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It’s been a while since I updated my weight loss story. I’ve actually been a member of Weight Watchers for a year and about a week. And I’m happy to announce that I’ve lost 38 pounds during that time.

I had hoped to lose more like 50 lbs during the year, but I must admit that I struggled a bit over the holidays. I started a new business in October and found it a little more difficult to plan, shop, read my cookbooks for new recipes, and stay on the program when I was eating out more often.

But I’m proud that I stuck with it, only missed a couple of meetings during the year, and never gave up! My weight loss slowed down from 1 1/2 lbs a week to 1 lb a week, to now losing fractions of a pound per week. I did gain a pound or so a few times, but overall, the journey has been very successful. I will be happy if I can get back to an average of a pound a week.

I have renewed my commitment this week and think my weight loss is going to pick up dramatically. I have started tracking again and measuring my portions. For me, those are definitely the keys to success.

Also, the weekly meetings are a super support system for me. I’ve made so many wonderful new friends through Weight Watchers and I am grateful for each one of them. It’s a great inspiration to get together with like-minded folks each week and celebrate with them and just have fun. Our group leaders, Brenda and Sue, are so supportive, so knowledgeable, and just plain great gals. I feel privileged to be a part of such a special group.

One thing I am getting good at is coming up with a great meal from what I find in the refrigerator when I haven’t had time to go to the grocery store. In fact, just tonight I had enough ground beef in the fridge for two patties. I dug out some fresh mushrooms and onions and made Salisbury Steak with Mushroom (and onion) gravy from the WW Comfort Classics cookbook. I scrounged some potatoes and cooked some “home fries” with onion and found a bag of baby lima beans (filling food!) in the freezer. Turned out to be a delicious 9-point meal. Very filling.

I’ve got some new and exciting things happening in my life so I hope to find time to update my blog more often. Thanks for reading.

Can you believe that any woman could get to be 58 years old and never cook with fresh garlic? What about getting to that age and never buying and preparing a fresh pineapple? Well, I’m that woman. And the silly thing is that I never used the fresh garlic or the pineapple because I wasn’t sure how to “peel” them. Now, in the age of YouTube, you can learn how to do just about anything.  (See videos below.)

About four months ago, on March 24, 2009, I joined Weight Watchers. I haven’t written about it before now because I wanted to be sure that my commitment was real and that the program really works.

Well, I am here to say that Weight Watchers rocks! This is the best weight-loss program, by far, that I have ever tried. In 16 weeks I have lost 23.4 pounds. That’s an average of just about 1 ½ pounds per week. If I continue to lose at this rate that means I will lose 78 pounds in a year, which is about the amount of weight I want to get rid of.

The Weight Watchers people have really done a super job with this program. As I began following the plan, I immediately lost my cravings for sugar and I am rarely hungry. But, I didn’t have to give up sugar totally. What a concept!

In fact, I didn’t really have to give up anything I like. The program is based on a points system which allows me to eat basically anything I want as long as I account for it and include it in my plan for the day or the week.

Best of all, I am eating much healthier and trying foods that I never ate before, such as the fresh pineapple and fresh garlic that I mentioned.

Here are a couple of videos I found on YouTube that teach you how to peel garlic and pineapple.

My name is Susan Arnold and I’m a small-town girl (not really a girl anymore) from Georgia. I lived in Hawkinsville, GA, most of my life and now I live in Monticello, GA.  Did you ever see the movie “My Cousin Vinny”?  Well, it was filmed in Monticello.  And Monticello is really still a lot like that movie. 

I’ve wanted to start a blog of my own for quite some time but I could never really come up with a focus.  However, most everything I’ve read and studied about blogging teaches to just start writing and posting and the focus of the blog will reveal itself.  So that’s what I’m doing. 

A friend named John Leonard helped me to get my blog started.  He has a neat video that he made.  I’ll share it with you here.  Hope you enjoy it!  Thanks for sharing, John. 

If you want to visit John’s blog, it’s http://www.becomeamlmrockstar.com.