Yassssss to two years on Weight Watchers! I don’t update my Fitness Friday weekly like I used to—because—well, I guess I just forget and there’s so much other content I need to go through…lol. Plus sometimes I think for me it’s easier to go a couple of months and gather my thoughts and then give an update.
So two years ago I started Weight Watchers. I had gained like 40 lbs after I got into a car accident and then started freelancing (aka working from home) and I wanted to not just use some diet and exercise routine to get the weight off, I wanted something long-term to help me make better food choices. Growing up I ate a lot of junk and in most cases got away with it but you know what happens when you get older and your metabolism changes. I also kept saying to myself that I’d finally do things like eat my veggies and exercise regularly when I became an adult…lol. So after years of adulting wrong, I had HAD it with my shady eating habits.
Me in Barbados in March 2014 right before going on Weight Watchers
Me in Tobago before Weight Watchers—being tall and the way my weight distributes when I gain can throw me off
Me in 2014 during Trinidad Carnival—I cut my belly on a piece of my costume so I have that scarf there to prevent friction but my belly was definitely bellicious then…lol. Also my bra top was TOO small :/ I was about 205 pounds here—the heaviest I’ve ever been
I shot this in February 2014 but this appeared in the December 2014 Essence—during the shoot I remember feeling a little uneasy about wardrobe because things in my regular size weren’t fitting well but the stylist was SUPER sweet and made me feel really comfortable.
You find out quickly how EASY it is for you to mindlessly eat things that pack on the pounds. Or at least if you’re me you do. Right before I got into a car accident that really messed up my neck and my back (© Khia) I was pretty good about my eating habits and was working out very regularly. After the accident it hurt to do my regular routines so I slowed down. Then about a year or so after the accident I quit my corporate job and started working on this blog and freelance writing full time. Before I knew it (yeah, right…lol) I had gained 40 pounds within my first two or three years of working for myself. During my first week on Weight Watchers—shoot maybe even the first day—I knew exactly how I gained every single one of those 40 pounds that I swore “miraculously” crept up on me. I’ve even altered my entire lifestyle to keep myself healthier.
Back then I’d go to TONS of beauty and fashion events. I mean, I pretty much had to if I wanted to network in this industry. Some days I’d be out in Manhattan ALL DAY going from event to event to event. I had fun but it’s also a ton of work juggling that and running a successful blog. But because I live in Queens, tucked away where rent doesn’t take away ALL my coins, it takes a long time to get into the city (we New Yorkers call Manhattan “the city” even though all five boroughs encompass NYC). So if I didn’t plan well for the day, the hour or so it takes me to get dressed and be out of the door plus the hour and change it can take for me to get anywhere, and we’re talking maybe three hours without me eating anything. Some events have food but it’s usually not always healthy and because you’re ravenous you eat a lot of it. Then if I had a break to get food I was already ravenous and I DO NOT make good food choices when I’m ravenous. I’ve since learned to plan and prep food when I’m not hungry—it allows me to make MUCH better choices.
Pretty accurate depiction of when I’m hangry
So the overall premise of Weight Watchers is that no one tells you what you can or can’t eat. You *could* eat whatever you want BUT you have to track every single thing you eat and each item is allocated a point value. Then based on your weight, you’re given a daily point allowance and then an extra allowance bank for the week that can cover you if you want something a little extra. You could smirk and think you’re all slick and grab a burger because you can, but then when you add up how many points that burger (and of course you’re going to get fries and maybe a snack) you may wind up with a point value that comes REALLY close or exceeds your point allowance for the day. THIS is what has helped me to stay on track for the most part over the last two years. When I realized that some of my favorite fast food meals could cost me 20 points for ONE meal and I had 32 points or so for the day, I had to get REALLY creative to find foods that were fulfilling but didn’t have so many points. After a while I didn’t even want the burger and the fries because it wasn’t worth it. Of course I could still have a burger and fries if I wanted to AND planned for it by making sure I ate relatively healthier for the week, but I wouldn’t be all reckless and have that fast food meal several times during the week.
Once I had that realization in the beginning of going on Weight Watchers, I became obsessed with finding foods that were delicious, filling, and didn’t have a whole bunch of points. WW has an amazing recipe section on their site so I started there and I still two years later cook a majority of my meals. It’s the easiest way for me to know what I’m eating and it’s waaaaaay less expensive than eating out. After maybe about two or three months on Weight Watchers I lost about 15-20 pounds. I wasn’t even craving fast food like I used to because it wasn’t “worth it” to me. If I “cheated” it had to be with something guaranteed to be SUPER good and worth the points.
I was also working out regularly during this time doing strength training plans I found on the internet and also taking classes at my gym.
