Weighty Wednesday -- Before and After

I entered a Weight Watcher contest at the last minute. It was called "Celebrate Success". Weight Watchers had to write a 400-word essay, submit before and after pictures, along with evidence of their weight loss success. There will be a group of 'finalists' posted online and Weight Watchers from around the world will get to vote on their favorite.

*fingers crossed* Here's hoping I made the cut!

So when I was looking for pictures, I wanted a truly hideous BEFORE. In this picture, I had been on WW for about three weeks and had lost about 7 pounds.

July 2011

And for an AFTER picture, you want to look really, really good. I didn't have any pics of me in a bikini, so I went with a vacation picture--45 POUNDS lighter.


July 2012 -- in front of the Hogwarts Express Train

Yes, my 11-year-old is taller than I am.

Here's a pic of my online Weight Tracker. It might be a bit fuzzy, but you get the idea.

July 2011-August 2012

And here's my essay. After I had one wonderful CP read this--another CP found some more mistakes! Yikes! I think this is clean.

When I joined Weight Watchers--for the fourth time—I knew my path wasn’t simply taking me to a destination (a vacation, wedding, or class reunion). Instead, this journey of self-discovery would continue beyond simply reaching my goal weight. I needed to make a permanent change to correct my poor habits. Throughout this journey, I’ve climbed mountains of self-doubt, forded streams of defeat, and stumbled over many rocky moments on my weight loss path, but I’ve also acknowledged my weaknesses, grown as a person and overcome obstacles that stood in my way. 

For a number of years previously, I’ve blogged about the writer’s life, my stories, and insight into life in general. Less than a month after joining WW, I decided to dedicate one blog a week to my weight loss challenges, aptly named Weighty Wednesdays. Sharing my insights, challenges, tips and tricks, along with my success and failures helped me focus on the bigger picture: honesty and accountability.

Brutal honesty is my mantra to the extent of confessing my sins when I ate an entire can of frosting in a day. I didn’t excuse the behavior, but it happened. If I pretended it hadn’t happened, then I would be lying to myself, and lying to oneself is the first step backwards. Be honest. Be accountable. The only person who loses is you.

And what happens when you reach that ever elusive number that we call our goal weight? Do we miraculously have all the answers? Do we keep the weight off without having to think about it? Do we stop exercising? Stop counting points? Thinking about food?

No. Those challenges and obstacles when we lost weight are still there, waiting for us to relax our habits and get lazy in our routines. Staying healthy takes constant maintenance. While working to reach our goal weight, we discover the knowledge and the tools to help us succeed at maintenance. The key is to enjoy life and food, while realizing that treats are for special occasions and not daily consumption.

We gain weight and we lose weight. That’s life.

And I intend to live it to the fullest.


I'll let you know if I made the cut. Time to get back to work!

Later, Peeps!