Making a Simple Start and Taking the Plunge

I was given a free one-month subscription to try the new Simple Start plan and write about my experience. Though I was compensated for my time and commitment, all views, positive and negative are my own.

Snowed in on Valentine’s Day with a pantry full of comfort food, Girl Scout cookies and other junk food probably isn’t how most people would kick off a healthy lifestyle change.

But you can’t always wait for the perfect time to do something. Sometimes you just have to start. Take a deep breath and jump in with both feet.

(That’s me, taking my first jump off the diving board when I was 6 years old.)

And that’s just what Bruce and I did a week ago. Instead of exchanging trinkets and going out for a fancy meal, we made a commitment to get healthy together, for ourselves and for our family.

For the past week, we’ve both been doing the Weight Watchers Simple Start plan, and it really does feel like we’re starting an amazing new journey together — one that will change our relationship with food forever.

Both of us have struggled with weight, and we’ve each lost and gained many pounds over the years. In the years since marriage and parenthood, we’ve become complacent and comfortable. Comfortable isn’t a necessarily bad place to be in a marriage, but being comfortable in bad habits is.

I could give you a million and one excuses, but they would be just that: excuses. When it comes to food, we have become incredibly indulgent, to ourselves and one another. Every day, every meal, every snack was an indulgence. We stopped really feeding our bodies a long time ago. For years, we have been eating for comfort, out of stress, for entertainment and to dull our emotions.

Years ago, I was very successful, counting points with Weight Watchers to lose a lot of weight. Recently, I have struggled to get back into weight loss groove because I think I was simply too undisciplined. Even when I was counting calories or points or fat grams or carbs or whatever, I was letting my mind dictate what I put in my mouth — instead of listening to my body.

Watching TV in the evening meant snack time, whether I was hungry or not. And I know I would cheat myself; if a snack was supposed to be 12 pretzels, I’d eat 22, not accounting for those I ate out of the bag on the way to filling my bowl!

What I like about the Simple Start plan is that there’s no counting. You choose what to eat from a list of power foods — whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and non-fat dairy — that are packed with nutrients and keep you full longer. Weight Watchers even provides recipes for more than 50 meals you can make using the Simple Start foods — and we’ve tried out quite a few of them.

For us, eating from the Simple Start power foods list has meant cutting out almost all sugar, high-fat dairy and processed foods.

I guess it’s what you would call clean eating. Whole foods. Farm-to-table style eating.

Honestly, I thought I would miss the processed foods more than I have. I expected to be irritable and struggling with cravings throughout the day, but that honestly has not been the case.

My body apparently runs better on brown rice and whole wheat pasta and fruits, vegetables, salads and grilled chicken.

The Simple Start plan allows for small indulgences every day — and I’ve been using those indulgence points every day. But I have been spending them wisely on foods that I truly enjoy and that make me feel indulged, instead of just stuffed with empty calories.

An indulgence should feel special. It should be savored. So, when I indulge, I am trying to take a moment to truly enjoy and to be more mindful.

I realize we are at the beginning of a long journey here, but Simple Start has been just the jumpstart I needed to get back to a healthy me. Bruce and I both lost weight this week, and I’m already noticing small changes in how I feel.

• I haven’t been experiencing that 3 o’clock dip in energy I used to get every afternoon when my blood sugar dropped.
• I actually have felt physical hunger — something I haven’t felt in a long time because I’ve been eating to eat instead of paying attention to my body’s cues. Yet, I haven’t been ravenously hungry on Simple Start either because when I feel the need to feed, I’m free to grab a snack or a meal from the Power Foods list. And after a few bites, I feel full and satisfied, but not overstuffed.
• I haven’t had any crazy cravings or binges — even when Jackson brought home his Valentine’s candy from school! (And we haven’t raided his candy bag, either!)
• When we went to the movies over the weekend, I thought I would cave as soon as I smelled the movie theater popcorn. But I didn’t!
• Eating out hasn’t proven as challenging as I thought it would be. It’s just important to choose the right restaurant and the right food from the menu.

I really appreciate your support in this lifestyle change/weight loss journey. I’ll still mostly be sharing crafts and home decor and recipes here – like those yummy chicken and vegetable lettuce wraps and whole wheat pasta with meat sauce I shared photos of this week on Instagram. (Stay tuned for those Simple Start recipes in the coming weeks!)

But I do plan to check in regularly to let you know how it’s going and to share any triumphs and struggles I experience as I’m shedding this weight and its burdens and baggage. At some point, I may feel comfortable sharing numbers and goals. But for now, I’m happy to say things are going in the right direction — heart, soul and scale. And that’s a start.

Please feel free to share your own story, as well. The more allies we have in this journey, the easier it will be and the more successful we will be.

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