Hi ~ I'm Jaime, and I am a Weight Watcher for life!!
I'm 27 years old and I am currently living in Montvale, NJ.
I lost 31 lbs on WW in 2002 and I have maintained it every since.

The "Before Jaime" May 1999 - 144 lbs This is where my weight problem got totally out of my control -- college!! I ate about 100 pts a day!!	The "After Jaime" January 2004- 112 lbs Here I am at my Bridal Shower! 20 months after joining WW and all the weight is STILL OFF. :)

Here is another "Before" picture:

This photo actually made me cry. **sniff**
I look like a manatee that just dragged itself up onto the beach to die!!

The Last Straw!

April 2002 - 144 lbs

Here I am right before I joined WW.
Size 12 pants and an XL shirt.
145 is a lot of weight for little 5'1" me!!

Halfway There!

June 2002- 129 lbs

I was *SO* proud of this picture at the time.
I never imagined I'd be in the 120's again!
I went from a (tight) size 12 to a (comfy) size 8.

~ Reaching Goal ~

July 2002 - 121 lbs

I set my goal high though... because I really didn't
know how much I really *could* lose.
So this wasn't the end of my journey yet...



(P.S. Sorry about the cheesey goal pictures...
but I was just so excited to actually BUY a skirt and
feel GOOD in it! Plus I AM, after all, a cheese ball!)

The "After Jaime"

December 2002

Complete success!! 113 lbs and into a size 2 pants!

~ Maintaining ~

August 2003

And that's the other great thing about Weight Watchers...
I've kept it all off!
That's me on the left - still 113 lbs!




June 2003 - 113 lbs

I never EVER dreamed I'd be wearing
a little bikini to the beach!
(I even dropped from a 38C to a 34B -- Woo hoo!!!)




February 2004 - 111 lbs

And I was a skinny bride!
Hooray for Weight Watchers!!!





December 2004 - 114 lbs

Here is a current photo of me
for all of you to see...
Still maintaining!!!

Losing weight the healthy way is a gradual thing, and you really have to make a life change for it to be successful. You're NOT going to drop 10 lbs in one week like all the fad diets claim, but you WILL lose about 1-4 lbs a week. And if you can commit to a healthier life style, the weight WILL stay off.


My Story:

It's very easy for me to creep up to being about 20-30 lbs overweight. I love glopping huge portions of food onto my plate, and even though I am a vegetarian, I've always had a weakness for a certain food called cheese. I'm only 5'1" and when I hit 144 lbs mid-May 2002, I was about ready to kill myself. I felt fatter, uglier, and lazier than I had ever felt in my whole life.

I remember the exact day I decided to join Weight Watchers. I was laying on my bed, crying to my mother on the phone because my size 12 jeans would not zip. She told me that I lost 25 lbs on Weight Watchers back when I was in 3rd grade and that I had nothing to lose by going to a meeting and giving it a try again. I went to my 1st meeting the following night and I have been a devoted follower ever since. My mom also joined 1 week after me and lost 25 lbs herself!

This is an exact quote from my diary from right before I joined WW:

"I feel so sick! :p EVERY meal I stuff myself until I feel sick and then I sulk about it for the rest of the day. I don't know what my problem is!!! It's like I have some horrible eating disorder called "Binge and then feel like shit. God I suck. "

I can't believe that was ME talking!!

When I joined WW I was 24 years old and 5'1" tall. There was no reason for me to be eating 3 slices of pizza or 4 portions of mac-n-cheese in one sitting. There was no reason for a me to be wearing size 14 pants!

Walking into Weight Watchers was one of the smartest decisions I have ever made. I have more energy, feel more confident, and my clothes have never been more comfortable! If you are trying to lose weight, I highly highly encourage you to give WW a shot. You can eat PLENTY of great foods - whatever you like - you just have to limit yourself. You get a certain amount of "food points" that you can eat in 1 day, and as long as you stay in your range, and include a certain amount of fruits and veggies, it's almost guaranteed that the weight will start melting right off. And exercise makes the whole process work even faster, and be even more effective!

After my first 10 weeks of the program, I was down 20 lbs, finally *INTO* the healthy weight range for my age & height. It took me 5 months to reach my goal and lose a grand total of 31lbs.

I personally know 5 family member/coworkers that are also members, and they're all success stories like me.


THE TOP 5 REASONS WW IS EFFECTIVE:

1. You write down everything that you eat
2. You are forced to control portion size
3. You have to eat 5 servings of fruits/veggies a day
4. You weigh in every week
5. You meet other people & learn that you are not alone.
6. You drink LOTS and LOTS of WATER.


DO YOU WANT SOME TIPS??

My best advice is to...

Be REALLY strict with the program. Don't cheat yourself. Journal EVERYTHING that you eat. Even if you just have 1 cracker with 1 slice of cheese..... write it down!! Every pt counts and you wouldn't believe how fast those little snacks add up! Try planning your meals and snacks ahead of time. And soon you will find that food is SO much more satisfying when you are not stuffing it in your face 24/7! :-)

1. ALWAYS always journal!!! Even if you you go over pts. Journal anyways! Be honest with yourself. Don't cheat!! ((Do you have the WW books? The "Eating out guide" and the "complete food guide?" They are great!!))

2. Do your meeting and weight in every week no matter what. There is NOTHING more motivating than facing that scale and that little "score card" every week.......!!

