weight watchers

what we've been up to:

1. i've been at the new job for a little over 2 months now but have been given an offer from another firm i applied to back in january. new place would mean a 20% cut in pay but a lot more opportunity for more creative and interactive work that i think will be better for my career in the long term. all signs point to me taking it, but we still have some details to iron out.
2. patrick and i are in our 3rd week of weight watchers. so far i've lost 5 lbs and patrick has lost 7. i was just so sick and tired of being fat, feeling fat, and most of all feeling out of control. i knew i needed something or someone to be accountable to. and i knew i needed a plan. everyone i know who has used weight watchers has succeeded so i decided i would just bite the bullet and do it. i resisted for a variety of reasons that i'm embarrassed to admit. i felt like WW was for old, fat people who don't know anything about nutrition or who are all weepy and needy for a support group. i guess i felt superior because i was young(ish) and have a decent history of running and athletic achievements under my belt. i didn't need anyone. i could just do it myself.
   
   i have a wedding for a college friend at the end of august and my brother's wedding in october. and i knew that 1. i did not want to be at the same weight i am now and 2. i feared i might be even bigger. so i knew i needed help. what i was doing (or more correctly, not doing) wasn't working. so i signed up and pattycakes came along to lose his own extra baggage and support me.
   
   so far, so good. it's the easiest diet i've been on by far. it helps that i've set some conservative and realistic goals by my august and october mini-deadlines. essentially, i'm just stoaked that i'll be smaller than i am now. i hope to lose between 40 and 50 lbs total by the end of the year. my realistic goal is to maintain a size 8 comfortably. shimmying down to a size 6 or even a 4 feels like too much stress at this point. and for now i've forgone any racing goals. starting yet another new job, paying down my debt, and losing 20% of my body weight is work enough, thank you very much :)