Meet Alison, another weight loss super star!!! 66 pounds gone and counting!

Hi everyone! I would like to introduce you to Alison. When I first contacted her to see if she would like to be a success story on my blog, she immediately said “But I’m not done yet!” And I said “But you’ve lost 66 pounds so far and that is amazing!!!” I think with all the weight loss stories I’ve posted, someone’s story will resonate with you more than others, and just getting an idea of what someone did to be successful can get you started on your way to losing weight if you don’t know how to start.

Here is Alison’s answers to the questions I asked her, she has a great blog with lots of great ideas and wonderful food she has made, so check it out when you get a chance.

1). What was your “Aha” moment when you decided you needed to do something about your weight?

I don’t think I really had an aha moment. I was tired of being overweight, tired of being tired, running after my dogs. I had moved to Washington a few months earlier and this new start seemed like a good time to invest in my health, I had time on my hands being on leave from work and I used it to work on myself.

2). Had you tried to lose weight in the past – were you successful when you tried? What method did you use to lose weight this time?

I have tried in the past, I tried Diet Center as a teenager then really didn’t try anything formal for a long time. I tried Optifast in college, but the only liquid I wanted to be drinking was the kind with alcohol, so although I lost weight I failed to keep it off. I tried WeightWatchers in 2004 and lost 50 pounds, I managed to keep about half of it off, but divorce didn’t help my motivation. This time I turned to WeightWatchers again and I am having great success, the fundamental difference this time is that I am losing weight for me, not anyone else, so although it is slow it is steady. We have fundamentally changed the way that we eat.

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3). How long has it taken you to lose the weight so far?

15 months. I was going at about 1.5 pounds a week for a while then a 4 month plateau killed that, now it is about a pound a week over all.

4). What keeps you going? Were there times where you wanted to give up?

I really wanted to quit when I was plateauing. I was at the weight I had plateaued at before and that time I did give up. This time I just stuck with it. Our eating had changed, I look for ways to make favourite recipes more filling and lower in fat and calories, it’s a challenge, so I stuck with that portion and with the exercise. During that plateau I got married and I knew that I wanted children and that the more overweight I was the more challenging it would be to both conceive and have a healthy pregnancy, so that is my current motivation if I start to doubt why I do this. But honestly I don’t feel it’s hard anymore, it’s just the way I eat and live.

5). Did you exercise while losing weight, if so, what do you like to do for exercise.

Absolutely. I walked and did the Firm for the first 6 months then started doing the bowflex. Finally I started running in January, using the couch to 5k program. I walked/ran my first 5k January 31st then completed two more on the course February 28 and March 28. I ran all but a portion the hill in February and all of the race in March, shaving over 6 minutes off of my time. I have a 10k race April 25th. I used to hate running but now I love it, I feel great when I do it.

6). Do you track what you eat in calories, points, portions? What types of things do you like to eat now?

I track everything that I eat, I am on WeightWatchers so I count points, and make sure I don’t have too many 0 or 1 point foods, as these often add up to alot more than you think. I eat everything. I splurge on Saturdays using all my weekly points then. Knowing that if I have a craving I can enjoy the food on a saturday helps, 6 days isn’t that long to wait. Generally we eat at home and I cook lower calorie and fat recipes that both my husband and I will eat. He once said “if this is diet food anyone can diet”

7). What are some tips that have helped you a long the way?
Measure everything, vitamuffins are the best guilt free snack ever for a chocolate craving, pop chips satisfy salty/crunch, so do Kale chips. Don’t give up.

8). Did you have people in your life that weren’t positive towards the changes you were making?

No, I was lucky although my husband wishes we had more fried food or red meat, but all in all he is supportive, just whiney sometimes 😛

Leave a comment for Alison about how well she’s doing!! You are an inspiration Alison!

AND, SHE JUST RAN A 10K OVER THE WEEKEND! (THAT’S 6.2 MILES!) WAHOO ALISON!!