3. Don't get discouraged if you go up a few lbs. Always look at the big picture. You will come out on top!!

4. Get as MUCH water & veggies into your day as possible.

5. Make sure your house is fully stocked with healthy foods, meals and low-pt. snacks. If you have lots of food, you will not be inclined to pick up that phone and order a pizza!! And why eat a 10 pt candy bar when you can eat a 2 pt Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich or a 2 pt chocolate Snickers Kudos bar?? :-)

6. Make sure your meals are filling and satisfying. You don't need to eat like a bird and "diet" while on this program. You should be happy and full after every meal. That's why WW works!


YES! IT'S OK TO SNACK!!!

Schedule the snacks right into you day. I can't go from meal to meal without snacking. You just have to PLAN it in there. There are a lot of great 1-3 pts snacks out there.

Halfway between breakfast and lunch, have a 1-3 pt snack along with some water or a hot cup of tea or coffee. You will find that 0-pt liquids really fill you up! And there are plenty of 1-3 pt snacks that can really curb your cravings!

My favorite low-pt snacks:

- TCBY Kiddie Cup of Fat Free frozen yogurt (2 pts)
- Kudos bars (2-3 pts)
- Soy Crisps (2 pts for the whole bag!)
- Health Valley fat free cookies (3 cookies for 1 pt!)
- Caramel Corn Quakes - They are WAY better than rice cakes.
- 1 cup of mandarin oranges (1 pt)
- Hot coffee and hot tea (0 pts)
- WATER!! (0 pts)

And then, do the same thing between lunch and dinner, and then again at night.

Here are some great night time snack ideas:

- Skinny Cow and Smart Ones ice-cream sandwiches (2-3 pts)
- Smart Ones Peanut Butter ice-cream sundae cup (2 pts)
- Fat free hot cocoa (1 pt)
- Smart Pop (I think it's 3 pts for the whole bag!)
- Again -- hot coffee, tea, and WATER!! (0 pts)

Plan ahead and schedule in those snacks, and always be sure to journal EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!! Then you should have no problems. :-)


GROCERY SHOP SMART!

If the junk food is laying around your house -- you are almost guaranteed to eat it!! So DON'T BUY IT. Especially if it's one of your "problem foods."

Always make sure you have plenty of low-pt snacks, veggies, and meals at home, so you are not tempted to eat our or order in!!

Here are my grocery shopping staples:

FOR MEALS...
- Smart Ones & Lean Cuinine meals - easy & lazy, low-pt lunches. :-)
- Lots and lots and lots of veggies (frozen or fresh) - for stirfries, salads, casseroles, and mixing in w/pastas & sauces.
- Amy's Kitchen - low-fat & FF soups
- Morningstar "Garden Veggie Patties" (1 pt veggie burgers!!!)
- Morningstar veggie "Buffalo Wings" (5 for 4 pts, and they are EXCELLENT cut up into a big, 0-pt salad)
- Mama T's Low-Fat Potato Cheddar Pierogies (1 pt each -- Stirfry them up with fresh peppers and mushrooms!)

FOR BREAKFAST
- Oatmeal (2-3 pts)
- Amy's Kitchen - Breakfast Burritos (4 pts)
- Southwestern Eggbeaters (for wraps, omelettes, low-fat breakfast sandwiches... )
- Kashi Go Lean Crunch (3 pts for 1 cup)
- Kashi Good Friends (1.5 pt for 3/4 cup)
- Dannon Lite 'N Fit Yogurt - 2 pts. White Chocolate Raspberry is my fav! (Stir in some Kashi for a great breakfast!)

SNACKS
- Kudos bars (2-3 pts)
- Low-fat Quaker Granola Bars (2-3 pts)
- Caramel Corn Quakes - They are WAY better than rice cakes.
- Apples
- Mandarin orange cups (1 pt)
- Skinny Cow and Smart Ones ice-cream sandwiches (2-3 pts)
- Fat free hot cocoa (1 pt)
- Smart Pop popcorn(I think it's 3 pts for the whole bag!)

WANT MY FAVORITE RECIPES? GO TO JAIMESKITCHEN.COM!


EXERCISE IS A GOOOOOOOD THING!!

Really, it is!! Makes your lose weight faster, plus you're toning along with losing. (You don't want to be one of those "skinny fat" people right?? Haha.) And not only will you look great from exercising, you'll FEEL great too. It's good for both the body and the mind. It's a great reliever of negativity in your life, like stress and depression, plus after you've worked out, you tend to not WANT all that junk food... because you know how hard it is to burn it off!!

I used to go to the gym... When I was losing I went 3-4x/week. Currently though, I am doing a lot of walking. I needed a change of scenery from the gym. I try to go at least 8 miles per week if possible. (2 miles, 4 nights.) What's important is that you are doing SOME sort of exercise. If the gym is not your thing (Over time I have learned that it is not mine!) try walking. It is great!

ALWAYS KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PRIZE... the prize being a happier, healthier you!!

If you are interested but want more info, please don't hesitate to email me at jaime@shadesofjaim[REMOVE THIS].com. I'd be happy to share my progress, meal/snacking tips, recipes, etc.

Go out there and do something GOOD for yourself today! Join WW & kick your body fat's ass! It really, really works. ^_^

Please also visit these other very inspirational WW Members!

Krista
And be sure to check out all of these!

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