#1611 better eating habits needed

I know a woman who is overweight and is in need of a hip replacement. Her doctor told her that she needs to lose weight before she can have the hip replacement surgery. She feels like she is in a Catch-22 situation: she needs to lose weight but she cannot be active because of her bad hip and her weight. The woman is going to do water-based activity to try to lose the weight.

Another lady and I were talking about the situation and I boldy said that I thought what a person ate made a bigger difference than being active. I think that portion control and making good food choices will help a person lose weight more than just exercise. Ideally, eating well and exercising will maximize weight loss results, but if you can only do one, at least to start, I think eating well is the place to start. For example, several years ago I hired a trainer and worked out with him several times a week, but I ate whatever I wanted. I did not lose much weight, maybe a pound or two. I did get lose an inch or two, though, which was nice.

I was thinking about the conversation this morning, and I think I want/need to reaffirm my belief in this theory. In January and February my weight loss wasn't a loss at all - I've gained a few pounds. :( I wasn't surprised about the gain in January since we were on vacation, but I thought I would get back in the weight loss groove in February, but NO.

What's bad is that I pay a monthly fee to Weight Watchers and I have full access to their program and I know the plan works as long as I work the plan. Clearly, for the past two months, I have not been working the plan.

So...I have decided to challenge myself this month to work the WW plan, track what I eat and really pay attention to what I'm eating. I won't be doing a lot of exercise, though.  I will limit the amount of exercise I do to walking at least 20 minutes a day (remember the safety challenge from my work I wrote about a couple of days ago?)

As I'm reading back over the last paragraph, it seems like it should be so simple, but I really, really like food that isn't exactly low calorie. I like bread and cheese and potatoes and cookies and chips. And yes, those foods are absolutely allowed in the WW plan, but they cost more Smart Points than other foods like fruits and veggies and lean protein.

That's really all I have to say today. This is my last post for February; I plan to post daily in March, so I'm sure we will talk about my challenge in the month to come. Wish me luck!