Temptations

It's not secret that you don't become overweight by eating carrots, celery, and broccoli and getting plenty of exercise. Pizza, pasta, cupcakes, and other delicious foods are what have added to my waistline over the years and have come to be staples in my diet. In order to start losing weight and move toward a healthier lifestyle, I need to learn how to enjoy my old favorites in moderation, while still maintaining a dominantly healthy diet.

I started Weight Watchers on Saturday. My daily PointsPlus allowance is 43 points. This number is based on my age, height, weight, and some other factors and is personalized to me and my needs at this point. As I progress, the number will go down, eventually shrinking to a measly 26 points per day! In addition to these points, every person in the program has a weekly allowance of 49 additional points to use as you please. 

The main goal of the program is to focus on eating "Power Foods" such as lean meats, vegetables, fruits, and other healthier options. These Power Foods are expected to make up the majority of your daily PointsPlus allowance. The weekly allowance is for indulging on sweets and other temptations that you may come across in a week.

This week, my first week back on the program, has been full of temptations. On Saturday night, we went out for my cousin's 21st birthday. I used a couple points on doing a Patriot Bomb shot. On Sunday, we had a birthday party for my cousin. I used some the majority of my daily points eating wings, spinach artichoke dip, and birthday cake and had to use some of my weekly allowance later in the day to have something small for dinner. Monday and Tuesday were relatively successful and temptation free. On Wednesday, I went to lunch at a new local restaurant with some coworkers. There were NO healthy options, so I ended up eating a grilled cheese and some french fries. The french fries were not good, but I still ate every last one of them, wasting 11 points for the day. Needless to say, when I got home, I was hungry, and had almost no points left for the day. I used a good majority of my weekly allowance on dinner and an evening snack yesterday. 

That brings me to today - the biggest temptation of the week. A coworker of mine is leaving to start a new job and we had a smorgasbord of food this morning. Cookies, cupcakes, fruit pizza, breakfast casseroles, cinnamon rolls, and other delicious options. I helped myself to a large plate of food. It's a celebration - why not? Well, I have no idea how to track anything I ate. I have no idea how many points I consumed, but it's safe to say, it was A LOT. I haven't had lunch or dinner and I am sure I'm dangerously close to meeting today's allowance and I have only 20 more weekly allowance points. 

Life is full of temptations. Unexpected events, celebrations, or other social gatherings will constantly pull you out of your comfort zone. It's up to you to make the choices or have an alternate plan. I didn't do well in choice making or planning this week and gave in to every temptation that came my way. It wasn't a very good way to start WW, but I'm still hopeful that I'll have a loss this week. I weigh in on Saturday morning. Tonight and tomorrow will definitely be full of exercise!