I was doing good—getting myself on a routine with grocery shopping and cooking and working out. What worked for me especially was planning ahead. I looked up which recipes I wanted to cook for the week (or weeks) and would buy what I needed. I’m pretty simple sometimes and will eat the same things over and over until I grow tired of them so that helped me stay on track. Working out made me feel really good and you also get rewarded for working out and the new WW now has daily target points for exercising. It’s important to keep a balance of eating well and working out regularly—you can’t really have one without the other—trust me, I’ve had instances where I worked out regularly but was still eating junk :/ lol
I also paid really close attention to how my body felt after I ate certain foods. I stopped eating sweets and if I did have them it was VERY sparingly because the way they spike my blood sugar makes me feel like I’m never full and I keep eating. So I like to eat meals with a good lean protein, tons of veggies, and a good source of fiber. I thankfully weaned myself off juice and soda before WW so I’m already a water lover. I’ve also adjusted my schedule so I’m not on the go as much—I like being close to home so I can cook my meals and get to my gym and when I travel I actually tend to do better because I’m constantly walking around, making time to work out, and also it’s surprising how much healthier food can be outside of my backyard.
Me in November 2014—about 6-7 months after starting WW
Me in November 2014—about 6-7 months after starting WW
Me in November 2014—about 6-7 months after starting WW. My confidence with pic-taking also rose during this stage
February 2015
April 2015
June 2015
July 2015
August 2015
December 2015
March 2016
You can see outfit details and other info from these pics here
Pics taken by Nasilele Photography
BUT—with most things, sometimes a big ole monkey wrench gets thrown on your game. There are times when I get really bored with what I’ve been eating and I go into in a little rut with finding new things to eat. Or I may not feel like working out for a while. Or I don’t feel like cooking. Or sometimes my period has me out in these streets eating Popeye’s AND McDonald’s :/ For me getting through those lulls means getting through those lulls without beating myself up. It’s sometimes hard for me to do something cold turkey or to immediately be broken out of something that’s a routine (putting things into my routine is why I’ve been able to do well on WW) so I just keep going until I get tired of it…lol. Most of this is a mental thing for me—I have to decide in my mind I don’t want to do it and I want to change before it can be done. So for instance I went through some really greedy food phases: there was one where I ate BAGS FULL of chewy caramel candies every week. It was baaaaad. I find I go through these little phases when I’m not being diligent with tracking my food on the WW app or if I’m not checking a food’s point value BEFORE I eat it. But when I look up how a bag of caramels can carry the same amount of points that like 3 or 4 grilled chicken with salad and baked sweet potato MEALS. Like when you put that kind of stuff into perspective, you learn to put those caramels down REAL quick…lol.
Pretty much me when I was on my caramel-binge…lol
All together I’ve lost about 27 pounds and kept off most of it over the last two years. I could have also gained muscle with all this flexing I’ve been doing in the gym…lol. I’m so bad with tracking inches and what not—I also don’t take progress pics but I keep track of how I feel, how my clothes fit, and then WW has you track your weight each week to calculate your point allowances throughout the program. Weighing in also has helped me to realize when something I’ve been eating needs to be tweaked or eaten less. The weight loss is nice and I’d love to lose more but all this smart adulting I’ve been doing with food choices and exercising regularly is what makes me the happiest. I’m really much more conscious of what I’m eating and finding ways to make things taste amazing without packing on calories and fat. So even if I’m eating somewhere that doesn’t have the best food choices, I do things like take off the cheese, have sauces and dressings on the side or not at all, and pick baked or boiled options over fried. And if I want some fries, I have fries but it’s funny because now I want fries less. Eating healthier has helped to change my taste buds though so when I do eat fried food I feel gross after because I can taste all the grease and salt :/ It’s all about moderation and I’m happy it doesn’t feel like I’m being restricted—it’s like I’m the one in control all the time. I GOT THE JUICE YO.
So now—as in right now—I’ve had another a-ha! moment after a few months of being semi-trifling. I survived holiday weight gain but somehow came back home to NYC and had post-holiday weight gain. I blame the blizzards and the super cold weather for making me a long-time fixture on my couch. But I jumped back in the game and started a new workout routine. I did Massy Arias aka Mankofit’s 30 day challenge in March/April and going to repeat it now by adding slightly heavier weights and I’ll continue to do that until I get bored and find something new. My latest food challenge is to find nutritious and tasty foods that I can prepare VERY quickly. I have a bunch I found on the WW recipes section on their site so I’m well on my way.
Overall I’d do this all again in a heartbeat. I’ve always known which foods are healthier and how to “diet” but that knowledge didn’t push me into action as much as being on WW did. I do it all online via the app and I use the website to look up recipes and when I randomly want to look articles up. I’ve never been to a meeting only because it never crossed my mind to go to one, but I can see how something of that nature could help others who could benefit from the support.
I’m looking forward to trying more recipes, cooking more, and even challenging myself to do meal prep. I usually don’t only because I like my food fresh but I need to find a better way of doing things. Sometimes if I’m working on something I don’t want to stop and start cooking so I have to tweak my routine more. I’ll get there eventually.
Check out my previous Weight Watchers posts here.
See my previous fitness and health posts here.
I have tried weight watchers before and it helped me focus on what I was eating and the calorie count that came with it. I didn’t stick with WW, but transitioned into my own fitness and clean eating regimen at that time. I am changing my habits again, and integrating working out and healthy foods into my daily routines.