Answers, Fantastic-ly

Last week, I told you a story about someone I know who publicly declared a 111-pound weight loss on Facebook. Her story resulted in some questions from CC readers. 

The answers are here. And, I'm giving her a CC name of Fantastic-ly. (Hoping her husband remembers the conversation we had before their girls were born so it makes sense.) 

Q1: Fantastic-ly, did you consistently lose?

I did consistently lose and that was one of the biggest keys to my success, that I kept being successful. I did not start out thinking I would be able to lose 110+ lbs. I started out thinking I was ready to make a change. And then the first week, I weighed in and I’d lost 6 lbs. I got a 5 lb. sticker in my WW at Work meeting and a little recognition and that was cool. Then the second week, I lost 4 lbs. I got another 5 lb. sticker and I thought, this is going really well. I think I’ll try to go for 5% lost, which for me was 13 lbs. When I made that goal over the next two weeks, I was hooked. I lost weight every single week I was on the plan, a minimum of ½ lb. each week. That success kept me going.

Q2: Ms. Fantastic-ly, were you pretty good about hitting WW Healthy Guidelines?

I was pretty good with the guidelines, except for the Healthy Oils requirement. I tried to keep my water consumption up and my consumption of fruits and vegetables. And after the first few months, I exercised every day.

Q3: Fantastic-ly, did you eat all daily and weekly points?

I did not. I never ate any of my weekly 49 points. In addition, I earned anywhere from 50 to over 100 activity points each week and I never ate any of those either. There were also days, especially early on when I had more daily points available, where I didn’t eat all of those points (I know, this is not WW-recommended).

Q4: OK, Fantastic-ly, did you drink Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi?

I drank Coke Zero and Diet Coke, primarily. Except for 1 point per day for ½ cup of orange juice in the morning, I never used any of my points for beverages (I gave up alcohol for the time being).

Q5: Well, then, Ms. Fantastic-ly, how much did you work out?

The only exercise that I did was walking. I have an office job and my daily number of steps when I started was about 3,000. Now I regularly earn 15,000+ steps per day. I walk during my breaks mid-morning and mid-afternoon (about 17 minutes and 1 mile). Then I walk for at least one hour every evening. I also modified my daily routine a little, parking further away in the parking lot and always taking the stairs to another floor to use the restroom.

Q6: Have you, Fantastic-ly, tried WW before and if so, why were you successful this time?

I am not a habitual dieter. This was the second time I tried WW (or any program); the first time was back in the early 90s. That time, I lost 33 lbs. and made it to lifetime. I kept the weight off for about five years but then it started creeping back on. I now weigh 40 lbs. less than I did at my wedding 16 years ago. I think the reason I was successful again this time is because I hate the idea of paying for a weight loss program and then not giving it my all.

Q7: Lastly, Fantastic-ly, What are the three biggest keys to your success?

Continuing to see success on the scale each week. Always making time to walk. Control, control, control.

Thanks, Fantastic-ly! And, congratulations again-ly.