As I have mentioned before, I officially started Weight Watchers online almost two weeks ago. My decision to do this online rather than the meetings was not an easy one. Since I have a great support system at home, I did not feel that I needed meetings, especially since they were at least double the price of online. What I wanted was something for ideas, the message boards (if I use them), recipes broken down in points, and something to keep me motivated. For some reason paying money makes it more real and keeps me on target.

I know that the Weight Watchers point system works for me. I unofficially did Weight Watchers when NHL was about 6 months old. By his first birthday I had lost about at least 50 pounds. When I started teaching again, I weighed less than I can ever recall. I felt wonderful and could finally shop for clothing in any store. I made a mistake part way though the year. I stopped journaling what I was consuming. JL and I were not eating as healthy and our portions slowly increased. Then when NHL was almost two and still not walking, my world fell apart. I was faced with stress at school and not knowing what was wrong with my little boy. The daily offering of goodies in the faculty room were calling me, and I the will power slowly declined.

I know I should have started back on Weight Watchers before this point, but I was afraid. I partially blamed myself for sabotaging my milk supply when I was nursing NHL. I did not want to jeopardize this for JSL. When we made our reservations for Disney World something clicked in my brain. I did not want to be uncomfortable walking there, I wanted to fit into the rides, and I did not want to be heaview than I was on my honeymoon there almost eight years ago.

Starting Weight Watchers in the winter is not easy, I have done this twice now. The fruit and vegetables available are not as good, and oh my are they expensive these days! In addition to this, many of the comfort foods of winter that keep you warm are high in calroies and fat. Being healthy is far from cheap and definitely not easy, especially in these economic times. However, I know in the long run that better health will save us a lot of money.

JL and I have found some snacks that fulfill our need for "junk" food. Kashi and Fiber One products have been amazing. We have also tried several recipes from the Weight Watchers website and have a few more that are ready to go. After my first full week, I lost two pounds. Sure, it is not a ton of weight like the Biggest Loser contestants, but losing 15 pounds or more in a week seems so unhealthy to me. I know that if it comes off gradually it is more likely to stay off.

Do you have any great healthy recipes to share?

I would love to have some more suggestions to avoid repeating the same items over and over. We keep a kosher kitchen at home, so we tend to eat mostly vegetarian style meals. This does include kosher fish like salmon and tilapia. From time to time, we  make chicken or turkey. We use a lot of Morning Star burger crumbles, and other soy based "meat" products.