pounds and pounds of love...

(For some really odd and strange reason, this post was originally written in February. When TLC and I were doing "Love" posts. I don't know when, where, how or why it moved to March. But I'm too techno-impaired to figure out how to get it back. Please just go with it, okay?)


February. Hearts and Flowers. Chocolate Candy. Love.

Well, Folks, I love Weight Watchers! More than ever. Let me explain.

When TLC was about five months old, I joined the local Weight Watchers group with one of my closest and dearest friends. (We were, and still are, like sisters. Even though we haven’t lived in the same town or area in over 26 years. Sigh.)

Lizzie had had her second son four months before I’d had TLC. So we were both in that We-Can’t-Lose-That-Last-Fifteen-Pounds Zone. We decided it was time to try something serious.

The WW program, at that time, was quite restrictive. Although the meetings were fun and uplifting. Motivational. I lost fourteen pounds in six weeks. Lizzie lost most of what she wanted to, also. So we stopped. We spent the next couple of years weighing our food. Trying to continue to use the weight loss principles we’d learned.

I settled in at a weight I wasn’t totally happy with—but it was acceptable. 133. I stayed at that number, or in that range, for many years. I walked ALOT. Five days a week. Minimum. I walked anywhere from 2-5 miles. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, at forty years of age, I slowly gained twenty pounds during chemo. After that first year of surgeries and chemo and recovery, I’d lose ten. Gain ten. Lose five. Gain ten. This went on for several years.

Fast forward to the past four years. I'm become horrible with my eating habits. I'm truly out-of-control. My Sweet Hubby is worried about me. TLC is worried about. I'm worried about myself. I have a BAD back. Bad knees and hips. There are days I can barely walk.

My Precious Sunny and I tried Weight Watchers about five years ago. Same meeting place. Different leader. Different people. I simply did not commit. I doubt that I lasted a month. I seem to have blocked it from my mind.

Enter Oprah. And her commercials. And the fact that Oprah feels like someone I’ve known most of my adult life. (She’s only two months older than I am.) I rarely missed any of her shows. I was becoming intrigued with her involvement in and contributions to Weight Watchers. She could have any plastic surgeon in the world make her skinny. She wants to, instead, live a life full of good, healthy choices. Me, too.

Factor in five years of BAD checkups—in terms of bloodwork. My cholesterol is up. My “sugars” are up. My weight is higher than it’s been since I was pregnant with TLC (I gained sixty pounds having My Sweet Daughter. YIKES.). I'm a hot, chubby, or maybe downright fat, mess.

Sunny’s sister told her several weeks ago she had joined Weight Watchers. She was truly enjoying it! We decided we would try it. It was time to do something. We both cherish our grandchildren. We want to be around for a long, LONG time watching them grow.

Sunny is doing her work on-line. At this point. She's losing! I’m doing both on-line and meetings. (I’ve been to two meetings.) I told the Leader—a lovely, kind, funny, happy, encouraging woman—I’ll be lucky to attend two to three meetings a month. I’ve lost six pounds. I ADORE the WW App. It syncs with my Fitbit and I've received all of my “Activity” points every week since I started.

I have a goal I’m not sure is realistic or attainable. I intend to give it all I’ve got. And when I fail? I’ll pick myself up and start over the next day. It’s what we all must do when life doesn’t end up happening the way we planned. If you need to lose a few pounds, or a lot of pounds, consider Weight Watchers. It’s ranked as one of the top all-time weight loss programs in the world. I think it's awesome.

Hope y’all have a Terrific Tuesday! Have an orange! Have some asparagus! Eat some grilled chicken and save the donut for another time. (But you CAN have that donut. Trust me.)

Smooches and BIG WW Hugs…

ELC