Get to my goal weight & become a WW leader... finally

ANOTHER 2.2 lbs gone!

7 weeks of THJ & no sugar, I’m down a total of 13.2 lbs! Can’t believe it!

Last week I had a “no reason” 0.4 lb gain… this week I lost 2 lbs!

6 weeks (40 days) straight of THJ & no sugar – I find myself down 11 lbs! Yeah! I like this! :o)

Another 0.6 lbs gone.

4 straight weeks of losses (9.4 lbs total), thanks to 26 days straight of THJ & no sugar and 16 more APs this week.

(meeting today was about PATIENCE…
I think I get it at this point, don’t you? LOL!)

Another 1.8 lbs bites the dust. That’s 8.8 lbs total over the past 3 weeks! :o)

When I started this journey in January 2003, I had 125 lbs to lose. At times I can’t help but think that if I had kept it together all along I would be @ goal aready. But then I realize that until THIS journey, I never believed I could stick w/ it for more than a few months. (as my previous “normal” M.O.)

I was reading some of my archived journal entries & RAMBLINGS on my website last night & came across something I wrote on my 2nd year WW Anniversary after realizing that even though I had reached my “all time low weight” in YEARS (185.6, almost 90 lbs lost w/ just 35.6 lbs to go), that w/ my end of the year stumble, I had netted only a 7 lb loss in my 2nd year w/ WW:

Yeah… sometimes it feels like I’m losing (the battle), especially when I look @ a number like THAT… feeling like I completely wasted a full year of my life… but then I sit back & realize that I’ve not given up… I’ve not thrown in the towel & said “I can’t do this!” I KNOW that this is my life & what I’ve learned this year is that it’s not as easy as I thought it was! :o) But I didn’t start this because I thought it would be easy. I didn’t begin this journey w/ a finish line in mind… I KNOW that this isn’t a race. I know that this isn’t all about always doing the right thing… that it’s more about stumbling & learning along the way. THAT’S what this year has been about for me… stumbling & learning along the way… being proud of myself not because I succeeded… but because I’m still here. I’m not giving up… that’s never crossed my mind.

I’ve hung in there for over 3 1/2 years now…186 weeks & I’m still here. Still stumbling & learning along the way… but I’m not about to give up. I’m figuring it out & I’m really proud of myself.

So, we continue on…

It feels like this “THING” is a good fit for me. I needed something to help pull me towards my goal & it’s staying in the forefront of my thoughts the past few weeks, grounding me. Good.

I’ve lost 7 lbs in 2 weeks (See my Keep Losing Weight & THJ entries to see what’s up) & all is well w/ my world. :o) I know that I certainly can’t expect to keep that up, but consistency w/ everything should help me continue to lose. Even if it’s just a 1/2 lb per week I’d be thrilled!

I need to start focusing on getting more exercise. I’ve added Earn AT LEAST 16 APs (Activity Points) per week to my list of THINGS. I did a little bit of weight training last week, till I hurt my shoulder (but am fine now & could start again) & otherwise have been walking a little bit (jumped on the trampoline w/ the kids Friday night for 30 minutes…GREAT exercise!) Need to get to some aqua classes… it’s been forever.

Anyways… things are going well. I’m excited about making this a goal. I really need to be doing something satisfying w/ my life.

Julie

I posted this to my buddies on the GoaD board (Guys on a Diet on WW.com) over 2 1/2 years ago on my 1st WW Anniversary, January 23rd, 2004, after losing around 65 lbs & feeling really confident about my future…

...because of YOU & my experience on GoaD, I know that I’m about to set the rest of my life in a completely different direction than I had ever planned. I AM going to become a WW Leader once I hit goal (which, before this year, I had never even THOUGHT about doing)... BUT, I want to do more. I want to be able to personally touch people as individuals. I don’t know how yet, I’m trying to work that out, but I know that I’m going to do SOMETHING. I’ve been told so many times that I was going to do something great w/ my life… I always thought it was something creative… something in the Interior Design world, or maybe something else, but something creative, Artsy. I realize now that this “SOMETHING” is much more personal. I believe in myself now… I believe I can help change lives, THAT is the “something” I’m going to set off to do.

Like I said… OVER 2 1/2 years ago I knew I wanted to become a WW Leader & help change people’s lives… but as I’ve been struggling w/ moving forward the past 2 years (see my first few Keep losing weight till I reach my goal weight posts to see more about that), I’ve lost sight of that desire I once had. Things were so easy for me early on that I was able to focus on other people’s struggles & I loved being able to do that. But the struggle of NOT losing weight has completely diverted my attention away from helping others.

I’ve been struggling the past few months w/ “what am I going to do w/ the rest of my life” questions since my kids are back in school & I’m left w/ too much time on my hands. WHEN I’m working, the work that I do is freelance & extremely specialized (I design & draw, by hand, custom cabinetry & furniture) & pays really well. The designers I’ve been working w/ for the past 10 years aren’t very busy right now & I’m not really excited about looking for other designers to work w/. I’m feeling extremely unskilled as far as any other “career” type jobs go & am feeling really spoiled as I don’t want to bother w/ any unskilled/minimum wage paying job.

I’m too creative for my own good & too ADD to decide on any one creative outlet (not that any would pay well). If I wanted to dig deeper into the design world, like maybe become an architect (which I would love), I would have to get all of the basic college courses out of the way first, as my design degree is an Associates Degree, which was 100% Interior Design… so an actual high-end architect job just seems so out of reach, like I’d be starting from scratch.

Sooooooooooooooo… as I’m continuing to struggle w/ figuring out how to get myself moving forward w/ weight-loss again & trying to figure out what to do w/ my life, I started remembering my early desire to become a WW Leader & realized that THIS was the answer I’ve been looking for. Not only does it make me want to REALLY really focus on what I need to do to get this weight off once & for all so I can become a Lifetime WW member & be qualified to work for WW… but it answers my burning “what to do w/ my life” question. I know I’m not going to get rich being a leader… but that’s what my DH is for, LOL… I just need to be doing something fulfilling & also feel like I’m contributing to “our” finances, as little as it may be. I’ve always said that I would be happy to work for minimum wage doing something I love…like in a garden shop… unskilled, probably, but good for your soul… nurturing something… plants, people, etc. Being a leader is also very flexible, which works great for my family.

Okay… I’m talking myself into circles, what a surprise. :o) I’m just feeling really good about this. So now let’s see what we can do to get there…

More to come…