A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Blerghs

Over the holidays, a friend of mine took a photo of me and another of our friends, saying we looked like an Old Navy Holiday ad in our bright colors and holiday scarves. (We did.) The only thing, aside from how cute my cohort looked, was that I was enormous, especially in a screaming (though flattering) hot pink sweater. It was a supremely terribly angle, even for a twig, but with me sitting the way I was, in that fuchsia get-up, I looked like I needed to be juiced.

It had been sent into the internet, tweeted along with the rest of our shenanigans, but there was nothing I could do and whining about it just made me feel self-involved and embarrassed -- I didn't want anyone to know how awful I really felt.  The friend, who looks at me only with love, didn't realize his faux pas and offered to remove it, but you know how it goes -- once it's out there, man... it's out there.  So, despite being completely mortified and wanting an epic chasm to appear and swallow my ample magenta ass, I merely poured myself another egg nog martini and tried to forget my humiliation so I could spend time with my friends.  You know, because fat people are jolly and it was the holidays.

As much as I hated that moment, I'm glad it happened. It reminded me of a time back in late 2002 when I saw a photo of myself, again with a couple of friends. I didn't recognize the girl in the picture.  I took up half the photo and there were three of us in it!  That photo is what made me lose 97lbs on Weight Watchers in 2003.  Unfortunately, I suppressed the memory of that photo over the next 7 years while a lot of the weight crept back on.

This holiday photo was just the fish to the face that I needed in order to snap myself back into reality.  It's what made me stop my kvetching about the new Weight Watchers Points Plus plan and just embrace it.  It lit not just a fire under my tuchus, but a blazing, raging inferno.

I've been really committed to PointsPlus since January 3rd.  Thus far, in two weeks, I've lost 5.6 lbs. and that's without any real exercise effort (that didn't really pan out last week, but I keep trying!) and admittedly, without as much water intake as I really need, especially here in the desert.  So, I try diligently to increase my water and I make efforts to move as often as I can (parking far, taking stairs, doing more chores, not going from my desk straight to the couch, playing more Wii Fit, etc.).  I tried my hand at the gym, but was wheezed right off the elliptical after 20 minutes. I should have gone back, but I was embarrassed.  It took 50lbs to come off before I hit the gym the first time, so I may just stick to the neighborhood -- walking, biking, more Wii games, DVDs, etc. I realize I do need to incorporate exercise -- but like most of us -- I "forget" or get so engrossed in my work that I don't make time for it.  That's got to change.

But all in all, I'm really happy with Points Plus so far. I notice myself making Points Plus-friendly choices when faced with snack attacks (apples over pretzels, bananas over higher carb "diet" snacks).  I'm still eating cheese and I still enjoy my share of bread, but I look for the lowest carb option possible within my comfort zone.  It seems to be working so far -- I'm always under Points (usually 5-10 points under, but sometimes just 1 or 2) and I never dip into my Points Allowance. I know they say you should use that freely, but if I did, I would certainly gain. Plus, I can't eat that much!

I'm sticking with it -- going into my 3rd week.  How's it going for you?