Weight Loss

Once upon a time (when I met Ben) I weighed 140 lbs, an ideal weight for me, considering I worked out regularly and had a decent amount of lean muscle mass. Then I started working at Autodata and gained the "Autodata 30" lbs thanks to sitting on my arse all day long and working down the street from a Shoppers Drug Mart that sold me chocolate and other fatty/high calorie foods that tasted so good. Believe it or not, when I got pregnant, I weighed almost 170 lbs, not that I looked it. I went up to 201 lbs while pregnant but within 3 weeks of having Delilah I was down to 163.

Now I've plateaued around 160 lbs and want to get back down to my former 140ish pounds. I realize that dieting while nursing isn't a good idea, so I'm falling back on an old tried-and-true method, Weight Watchers. A long time ago I knew someone who paid the $16 bucks a week to go to meetings and she gave me her extra slide points calculator and a daily journal that tracks daily points consumption. I still have those tools and, along with the wonderful world wide web, I will try to lost approximately 20 pounds. If I can drop 10 pounds by Yule/Christmas, I'll eat normally and then go back to counting points after the holiday. Of course, I'll have to watch what I eat and not go overboard. As in, no eating 4 slices of lemon meringue pie.

Last night I went online and discovered that nursing mothers get to add 10 points to their daily allowance. So I get to eat 32 points worth of food each day. That's the MAXIMUM allowed. Plus I get an extra 35 points each week to use spread out over the week, if I want. I also get points credited back to me if I exercise, depending on the intensity.

I'm EXCITED! I've used this method before, while working in Windsor (after I broke my foot and gained 15 or so pounds) and I lost the weight I wanted within about 2 months, maybe less. This morning I started and I've already written the points value on each item in the cupboard so I don't have to calculate each thing before I eat it. Now I have to start thinking about healthy, tasty, low-point meal options.