1 Year on Weight Watchers :)

allison_ortiz

I am proud to say I am officially 1 year on weight watchers and still finding success!! A year and a day ago I was very depressed, having chronic daily migraines (taking multiple medications for both of these issues), severely obese, and just a generally unhappy person weighing in at 350lbs at only 25 years of age, with 2 small children under the age of 5; and unable to have any more due to my weight I had developed PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). When I wasn't working I was hiding from everything and everyone. It wasn't fun to go shopping, or on family outings because I couldn't really participate due to my size. At that time I was so large I couldn't/wouldn't wear jeans, the only size I owned was size 28 and they dug in so deep I couldn't breathe, and I was in general discomfort no matter what I wore. My only semi-comfy clothes were my scrubs I could wear to work: size 4x (needing 5x) tops, and 3x (needing 4x) bottoms. My favorite pass time was eating in front of the tv while playing farmville/frontierville on fb, which is how I spent every moment of every day when I wasn't working; I was tuned out of my life. It's embarrassing to look back and see how lacking as a wife, mother, person I was and know that I thought it was ok at the time. I cannot pin point the exact change, thought, or moment when i decided to change my life and the way I lived it, all I really know is that I was ready to do something and not give up. I had no will power, it was just my mind set; my mind was made up I was going to eat healthy and exercise that was the only way I could do it, there was no simple fix or quick answer solution to fix it. I ate myself that way I had to eat myself back and that meant a lot of sacrifice, hard work, and dedication; and I can say a year later it works! I knew I needed a way to manage everything I had to do, and to monitor what I ate and how I exercised; I started out on spark people, but it was tracked by calories and I found that I wasn't allowing myself to eat very much or very healthily because I was afraid to eat too many calories and thats when I discussed WW's with a few coworkers and that weekend I went online and signed up. I do know in the beginning I did watch a lot of documentaries that helped me stick to my current eating habits: Super size me, Food, inc., food matters, fat sick & nearly dead, forks over knives, etc. and even still i am making changes to my diet. People tell me I'm crazy because I know I can now smell better and food tastes better; I would take an organic apple over chocolate cake any day! So a year out now I am down 142.8lbs currently weighing in at 207.2lbs and still another 57.2lbs until I reach my goal weight. My current jeans size is 12/14 (hard to say depends on the store) I can wear Large in Juniors . my current scrub size Large top (due to my breast size lol) and medium scrup pants. I have lost 28 inches around my waist, 21.5 inches around my hips, 13 inches around my breasts, 12 inches off my thighs, and 10 inches off my arms. If there was one thing I would want to say to someone just starting out it would be to never give up, it is hard no doubt about it, but you are worth everything you put into your weight loss journey, and you deserve to be a happy, healthier version of you! You will have those days where you cannot see the end of it or you might cheat and feel what's the point; well you are the point, and you are the reason you work so hard, never give up just keep moving forward; it gets easier every day and you will see rewards weekly when you stick to the plan! Trust in yourself, and know that every difficult encounter you come across will only get you that much closer to your goals

2befit155

Thank you for posting. You have showed me it will take hard and dedication to lose the 100 pounds I have to lose. You also showed me I can do it the way I want to do.

allison_ortiz

I would post comparison pics but I am at work and cannot get on photobucket right now but if you click on my profile pic I have multiple comparison pics on my page

If anyone ever needs someone to talk to thats been there...shoot me a msg I am always willing to lend a helping hand

wanda9501

Wow, this just made my day! Congratulations, can't wait until the day I can write a post like this.

kaitiebeth89

Way to go! I've been on ww since April and have lost about 55 lbs

heaterrr

Way to go!!!

Rabbit914

What a great inspirational story. Thanks so much for sharing! and I looked at your pics and you look amazing!!! Congrats to a healthier you!

kanittaj

Congratulations!!!!!
How does WW compare to MFP?

gekcsk

What an inspiration you are. Thank you for posting. I too am a WW member (life time) so I know where you are comig from. Unfortunately about 20 pounds have creeped back on and I am trying to get them back off. It is a journey well worth the struggle though. Your story motivates me to keep working at it and never give up. THANK YOU!

hbaby2

Wow!! Huge congrats to you and good luck on the next 50! You can do this!!!

fitby44

Congratulations! Very inspirational! You must be so proud of yourself.

allison_ortiz

Congratulations!!!!!
How does WW compare to MFP?

Honestly, they both keep you honest. I don't go to the meetings I just do the online system, which is about the same as MFP only they do daily plus points system instead of calories, but other then that they are about the same tracking wise. I really love ♥ WW's tho, and I will keep paying the $19 a month to use the system until I am at my goal weight.

sealea4

Congrats on your Hard Work! You look 10 Years younger!

ccsick

Your words are very inspiring. I had 65 pounds to lose, I have lost about 1/2, the struggle gets harder as you lose, but I'm worth it and so are you and anybody else reading this. We'll all do it together. That makes it easier, knowing others share your struggles, it makes it hard to not feel like an island when you don't have others to uplift and support.

amez1974

Congratulations on your success! Keep up the great work!

changeahead22

That's awesome! I'm also a fellow WW. I made my year mark in July. Currently I'm down 67 lbs. Sometimes you go up, sometimes you go down and other weeks you stay the same, but if you keep at it you'll get there. Keep up the good work!

jenready

What a great story of success. You are proof that hard work and determination do pay off. Keep up the great work and you will reach your goal.

allison_ortiz

Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement, I know I will get there and it will take time; I've been at this a year and I have lost so much weight somedays its overwhelming to think how far I've actually come and to know I have a lot still to lose. I look at other peoples successes and see that they've lost about how much I have left to lose (57.2lbs) and think I've lost that twice already almost 3 times am I really going to be able to lose another 60lbs?

