Earlier this year we put out a call for an adventurous couple who wanted to make a healthy lifestyle change together.

Karen and Mark answered that call and, over a twelve week period, they’re giving us an honest, in-depth account about what life is like when you’re on the Weight Watchers plan. They’ll also be helping and supporting each other along the way.

This week Mark and Karen are talking about the temptation of Easter as well as the difficulty of fitting exercise into their daily routines.

Mark and Karen have taken up the Weight Watchers challenge!

                         

Name: Mark

Starting Weight: 14st 5lbs

Current Weight: 12st 11.5lbs

So it looks like I am still recovering from Easter and was only down 1/2 a pound this week, this week I gave up using my tracker and was tracking in my mind which may not have been the best idea. And to really hit home this point, this week's class was on the importance of keeping up your tracker and making sure you are not guessing what you are eating. I’ve learnt my lesson and I’m going to stick to the tracker – counting up my ProPoints every day and making sure I use them all up!

On the flip side though, over the weekend I ran my longest distance of year which was from Stillorgan out to the Poolbeg lighthouse and back. The pier leading to that lighthouse is deceptively long but it was a fantastic day and I really enjoyed the run. So that was around 20km which I was delighted about. Unfortunately though, a run like that takes it out of me so I was pretty much out of commission for the rest of the weekend and beginning of this week with stiff, tired legs and sore ankles. 

So it appears I am getting close to being back to my old fitness level. I find that Weight Watchers has really motivated me to get back into fitness – it’s not all about food! Still need to improve on the times I'm completing the runs but I find you first need to set the distance and with repetition your time will gradually increase as you'll know how to pace yourself. Will probably do more runs around the 10k mark this week as opposed to just one really large one as I have a race coming up at the end of next week. Hopefully though I will be a few pounds lighter before that run!!

 

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Name: Karen

Starting Weight: 12st 8.5lbs

Current Weight: 11st 9lbs

It finally happened.... I gained weight this week. I have to say it's a heartbreaking experience getting up on those scales and seeing the little plus sign rather than the minus. I spent the next 15 minutes flying through the 5 stages of grief: 

Denial - The scales must be wrong/I'm really tired this week and I had a big lunch that's why I'm up.

Anger - This is ridiculous! It must be obviously not working for me!

Bargaining - Maybe if I go to the toilet and tell Mary I had something in my pocket, she might weigh me again and the result will be different?

Depression - After all my hard work, its undone, two weeks wasted with no loss overall. I'm never going to hit my target which is now a pound further away than last week. I want a large bar of chocolate. 

Acceptance - I finally hit the acceptance stage during the class which I realised was showing me exactly where I went wrong. I wasn't tracking properly all week and was 'guestimating' my ProPoints and how many I'd had over the day. I had also increased my portion sizes significantly and was counting them as the same amount of ProPoints. Fajitas for four? Sure that's a healthy low ProPoint meal for two! When Mary showed me the amount of cereal was equal to 40g I was pretty shocked as I know I have been eating double that amount and tracking it as 4 ProPoints when it was probably equal to 8 ProPoints! I guess I have been letting my portions creep up under the false belief that I was counting all the ProPoints in it so it was fine. I unfortunately deserved my weight gain this week. 

I am back to tracking this week and I am going to make sure that nasty pound will be gone by my next weigh in! No more guessing and excuses it'll be all hard work this week!

 

Do you want to join Karen and Mark? Find your nearest Weight Watchers classes here.