Annie: Weigh-in week 7

Ack! Too busy to blog.

Still on program though - and at turns excited and terrified about the new WW program Mae wrote about.

A thought that occurred to me this morning: maybe this is why they haven't launched an app in Canada yet - because they'd just have to re-do it for the new program? Maybe we'll get one now?

We'd better, because iWatchr won't work anymore!

Hope to post more next week. Lots of thoughts, no time. :o(

Lost this week: 2.4
Lost so far: 22.4
Still remaining: 77.6
Activity points earned this week: 12
Weeks to go: 45

Mae: Big changes are afoot at WW?

I was going to put this in my "WTF file," but I know that WW changes up its programs fairly regularly. However, from what I'm reading, this is going to be a pretty drastic change. Oh no! I guess I'm going to have to join a meeting after all to get the new materials?



I found some more information about the program changes, and some unhappy folks in this Facebook group.

Annie!!! What do we do?

Mae: Align is (my) miracle

As you can probably tell, I have an interest in the health sciences, and I frequently scour the medical literature for the latest and greatest in weight loss. I have always embraced complementary medicine, and have seen natruapathic and homeopathic practitioners on and off throughout my life. This happened in part because I was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome in 1996 and given a prescription for Cholestyramine (even saying it in my head makes me urge a little; it was the most disgusting thing I've ever had to take). Think of Metamucil, only a gazillion times worse. I searched for an alternative, and through diet and homeopathic remedies, I was able to rid this pasty, orange medicine from my daily routine.

One lesson that I learned from every complementary medical practitioner that I've seen is that the importance of probiotics in our diets cannot be overstated. I remember one person told me that ... "it's not clean underwear that we need to be worried about in case we get hit by a bus, it's whether or not you've taken your probiotics!" Okay, he was kind of kooky.

I take probiotics daily, but I've started finding more and more literature questioning the link between probiotic intake and weight loss. Probiotics set up a healthy bacterial environment in your digestive system which can in turn aid in increased mineral absorption, lower blood cholesterol, lower blood pressure, decrease inflammation, and on and on. Probiotics have become popular lately, and you'll find it in a lot of fermented products like yogurt, but the levels are not high enough (for me, anyway). But the idea is that it helps keep the machinery down there in good working order, and as we all know, having good machinery that aids in the elimination of waste from our bodies is good stuff for weight loss. When things aren't in order, and I have an IBS attack, I can get so bloaty that I can't wear my rings. This is usually brought on by stress, and I have been like this for the last three weeks or so (this week feeling much better).

Enter: my own personal miracle. I discovered (by reading the aforementioned literature) that there is one specific strain of bifantis (a probiotic) that supposedly aids in weight loss and helps reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome: B. infantis 35624. To my knowledge, this is only sold as Align, and only sold in the U.S. I have been taking it for almost two months now, and cannot tell you what a difference it has made to my life. There are days when I'm at work that I'm in so much pain that I almost feel like I need to go home, and this is usually brought on by eating (so around 2 p.m. it starts setting in). I have not had this happen ONCE in the last month and a half. If you're not convinced, read some of the comments at Amazon. Align has had a very real impact on my quality of life, and for that, I am so incredibly grateful. Maybe I should buy shares in this company . . . ; )

Mae: For the "WTF" file

Powdered peanut butter? WTF? But check out the nutrition information! This has the potential to rock my world, but sounds like space food, all the same.

From Amazon.com:

"Through a unique process created by Bell Plantation that does not involve the use of any chemicals; over 90% of the fat is removed from the peanut. Essentially the oil is squeezed out of roasted peanuts and what remains is a peanut powder. The resulting all-natural product is unbelievable!The possibilities for PB2 are limited only by the users imagination and creativity! An outstanding natural protein source sprinkle on shakes, yogurts, smoothies, great for outdoor sports. Excellent for ice cream as it will not seize while processing, ganaches, frostings, truffles, soufflés, cakes, muffins, brownies. Dissolves easily for savory applications- Asian noodle sauces, breadings and crust especially for seafood. It is also wonderful for baking either reconstituted or as a powder."


And there's even a chocolate PB version! I sense another run to the border for groceries very very soon.

Mae: Week 7 weigh-in

Annie and I have chatted quite a bit about different things that can trip up a program, especially after my meltdown last week. One thing that she mentioned to me was sodium, and how much of it there is in things like pop (I think Annie has a pretty good grasp on all the not-so-great junky stuff that I consume).  I didn't do anything very different this week except add a bit more exercise and cut back on diet drinks. I have control over my sodium intake in most other respects because I would estimate that I make close to 70% of everything we eat at home (bread, soup, dinner every night, etc). Here's a pretty good article on the matter:

• How sodium can affect your weight

I have been feeling a little 'bloaty' lately (post coming on that), but much less so right now, so maybe that was part of my problem. In any case, I'm happier this week than last! 


Weigh-in: -3.4
Loss to date: 13

Mae: Scale obsessed?

I've been pretty nonplussed about my WW program these past two weeks because I haven't been seeing progress on the scale. As you know, I was even up this week (queue my day-long pity party on Monday).

However, even though I haven't seen the changes I want on the scale, there have been changes. Thursdays are my (Iyengar - by far my preferred style) yoga nights, and I stopped after class last night to talk to the teacher about what class I should take in the new year. I'm new-ish to this, but I want to do well and constantly improve my poses. Even though yoga is often available to all shapes and sizes, the fact is that if you've got some extra business goin' on in the front, you will likely need to modify or compensate because you can't touch your nose to your knees (for example). I don't know if I'm becoming more limber just from doing yoga regularly, but I'm finding that I have more 'mobility' and can fold myself up into increasingly complicated and sometimes bizarre (rock a baby, anyone?) configurations. Her advice was to move up because my poses are apparently already good. I was happier about that than you may imagine. 


So my point is this: we all, WW included, tend to obsess about the scale too much. In fact, I've always had a bit of a beef about this with WW, which does not really take measurements into account (some leaders encourage it, but the actual program does not). When I did Body for Life, I lost a relatively small amount of weight but dropped 4 sizes (I tend to build muscle pretty easily, which is heavy). I even stopped weighing altogether and had never been happier with my progress or more fit. Everyone loses weight differently, and I know from my previous attempts that a 2 pound loss per week is on the high end for me. I'm not abandoning the scale, as there's no denying that someone my size really does need (much) better numbers. However, I will also celebrate my yoga victory and decreased 'front matter' in spite of 1.2 pound gain this week. <grin>

Mae: Week 6 weigh-in

This will be short and to the point, as I don't know what to say or even how to explain this result. I knew it would happen at some point, but not this soon. Anyway, after two weeks of negligible loss, I am now up. I have not fallen off program, and the only thing that has changed is exercise: I've added lots of it. Whatever.

Weigh-in: +1.2
Loss to date: 9.6