Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Finding The Balance

Recently, I started Weight Watchers. I was able to lose about 20 lbs after I had Reed, but I haven't been able to drop the extra 15 that I gained or the extra 10 that I should have lost before I was pregnant. I've done Weight Watchers before and had some success with it and my mother in law and mother have both had success with it so I decided to try it as well. So far, so good. I've lost over 5 lbs and it's been about a month. 

The thing about Weight Watchers is that you have to track everything you eat. You are given a daily point value based on your age and weight. Every food has a point value based on the fat, carb, fiber, and protein content. Let me tell you... your points add up fast if you aren't smart about what you eat or drink. Most fruits and vegetables are zero points. Higher content foods are more points. The other thing is that you have to use portion control. You need to actually be eating the serving size and nothing more- or it's more points!

Last night, Jake and I went out to eat for Teacher Appreciate Day- Applebee's was giving free meals to teachers. I had done pretty well all day and specifically worked on saving my points for dinner by eating a lot of fruits and vegetables for breakfast and lunch. Anyways, the 5 choices teachers were able to pick from were too many points, so Jake offered to switch. He would pick something off of my menu so I could choose a Weight Watchers "approved" item.

Naturally, because I have to track everything that I eat, I started to calculate my points value for how much I could eat, and yes, how many beers I could drink! I looked up from my phone to a very frustrated husband.... He said to me "I am happy you are doing this but why are you becoming so obsessed? You are tracking every piece of food that enters your mouth!"

I've always had trouble finding the balance. I've never been successful at losing weight because almost always it's turned into an issue of starvation. It's not just weight loss. It's other things. Jake tells me he doesn't believe I can be an amazing mother and an amazing teacher.... that one will always come at a sacrifice of the other. I don't know if I believe that... but I really do have trouble finding the balance... Readers- I'm open to suggestions. How do you find the balance???