Health is Wealth: How I Lost 20 Pounds with WW (formerly Weight Watchers)

Pictured here at 162 pounds.

Pictured here at 142 pounds.

Health is wealth! One of the things I was determined to do since gaining the dreaded newlywed weight was to loose 15-22 pounds. I am happy to share with you all that I did achieve that goal! In February of last year, I began my journey with WW (formerly Weight Watchers). I set a few goals for myself and decided to prioritize health and fitness in order to get my blood pressure in a healthy range, loose 15-22 pounds and get pregnant. My doctor recommended I try WW. I have seen others have success with WW, so I knew that it would be something that I would benefit from too.I like WW because you don’t have to deprive yourself of the foods you like. Most likely, your favorites will be modified for a healthier version, but at least it still gives you the taste of some of the foods without omitting them from your diet completely. Currently, WW has a new program customized for each individual. Once you join, you’ll take a personal assessment regarding your lifestyle, food preferences, eating habits and level of activity. Your answers to the assessment determine what color (blue, green or purple) you will be matched with. These colors help guide you towards food choices aligned with your personal goals. Your WW app is personalized with your activity and food tracker, wellness points, etc.When I started WW last year, there were three different plans you could choose from. The first was Digital, which consisted of using the app and website to help you reach your goals. There was also a workshop and digital plan that combined using the app/website in addition to meeting each week with experts and other members for support and tips. The last option was personal coaching and digital in which you could communicate with an expert to create a healthy lifestyle plan that works best for you. I chose the workshop and digital plan because I knew that going to the workshops, even if only to weigh-in, would help me to hold myself accountable.I started off weighing 162 pounds, my first time being in the 160’s. Up until mid May I did really well, loosing about 15 lbs. When my birthday came on the 19^th, I decided to celebrate for the remainder of the month, and paid for it by gaining about 3 lbs. By the time June rolled around, I was determined to get back on track. It took a little time, but before mid August I had finally lost 20 lbs. Now 20 pounds was a personal goal of mine that I set for myself. However, I only needed to loose 16 pounds to be in the healthy range for my height. Maintaining my personal goal of 142 was definitely going to be a challenge, so I’m glad that the top of my healthy range was 146-148. I ended up maintaining at around 146 for the required 6 weeks and became a lifetime member.When I joined WW they worked on the point system. They recorded my height, weight and other information needed to determine how many points are allotted per day and how many weeklies I would receive. Each food is worth a certain amount of points and there are many 0 point foods. The weeklies are there as a buffer and allow for a little more leverage for days that you may go over your daily points.I’m a picky eater and lover of fast food, so I pretty much stuck to eating things I liked. If you’re not picky, you should enjoy the wide variety of foods that you can eat on WW. A typical breakfast for me on WW would be 2 eggs (0 points), an apple (0 points), grapes (0 points) and a piece of toast (2 points). That meal kept me nice and satisfied until lunch. Sometimes for lunch I would get a Grilled Chicken Sandwich from Chick Fila (5 points), add 1 pack of Honey Roasted Bbq sauce (2 points), a Side Salad (3 points) and Light Italian dressing (1 point) with water to drink. For dinner, I would sometimes eat broccoli (0 points), grilled chicken (0 points) and a cup of brown rice (7 points). For snacks, I’d eat fruits such as pears, oranges, plums, etc.

On days when I was going out for date night or dinner with the girls, I would splurge and get the Skinnylicious Chicken Pasta (12 points) from The Cheesecake Factory, but only eat half of it, and I would sometimes eat a piece of the brown bread (4 points). My other meals during the day would typically be 0 point foods like veggies, fruits and lean meats. I also enjoyed the Margarita Grilled Chicken (10 points) from Chili’s. I’d only eat half of that too. One thing I noticed is that after a few weeks of healthy eating, I could not eat as much as I used to. My stomach just could not hold as much food as it once did, which is why I’d only eat half of those meals at restaurants.My success with WW helped me reach my goals of loosing weight, improving my blood pressure (I’m no longer on a blood pressure pill) and conceiving. In fact, I got pregnant during the six-week period where I maintained my weight in the healthy range. I’ve always heard that for some women, when loosing weight, it makes it easier to conceive. In my case, this proved to be true! What’s equally as important as physical health is your mental health. My mental health certainly improved. It’s something about when you’re eating well and feeling great, it just lifts your overall mood. I’m so thankful for that.During my time on the WW program, I worked out occasionally. Typically when I’m on a mission to get healthy, working out is at the top of the list and food is second. This time, however, I focused more on healthy food choices. I see why they say weight loss is 80% food and 20% working out. That saying is definitely true. After I have my baby and get clearance from my doctor, I plan to start WW again to get back on track with my health goals. This time around I will add a bit more physical activity to my regimen as compared to last time, but I now know that making the proper food choices is most important. I can’t wait to take you along on the journey in a few months!Have you tried WW? How do you prioritize your health? Let me know in the comments below!