But, I post to keep myself grounded, and committed, and also in the hope that many others who are just starting out and have 200lbs to lose like I did in the beginning and will see it is possible, and choose to make great choices for themselves. This is not a diet it is a life change, and thats the mind set we really need to stay committed to achieve our goals. I cannot wait to post a maintenance post at my goal weight!

All of your comments are so inspiring to me, they really keep me motivated as well! so Thank you all

Masonless

Your story amazes me. So, so, so proud of you and your accomplishments. Keep going to reach your goal. You are almost there!
Blessings,
Christy

starryk

I'm just trying to decide if I add WW to MFP... after reading your storey... I think its a good plan.

CONGRATS with your loss!!!

LuckyLeprechaun

Congratulations!!!!!
How does WW compare to MFP?

WW$$$$$$$$$$$$$

MFPFREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

LuckyLeprechaun

Congrats! I know it definitely took hard work to accomplish your goals.



Can you tell us what WW did for you that was worth paying for, in light of MFP's being FREE, I cannot wrap my head around it.

Points=hard, calories=printed on every product.

Tanimom

I, too, lost considerable weight on WW. It's a sane, healthy approach to weight loss. I think people have to do whatever works for them. I personally appreciate using what I learned in WW along with what I'm learning on MFP. And the support from both is priceless in this journey.

allison_ortiz

Congrats! I know it definitely took hard work to accomplish your goals.



Can you tell us what WW did for you that was worth paying for, in light of MFP's being FREE, I cannot wrap my head around it.

Points=hard, calories=printed on every product.

well for the first 9 months I used WW's and I only used the online system so it is only $19/month and worth every penny. Just because something is free doesn't make it better, Im not saying I don't like MFP, I just found out about MFP back in May and I've been using both since June to compare tracking calories vs. points, and believe it or not points are on a lot of products these days...you'd be surprised. The tracking is almost the same, ww's uses graphs vs. tickers and wall posts. The points plus system is set up to tailor to each individual person: their age, gender, weight to determine their daily total and that decreases as you lose. You also get extra weekly points to use as well, and extra activity points as earned for being physically active. On MFP you can update your weight randomly vs. WW's you track once weekly on the same day for more consistency. I've yet to explore all that MFP has to offer, but on WW's there are member created recipes, program recipes, and personal recipes. Trackers for weight, measurements, daily food diaries, activity tracker, weekly progress reports for daily intake and physical activity (graphs).

Quite honestly, I think every system has its own qualities and it really depends on the person and what works for them as an individual. In the beginning I was using a different system like MFP called spark people and it wasn't working for me, that is why I switched to WW's. So far I have been impressed with MFP, but I will be keeping my WW's membership; and besides its my money to spend if I feel it's worth it, and since I can personally say it helped me to lose 143 pounds, I'd say it's working

midcenturymodern69

You are such an inspiration! Thanks for sharing and congratulations on your success!

twinkychops

That was fabulous to read and sweety you look gorgeous!!! You seriously are an inspiration!

AleksD3

I'm doing WW and this is very inspirational to me. It seems to work better for me than calorie counting does but i still love this site for support and keeping an eye on macros.

Tanimom

I'm also an Oregonian (Portland), in the medical field (RN), and have lost weight on Weight Watchers, a program I strongly advocate for weight loss, along with MFP. I was moved to tears by your post. I think anyone who has had a great deal of weight to lose and has had some success can relate to your story. I would be proud to call you "friend", if you're interested.

allison_ortiz

I'm also an Oregonian (Portland), in the medical field (RN), and have lost weight on Weight Watchers, a program I strongly advocate for weight loss, along with MFP. I was moved to tears by your post. I think anyone who has had a great deal of weight to lose and has had some success can relate to your story. I would be proud to call you "friend", if you're interested.

This is so amazing (I sent you a friend request) I am also in the medical field, I am a Cert. Medical Assistant and I work at a FQHC, which means I get to work with the under privileged part of the community. I am a patient care coordinator for pediatrics and I get to do a lot of our patient education follow ups for obesity. We are piloting a program called the healthy living initiative, but in short term we work as a team (provider, nutritionist/dietician, BHC) to educate overweight teens with comorbidities about diet and nutrition and starting healthier lifestyle habits. It is so motivating to get to go to work every day and teach others the things I have used and learned along my journey, and hopefully reverse the weight gain at an early age so they will never have to struggle as adults with chronic longterm illnesses.

The great part about losing this weight is that is makes me a better mother and community member, and now I get to pay it forward :flowerforyou:

p.s. I do tell people about weight watchers, but it does cost money and not everyone can afford to do it, so I also tell them about MFP, which is a great option for our patients!