We may not need to lose as much weight as most of the Weight Watchers, but we all joined as a family last night. Jay needs to lose around 30 , I could lose around 15, and
Stevi 15 to 20. Dr.
Fenwick 6 months ago said she needed to lose around 40 but she had such a growth spurt that she is balancing out. I'm sure a lot of you think I am crazy, but
you try to teach your husband and a 12 year old about good vs. bad choices and portion control. I think that if we all follow this together, it is a principal that will stay with us for life. It is easy to follow and basically teaches you about portions and choices, such as if you know you want to splurge on dessert, eat healthy and light before.
The point system goes by your weight and activity levels and age. I get a measly 20 points because I am older and weigh the least, Stevi gets 27 points because of her age, but she also gets to add points for different activities, for instance, today she will have an hour soccer practice so she gets an additional 3 points to use, or not. Jay gets 41 points, he has the most weight to lose, but also because he is a construction worker and a man, he gets an additional 6 points a day. Jay and I both get additional activity points, today while Stevi is at soccer, we will run/walk for 30 mins, I get to add 3 points if I would like and Jay gets 5.5. In addition to the daily points, you get 35 flex points, kind of like a savings account, in case you go over a couple extra points, or you can store them for a special occasion, Stevi is keeping hers for a Monday sleep over because they are having pizza, which is 6 points a piece, I hope to use mine at the family reunion. Every week at weigh-in, your flex points start over so they don't accumulate. Stevi is really excited and now has the tools to make her choices without me hovering over her. She hopes to lose at least half by the time school starts, which I think will be great, me, I am doing this for her. I do the shopping and menu planning, I could lose weight on my own, I have done it before, but to get the whole family together on the band wagon, it will be much easier and hopefully start Jay and Stevi off on eating healthy for life..........
We started Weight Watchers on August 1st. It's amazing how you gradually put on weight and don't notice it until one day you see a picture of yourself and then think to yourself, no wonder my clothes are so uncomfortable! Today I finally reached my goal! I am so excited! In the past, when I have gotten down to my weight I started introducing "bad" foods back into my diet because I had lost weight. I will now stick with weight watchers to monitor my weight. I started with meetings and then Jay, Stevi and I figured out the point system and have been doing it ourselves ever since. As of today, all 3 of us have lost 15 lbs. ea.! I feel much better and I know I look better, you can see it in my face mostly I think. What a great way to start your day. Now I can start using my activity points as I earn them and I think you get 4 more points a day on top of that. It doesn't sound like a lot but when you only get 20 points a day, that's huge, (it equals around 200 more calories a day). So for now, I will continue to exercise, and eat 20 points a day plus my 35 weekly flex points, add in my activity points when I earn them and weigh myself daily. If I need to add extra points in because I am continuing to lose, I will, if I start to gain I will take them away again, either way I will figure it out! Oh Happy Day!
The Sundial bridge was really amazing and also the Lego exhibit.
We had our lunch there and I think we were there for a total of around 4 hours. Since it was Friday, Jay would be heading up after work. The kids and Aunt Pat and I stopped at Safeway on our way back to the lodge and got food for dinner, we had fajitas. Jay actually made it by 6 pm which was amazing to me, but we were all happy he made it up so early. My mom made her famous London Fogs for everyone (I had mine with a weight watchers smoothie and saved 14 points) which are half gin, half vanilla ice-cream. It was fun to watch all of the "Adults" enjoying themselves, even Aunt Lita, who shares an 
The bus ride up was much nicer than it used to be because they got new buses. They used to be very very old school buses, I wish they still had them though, that was half the experience right there! We got inside the caverns and it was nice, lots of stairs and a little slippery in some areas because of the moisture, but very educational and interesting. 
It was so wonderful to watch my Mom with Aunt Dottie and Aunt Pat. They were giggly like school girls and it was great to see them together. My Aunt Pat was my Aunt through marrying my Uncle Ken, who is no longer with us and even though they divorced, she and my mom kept in touch and remained great friends....they were both rebellious and two peas in a pod. My Aunt Dottie is my Aunt by choice, she and my mom were the best of friends since the tender age of 14......and boy did I hear some stories!
After we stopped for lunch we headed through Susanville then on to 44 and made one more stop at a rest stop before Burney Falls. I was going to surprise them and take them to Burney Falls for a little sight seeing, but there was a terrible fire and the road was blocked off of any traffic going in that direction. Onward to Redding. We made pretty good time and checked into our lodge rooms, started to relax and then a nice white Volvo pulled up with a very handsome man who looked just like my mother. I said " Mom, come look at this, you've got to see this!" It was her oldest brother Peter and his wife Lita. I remember them from the time we went to New York when I was 16 and Aunt Lita's Cold Cucumber Soup......She taught me some of her secret recipes too that I will share with you later. We decided to order pizza and chicken wings to be delivered so we could just relax and enjoy each others company. Jayson and Stevi went to the pool to swim and Jayson put on his "Dolphin Show" which is so funny he had us all laughing hysterically.
