Thrifties, and the weight loss conundrum

Several of you nice bloggers have asked me about my weight loss and Weight Watchers, especially with making resolutions to lose a few pounds this year. I thought I would tell you a little about how and why I got chubby (and what I did about it) and then get back to the important stuff --my thrifties that I found yesterday!

As a nurse, I was always very aware of the importance of healthy weight, esp since my maternal line has a bad history of high blood pressure and heart disease. So I always had a good weight. Then...in 2002 I found that dreaded lump in the boob -- and I was lucky. I found it myself, found it early, had it removed, and only needed radiation for 7 weeks. As Shakespeare said, there's the rub. Radiation is a daily treatment -- it cannot be missed, and I was still teaching and working as a nursing manager (in office). Radiation on a good day tires you out from the radiation load, so by week 5, I would get home, feel whipped and swollen, and grab the ice cream to feel better. I ate, and then I ate, and then I ate some more!

To make a long story short, I finished treatment, got my health back, had good mammos..was cancer-free...but still ate junk. Five years later, by last January, I had gained 50 pounds, and enough was enough. My best GF, who has a body like a model, started WW because she had gained about 15 pounds. I had been on WW back in the 80's, so I was a little familiar with it. I started going to meetings with her, and by Sept I had lost 52 pounds, got back into a size 8, and have made the promise to myself to keep it off. I found it easy, HEALTHY, and fun -- I met great people at the meetings who really supported each other. Three of us at work lost a total of about 200 pounds last year (all together) -- the support and encouragement is really necessary to be successful.

So, if you're thinking of ridding yourself of pesky pounds, think about doing it the healthy way -- where you are taught what and how to eat, what triggers you to eat too much, portion control, and have the support you need to accomplish a major weight loss. WW taught me that there is no such thing as a diet -- losing weight and keeping it off is a life style that you commit to --forever. Did I fall off the wagon during the holidays, you ask?? Of course!! But I cut back in other ways, and will see what damage was done in my Thursday meeting -- if any, I will be back counting points until it comes back off again. So that's my story. The one and only NY resolution I kept and mastered. But I still smoke, so go figure!!

Yesterday, I only got to one thrift store because the oil change on my car turned into $900 worth of repair (sigh) and I got a late start. Found a few little goodies, though.Found the breadboard pig for $1.00, and the little ginger bag for 10 cents!! Not much else was around, so I think I'll wait a few weeks until there's some new after-holiday stuff. BTW, the ginger doll above was a thriftie as well, as was the tool box thing behind it, which I just had to paint yellow!

So, while I was running around with the car yesterday,then cleaning, doing the laundry, and other assorted busy things, this is what my big boy was doing:

Ahhh, the life of a kittie.

He loves the back of the chair, and he takes up the entire length of it, too.

I'm thinking of taking down the Christmas stuff today (boohoooo)!! I'm one of those crazies that just LOVE the winter, so now what to do??