The Big 4-0: Saying Goodbye to Baby Weight

Today I believe I have a right to be happy. This morning I realized I hit the big 4-oh, and I don't mean age. Today I stepped on the scale to discover a three-pound weight loss for the week, which brings my overall total since September, 2009 to forty! While I still have twenty pounds until I reach my ultimate goal, I consider this an important milestone because I had approximately gained forty pounds while pregnant. I consider this my victory over the dreaded "baby weight" I carried for years - the baby is now in kindergarten!

Over the years, even in the early days of my nearly two-decades long marriage, I tried a variety of diet techniques. Pills and starvation, shakes and frozen dinners...some would work temporarily but I always ended up back at the refrigerator to overcompensate for what the extreme programs took away. After much frustration and buying into quick fixes, I decided to go for a reasonable approach. Friends had found success with Weight Watchers, so I joined during a promotion and haven't looked back.

While I find the assignation points to different foods an effective way of managing one's eating habits (I, for one, currently am designated 24 points a day in addition to 35 bonus points for the week), I believe the program does more than train you to eat within your set boundaries. As I budgeted points to eat healthier meals, I found my body no longer craved certain things I enjoyed too often. One thing in particular: soda.

These days, the portioning of sodas in cans has changed. Used to be a nutrition label on a can of Coke or Pepsi would note the can offered two servings - now it's the whole can, and the caloric data is adjusted to accommodate this. Under Weight Watchers, everything is given a points rating, including beverages. There is no pass. Depending on the soft drink, I realized I would burn off two to three points per drink. As a near-religious Coke drinker, this turned me off since I knew I'd prefer to use those points toward something more substantial.

The elimination of carbonated beverages from my diet (including diet and zero-calorie sodas), I believe, played a large role in my weight loss. With the empty calories replaced by water, sometimes with the occasional low-cal drink mix packet, I saw my energy level increase as I cut the unneeded sugar and, more dangerous, the high fructose corn syrup. If I decide to end my Weight Watchers subscription, one thing is for certain: I'll continue to cut soda from my diet. I would imagine if others did the same, diet or no, they may see some positive body results.

See you in twenty more pounds!