Before, Middle . . . After?
Hi. I’m Jess, and I’ve lost 75 pounds on Weight Watchers over the last year and a half. But before you get all “Congrats! Go you!” on me, let me tell you that I have a long way left to go. Not to discount what I’ve already done, because yes, I know that it was great and a huge first step and all that, and I am proud of myself for doing it. But I’m trying to focus on moving forward, and keeping the weight loss going.
But still, a little background would be nice, no? Let’s start with pictures. This is me right before I started Weight Watchers:
And here I am recently, 75 pounds lighter:
So, you can see. Progress. But the double chin isn’t gone, and neither is a lot of other stuff that I’d really like not to be there anymore. (And as an aside, I’d like to file a complaint. Some people lose 75 pounds and it’s like night and day. I lose 75 pounds and it’s like night and… later that night. What gives?) So, I’m still going.
The basic story is this: I’ve always been overweight. Nothing ever made me lose weight, except that one time I had mono and scurvy simultaneously (long story), and even then I gained it all back later, plus some. Finally I got sick of it, and I had been reading and hearing all these great things about Weight Watchers, so I decided to try it. If it didn’t work, my backup plan was to look into gastric bypass surgery.
But it did work. I lost 50 pounds in 6 months. The problem is that it’s not working nearly as well as it was. After such a great start, I’ve only lost 25 pounds in the past year, and most of that was in the first half of the year. Over the summer, I started to plateau. And now I’m trying to get back on my downward track.
When I started I had a few basic motivations, including being thinner for my wedding (now over), wearing whatever I wanted, having a healthy pregnancy someday, and generally being fit. But really, what it all boils down to is this: I’ve been fat my whole life, and I’m sick of it. I just don’t want to be fat anymore. And now that I’ve lost so much weight, I know that I’m well on my way. But I need to get off this damn plateau. I’ve started taking steps to do that, and this blog is one of them.
The reason Weight Watchers has worked so well for me is that it was a new way of thinking. It taught me about nutrition and calories and health. It taught me to understand that hey, cheese is yummy but a very small portion will have to suffice. And half an hour on the treadmill might not feel so great at the time, but afterward it’s totally worth it. And food you cook at home can be as good if not better than food you eat at restaurants. It allowed me to look at my choices differently. And that’s where the name of this blog comes from. It really is not a diet; it’s a lifestyle. I know it’s a cliché, but it’s true, and it’s the only way it can work.
I’ve always fallen into the “before” category of any Before & After. And I am ready to finally, finally be an “after.”
– Jess also blogs at Du Wax Loolu
December 19th, 2008 at 7:32 am
Whether you want me to get all THAT IS WONDERFUL on you or not, I think losing 75 pounds is a grand accomplishment and I applaud you for sticking to it and wish you only success on becoming the “after.”
December 19th, 2008 at 7:48 am
Great post! Subscribing over here too.
December 19th, 2008 at 8:16 am
For some reason, I can’t see your current photo, but losing 75 pounds is AWESOME. It takes a hell of a lot of work to accomplish that!
For your plateau–I don’t know what you’ve tried to get things moving again, but some suggestions would be to switch up your exercise routine, and experiment both with eating slightly LESS and–weird as it sounds–with eating slightly MORE. Sometimes what you need is the opposite of what you’d think!
Best of luck to you–I look forward to following your journey!
December 19th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Jess, you so rock. You inspire me on so many levels, and you remind me what 24 should look like: inspired, awesome and ready for the future.
Can’t wait to follow you here too!
December 19th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Jess, what Tara said is right. When I was on WW, I would switch things up on the weekends once in a while, eat a little more than normal, and shock my body into thinking it’s a time of plenty. I always believed this let it feel like it’s OK to loosen its grip on the stored fat a little. When you cut your calories consistently, I think some bodies think we’re in a time of starvation and shit! hold on to all those stored calories, we’re going to need them! Anyway, I always saw a drop by the following Monday that way.
But yeah, 75 lobs is AWESOME. Way to go.
December 19th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Losing 75 pounds is an amazing accomplishment and you fully deserve to be congratulated regardless of whether you need to lose more.
Re plateauing or weight loss slowing down. Some of this is probably normal. The smaller you get the slower the weight loss will be (i.e. you won’t be shedding water weight in addition to fat). A healthy rate of loss is between a half a pound and a pound a week. A pound of fat = 3500 calories which is a shitload of calories to burn in a week when you think about it. Unless you’re climbing Everest every day, you’re not going to burn thousands of calories a week. The other thing to consider is having your nutritional needs reassessed (not by Weight Watchers but by someone who can figure out what your body needs to boost its metabolism). You may benefit from eating more fat and protein and dumping some carbohydrates.
December 19th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Yay I’m going to follow this blog too! I know I’ve said it before but you are AMAZING for losing all that weight. I admire you so much–if I had that much dedication and determination, well, wow, I would probably get a lot more done. I know you’ve talked about plateau-ing the last part of the year but hello, you just got MARRIED. If I were giving advice I’d say have a great holiday season, try to exercise a bit and eat in moderation and revisit/reassess/overhaul in January.
December 20th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Congrats!
December 20th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Celebrate the 75lbs that are gone! Celebrate the hard work you’ve done! Celebrate the new way of thinking about food you’ve discovered! There is much to celebrate even if you’re not finished with your journey. Way to go!
I’m not sure what you’re doing for exercise but maybe changing things up in that area might jump start things.
December 21st, 2008 at 1:17 am
Jess,
I was in similar situation. I was 350lbs (like you in the picture) did weight watchers and lost 75 lbs in 6 months. Then could not shed the weight. I was about to the the gastro-bypass and my girlfriends brother’s best friend (who is gay), invited me to go to hot yoga. This has been the panacea that I have been looking for. I lost 50 lbs in the last four months and I am down to 225lbs.
Hot yoga is hard, but since you are squeezing your body and it is hot, you burn a lot of calories. My metabolism is just going wild. I hope to get to 180 and then slow down.
Try it out, you will thank me later.
Love your pics!
Ivan D.
December 22nd, 2008 at 5:05 pm
This was a great ‘first’ post, Jess. For the record, in the picture of you in your purple dress – your legs look killer!
December 27th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Congrats on the weight loss so far! It’s a big accomplishment to start the weight loss journey, and you’ve got a great sense of humour about it (I love your ‘night and later that night’ commnet). Good luck to you and be sure to show that After picture once you get there.
I know someone mentioned Hot Yoga, which sounds like it’s working wonders for them. I can’t get over the idea of all the sweaty people, coughing and sharing all the buggy germs in perfect germ-growing conditions (hot and damp). Ewww… But I guess if it kick-started weight loss for me I’d get over myself (it didn’t).
December 29th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Nice article! I hope this picks up speed. I laughed at the “night and…later that night?” comment because yea, me too. I’m tall, so maybe that has something to do with it.
But you do look different, and better, in your “later that night” photos and I do hope you figure out that next thing that can get you off of your current plateau. In another year I’ll be battling the same issue. The thing that did it last time was changing my exercise routine. I was running steadily for 1/2 hour every other day or so, maybe a longer run on the weekends, and then I joined a training group, and I was running fast and long and short and much much more in general and I was eating more of a “training diet” and I dropped down to my lowest weight since like junior high. I don’t know if I’ll have the time for that again, but I’m hoping I can find the magical key as well.
December 30th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
I second the nice legs comment. More importantly I enjoy your writing thoroughly at both your blogs. Best wishes to you in 2009!