to cravings....I will never forget leaving the hospital early in the morning and stopping at the grocery store for doughnuts. I somehow believed in that hazy moment that those jelly-filled, sugary discs would somehow make my pain and anxiety go away....rather, after snaring down two of them and laying down for a nap, I woke up feeling like I was going to be sick. What was I doing to myself? I would love to say that this was my epiphany, but I would have many more of these emotional episode in the coming months.
So, where am I today? I am 13 pounds from my goal and determined to get there. I miss the confidence that I onc had, the clothing sizes that I was proud to wear and the photographs that I used as proof for myself that I really was thin!
I will get there and so will you. It is a lifelong choice that we all have to make and to EMBRACE.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Meet Lisa!
Lisa’s weight loss story…
This starts off as a typical desire to lose weight. I came to Weight Watchers again (lost 20lb before having my kid, or as I like to say B.K.) to lose the baby weight. I started right away when she was really still a baby and now my baby is 7 years old. I held onto that baby weight like it was my best friend and my worst enemy! Sure I would have my ups (when my big girl clothes started being tight, yikes!) and my downs, but never quite making my goal (which is back to lifetime at Weight Watchers--where you don’t have to pay for meetings!). And I was never at a healthy weight/BMI for my height and body type. I believe when you are trying to lose weight, there are so many things that have to sync up, your food intake, your exercise routine, your will power, motivation and your attitude. All these things happened for me at one time or another but until recently, not all together! This is my journey of losing the pounds and making my goal.
The story I will share is the 12 week journey of our first contest. There were about 10 of us looking for a different motivation, in addition to our weekly meetings. We decided to put our money where our mouths were and do a 12 week weight loss contest with a winner and runner up. We were all psyched up for this and raring to go! There! I got myself motivated! I followed the plan to a tee, came up with a big loss the first week. I planned my meals…AHA…I was controlling my food!
I want to say that around week 2 or 3 of the contest, I did an activity challenge. I found a site that challenges you to do 100 squats. So, I thought “why not? I can do that!” This lead me to the gym on my lunch break where I first met my personal trainer, Chris. He helped me with the squat challenge (I was doing them wrong!). Then he worked with me, found my strengths and weaknesses and built on that. He pushes me past my limits and has me doing exercises I never thought I could do like boy-planks and boy push-ups! (On my toes, not on my knees!) I also had a goal to run a 5k from start to finish and I did that in September 2011. I know that he was instrumental in preparing me for that! Now I had my exercise routine in place!
This is not to say I did not hit a couple bumps in the road. I did have a few weeks where I gained, but I really tried not to let it bother me. Well, let’s be honest here, I am an emotional eater, and to say I did not have times when I pigged out on doughnuts or ice cream wouldn’t be true. I did! But instead of eating the entire container or box, I would stop before I got too far gone into the “binge black hole.” I think we can count this as my will power!
I think it also helped that I was running this contest and I saw the results of everyone’s hard work. I also came up with the challenges and cheered everyone on so it was almost like I was cheering myself on. Looking back on my record of this contest, I just realized I was never in first place…I was always chasing someone! I was always eager to catch up, who knew I was this competitive?? Could that be where I got the positive attitude??
At the end of this contest, I was 11.8 lbs lighter and the runner up of the contest! Yay! That did not stop me, though. My journey was not over! I felt like I was at the top of a hill on a rollercoaster and I was about to take that first drop. And did I ever! I kept up my routine (through the holidays, no less!) and dropped another 12 pounds to reach my goal. On December 24th, 2011, I reached Lifetime again at Weight Watchers! The best Christmas present I could ever give myself.
Of course this is just one destination in my journey, I am looking to drop another 10 pounds!
Two Friends on a quest to lose weight....and to motivate you to do the same through friendly competition!
Thank you for visiting our blog. Lisa and I will both post to this site. Most posts will be our own personal reflections on our pursuit of healthier bodies, smaller clothing sizes, and lower numbers on the scale. We are two ladies who happened to meet through Weight Watchers and became fast friends through our similar senses of humor and positive outlook on life. We both struggle with our weight, especially after having children. But, we are determined to be healthy, confident and strong.
Together, we have developed a company called "Thin It To Win It" which is a way for friends, neighbors, co-workers,and family members to engage in friendly weight loss competitions. We organize the contests, present weekly challenges to each group, and provide as much motivation as possible to our participants! Visit our blog to read inspiring articles on fitness, weight loss and nutrition.
Our first contest was a huge hit! Our winner returned to her goal weight over the course of the contest and is happily maintaining that weight loss! Our second contest is currently underway!
We are excited to be starting this venture and hope that you will join us as we document our lives....the good, the frustrating and the lessons we have learned. Thank you for visiting!
Melissa & Lisa
Together, we have developed a company called "Thin It To Win It" which is a way for friends, neighbors, co-workers,and family members to engage in friendly weight loss competitions. We organize the contests, present weekly challenges to each group, and provide as much motivation as possible to our participants! Visit our blog to read inspiring articles on fitness, weight loss and nutrition.
Our first contest was a huge hit! Our winner returned to her goal weight over the course of the contest and is happily maintaining that weight loss! Our second contest is currently underway!
We are excited to be starting this venture and hope that you will join us as we document our lives....the good, the frustrating and the lessons we have learned. Thank you for visiting!
Melissa & Lisa
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