Four years in the making, a goal is met!

Dec 8, 2010

Well…I reached my Weight Watchers goal after four + years of working on it.

I went in hoping to have lost .4 lbs ( I know, dream big) so I could get my 60 pound star sticker to put on my bookmark.

When I stood on the scale the lady (Carol) said… “Oh, your .2 away.” She suggested that I take my bra off and that should take me to where I wanted to be. I, not having any pride, did as she suggested and removed my bra in a public place (luckily there wasn’t anyone else there at the time). That did the trick and I was down another .2. BooYah!


I was delighted to finally have my sticker, but then she started handing me the maintenance books and told me now I got more “points.” I was confused and asked her why and she informed me that I had reached my actual goal. I was floored.

Instead of losing .4 I had lost 2.4 and had gotten to my goal. CRAZY! I burst into tears, as did the two Weight Watchers employees whom I have seen most every Thursday morning since Alyssa was one year old. I have been taking Sunny in there since she was 6 weeks old. They have seen my kids grow and me shrink for more than 4 years. They were just as excited for me as I was. We all had a little hug/tear fest and celebrated the accomplishment.

After I gathered myself and my children, we headed out to the van where I started making phone calls. I had a hard time getting anyone to answer to share my big news. Then I finally got my friend and next door neighbor Jenny on the phone and told her. She is a dietitian and has shared my journey always being supportive offering recipes and when necessary a shoulder to cry on. She was so happy for me and it was so fitting to share the news with her first.

I drove to my parent’s house on the way home and found them out in the yard. I jumped out of the car and screamed out my big news. My mom was elated and we hugged. I think I saw a tear of pride come out of my dad’s eye too.

We drove home from there and I finally got a hold of Steve to tell him. He was surprised and so proud. Talk about support, Steve is the definition. He has never complained about the $$ I’ve spent even when I have gone months and years without losing a significant amount of weight. He also never once complained about me leaving the family each Thursday night like a religion to attend my WW class. He needless to say was thrilled for me. I cried and cried as I told him the story.

I called my WW sister-in-laws who all have been faster and more successful than me at losing weight. They were all so happy and excited about it. Seriously…how could I have any better support? They all came to the meeting where I was presented with my award for reaching my goal. It was so touching to have them there and it meant so much to me that they would leave their families and drive out into the cold rainy night to be at the class.

I shared my before and after pictures with the class. It was so fun to tell the class what I had learned in my journey and relish for a little while in the success.

What a rush. How exciting.

When I set my goal, I’m not sure I ever really thought I could reach it. I thought maybe someday if the world changed a lot and me with it, it was possible. Now that I am here, I am surprised how good it feels and how possible it feels to lose maybe another ten.

I thought there would be nothing left of me at this point, and truthfully there is a lot less than there used to be. That being said, there is more than I thought left over and I may just lose another 10 over the next year or so just for good measure. I say this at the risk of sounding like those women who are never satisfied with how their body looks. I do intend to be satisfied with the way I look and for the most part I am, but I think I still have a little way to go before I am there. I think that’s reasonable.

Today I put on some jeans I bought when I was 19 years old when I was at my thinnest. I could only wear those pants for a few weeks before I outgrew them. Since then, whenever I have lost weight, I have tried to get back into those pants. There have been a few times I have come close. I even got them zipped up once, but they looked obscene. Well today I put them on for the first time in several years. They went right on and zipped up and were a little on the baggy side. What in the WHAT??? Baggy? Hard to accept.

Anyway…I have had a personal victory. The best part is, I haven’t been doing anything over the last few years that I am not willing to do for the rest of my life, so maintaining the weight isn’t as scary of a thought as I thought it might be when I started.

My habits have changed so much over the last four years. I’m far from perfect when it comes to my diet, but when I started WW I hit McDonalds at least once a week. I also cherished the times I frequently visited chain restaurants. Now, I dread each and every occasion I am made to dine in a chain restaurant, and I have been to McDonalds exactly one time in the last two years and I found what was my favorite dish (if you can call it that) to be absolutely disgusting.

Having said this, please know that I still dine out probably too frequently. I still love fast food, I wish is didn’t, but I do. I am still working on my diet, but it’s better than it was, 62.4 pounds better to be exact. So I am pretty happy with the progress.


The most important thing I think I have gained over the 4 years is the change I have made in my brain. I should probably regret that it has taken me so long to do this, but looking back there has been some BIG benefit to slow change. The things that were so difficult for me to accept in the beginning are now my preferences. I think that will be huge as I am maintaining my current weight.

In the past when I have lost weight I have lost it rather quickly by doing things that were difficult to maintain. I either reached my goal and relaxed my regimens or gave up on doing the hard things that gave me the results I wanted. Now, there is nothing for me to give up. I like what I am doing. I am satisfied most the time. I feel good when I do the right things and I pay price for doing unhealthy things. I get sick when I eat too much junk or eat too many sweets. I don’t like that feeling and I usually avoid it (although not always).

Anyway…I guess the take home message is that I am proud of myself for accomplishing this goal. It really wasn’t that hard, the WW program is wonderful if you TRUST THE PROCESS and allow it to take root in your life and body. Follow it and find success, that’s what I do. Also, follow your heart, that’s what I do.


And here's me adding my last (maybe)star sticker the bookmark where I have collected them for the last 4 years.