Dr. Dr. tell me what to do

So my good friend Elise got her PhD a few weeks ago...

Elise with her major Professor

And her hubby

And me- it was sooo hot!

I'm so proud of this girl! At just 25 she's earned a PhD! And in Biomedical Sciences no less! The future is nothing but great possibilities.

We've been friends for many years, since high school. Now we're living three hours apart (soon to be many more once she gets that shiny new job)! It's sad because I so much enjoy her company. We could be great "couple friends" too.

But, I really enjoyed visiting with her, her family, and Tallahassee in general. I spent about 16 months there attending our shared Alma Mater. (But only a Bachelor's for me!)

Did I mention she's also a Weight Watchers fiend?

The girl has discipline by the bucketfuls.

Once she was on it about 18 months, her hubby was convinced and joined in too! Now they are some lean mean, slim trim folks! 

Here's a little before and after. I couldn't dig up any "befores" older than this:

About 2008

2010

2013

I love me some black and white! And she wears it well. Horizontal stripes and slinky chiffon. You have to be thin to pull that off! I think total she has lost 50+ pounds. Slow and steady, over 2+ years. Determination.

So here's to you, Dr. Elise. I'm so proud of you and glad I got to share your day!

Weight Watchers Update

So my total weight loss now hovers around 18 pounds. The last month or maybe even 6 weeks I've been up and down a little. Which basically means I have not been strict enough with following the points.

Oh, it's so hard to break through plateaus. The diligence it takes. Sometimes I consider if it's really worth it. Especially when all sorts of baked goods and sugar sweets are calling to me. It's easy to have a false sense of comfort when everyone is saying "you look good". But is good good enough? I'm still in a size 14. I don't think that's particularly healthy.

My only exercise right now is walking, or doing hard house chores like cleaning the garage or doing some yard work. I'm ok with that, even if I shouldn't be.

So- here's my most recent photos, in all their real-ness and glory. Including my spare tire and back fat. But at least I have on my new favorite coral skinnies, so it's trendy fat :)

The first trimester belly. I'll likely always have a pooch there, since I'm not gonna do 1000's of crunches. "Signs of life" so they say. Plus I can always wear my spandex shapewear tank tops :)

This is true honesty, and you should appreciate it! Back fat + flat butt = not a pretty site

 Also, I need a haircut :) I like the front length but the back desperately needs re-stacking.

But this is me/us March 2012. John is so much different too!

Weight Watchers Update

So John and I have been doing WW since the third week in February. To be honest it doesn't feel like our lives have changed all that drastically. Right now we don't have to sacrifice too much to get a reward. I'm sure as the points go lower that will change.

I am down 13 pounds altogether, and John is down 25.

When I made it to my first goal (5% of body weight lost) I rewarded myself with a haircut. It was my first since Sophia came and my "mom" cut. I was excited to get it. I had short hair when John first met me and he actually prefers it this way. And I prefer a change! :)

I went with a stacked bob, but a long one.

I've had several people over the years classify my hair as "thin". But my stylist says I actually have a lot of hair, it's just very very straight. Except for this one patch in the back near the nape of my neck, where my hair is borderline curly. I think this has only happened since being pregnant. Crazy hormones.

Also on a day I was feeling "skinny" I decided to take a body shot. I resisted the urge to suck it in :)
If this is the way I looked sitting down I'd be thrilled. Unfortunately when it's not all stretched out I have significant gut :( But still, I am happy with the progress.

And what does WW eating look like? Well it's probably one of the most no-fuss well supported programs out there. There are just gobs of recipes on the internet. But my meal planning is even simpler than that. We use the E-Meals service Portion Control Menu to plan our dinners. I save the recipes we enjoy. Here's a sampling of our meals:

Spinach feta topped chicken with a baked potato

Sausage, carrot and white bean stew

Tuscan chicken with herb roasted potatoes

Cabbage and sausage soup (surprisingly good!)

Ham and Swiss quiche

Spinach Alfredo over spaghetti squash

 So the food is all really normal, just lightened up. Some of the substitutes we make regularly are: spray butter for real butter, grated parmesan for shredded cheese, 2% milk reduced fat cheeses for full fat cheeses, fat free milk, egg whites for whole eggs, extra lean ground beef for ground beef, light dressings for regular dressings. John loves to have 2 tablespoons of parmesan (regular kind) on lots of his foods because it is only 1 point. A lot of recipes include chicken broth for flavor.

So if you're thinking you'd like to lose a few pounds, but don't want a drastic lifestyle change, and want to feed your family the same food you need, this is the plan!

I'll update you again once I reach my next goal!