FAQ’s

I’m still working on these but here’s what I have so far.

• How do you stay motivated?
• Are you following Weight Watchers? What do you think of PointsPlus? And other Weight Watcher questions.
• Do you know how many points are in ________?
• What is the one thing that you attribute the most credit to your success? Was it Weight Watchers, blogging, etc?
• How fast did you lose the weight? Did you have weeks where you gained? Do you weigh in weekly?
• What is your goal weight? How much more do you want to lose?
• Do/Did you use your extra 35 points?
• How many points are in a bag of popcorn?
• What do you do for exercise? Do you work out?
• Can you help me?
• I find the pictures of your husband giving the finger insulting. Why do you share them?
• What was the Tummy Tuck experience like? Was is worth it? Are you planning more kids? What will happen if you have more kids?
• What’s your email address?
• How did/do you do all this?
• How do you make money with the blogs?
• Will you stop blogging?

How do you stay motivated?

This is the hottest topic in my inbox. I also believe it is the most important aspect of weight loss. When I was motivated I couldn’t be stopped, I was a women on a mission but when that motivation died (normally after 1-3 days of dieting) I would eat everything in site. Somehow, I broke that cycle. For a little insight into how I did it check out my post the matter of motivation. .

Are you following Weight Watchers? What do you think of PointsPlus? And other Weight Watcher questions

This question is complicated for some reason. Let me start at the beginning… In 2005 I joined Weight Watchers, fell in love with the program and lost 70lbs. In 2010 the plan changed to PointsPlus. I tried to hop on board but I just didn’t like the changes and how the new PointsPlus were calculated. In my opinion the plan wasn’t broke so I’m not quite sure why they "fixed it." Here are a few posts in which I share my opinions…

• My Take on the New Weight Watchers PointsPlus Program
• More on the New Weight Watchers PointsPlus Plan: A Response.
• A PointsPlus-Less Week 2 Weigh In

Do you know how many points are in ________?

Probably, but, I’m sorry, I can’t be your personal point finder.  I know that sounds mean but there are many ways to look up points for foods you don’t have nutritional information for.  Check your materials or do a search on Google. Here is one of my favorite Generic Food’s weight Watchers Point lists.

What is the one thing that you attribute the most credit to your success? Was it Weight Watchers, blogging, etc?

If I had to pick the one thing that made the biggest different in my success it was the accountability from the blog. I truly believe any reputable diet plan works if you follow it.
What got me to follow it was the blog and staying true to it. I don’t necessarily think that accountability needs to be a blog, it could just be a journal BUT you have to make the commitment to keep it up, good or bad. Record the gains, the loses, the splurges and the successes, NO MATTER WHAT. That has helped me. That’s why I started the Blog to Lose, weight loss community, to give other people an outlet to do the same and find support. .

How fast did you lose the weight? Did you have weeks where you gained? Do you weigh in weekly?

I post all of my weigh-ins on my progress page. You can see how every weigh in has gone for me since June 2005.  As of right now I’m still trying to weigh in weekly but sometimes life gets in the way.  When I was in losing mode, I weighed in EVERY week and never missed a meeting.  It was very important for me to go. 

What is your goal weight? How much more do you want to lose?

I listed all of my goals at the beginning of my journaling here. To date, I have reached all of them (except the one about become a success story) and now use the site as a tool for maintenance. My original goal weight was 149 pounds, which I surpassed. My new weight related goal is to stay within my comfortable range of 140-145.

Do/Did you use your extra 35 points?

Why do people think by using your points you are cheating? YES! I used them they are part of the plan. Did I set out to use them? No. Did I ignore them? No. My philosophy was to shoot for my daily target if I was hungry afterwards I’d dip into my weekly. Normally I would save them for the weekends, which were a little more challenging for me. I would say, overall I used at least half of my weekly points on average while losing the weight. I need to add that the weeks I used more of them I always went to weigh expected to gain, when in fact I would see a bigger loss.

How many points are in a bag of popcorn?

This is a very common question across all the board. I posted about it once and I still get ask a lot. Check out my older post on popcorn here.

What do you do for exercise? Do you work out?

My old wishy washy response… “I stay active, take walks, dance around with my son and, every once in awhile, do a real workout.”
I’m working on this because I know how important it is to include exercise in your daily routine but to be honest, I HATE it. I much rather take a walk or go for a hike then do a ½ hour aerobic video or something. I also answered this in a post once it may shed a bit more light on the subject for you.
Update: I now LOVE working out. I know, I know a complete 360 but it didn’t happen overnight. Check out my post entitled The Making of a Gym Rat. I’ve since taken up running and even ran a marathon in 2009!

Can you help me?

I hope I am. This site serves many purposes. One is to help me stay motivated, that is a little self-serving but, hey, it’s my blog, right? Second is to help you. I try to post my daily menus to give you ideas on how to incorporate good food into your diet or even work the not so good in. I post all of my food ideas over on GreenLiteBites, again to give you some ideas on light cooking for the family. I post any tips and tricks I use to help my weight loss efforts and I post about some of my insights. Finally, I show you it is possible and it is! If you are looking for a quick fix, sorry I don’t have it (Man I wish I did!). My success came from a little hard work and the right kind of motivation.

I find the pictures of your husband giving the finger insulting. Why do you share them?

Somehow “the finger” pictures on my Sensational Sunday posts have taken a life of their own and people either love them or hate them. Here’s the deal… The Husband and I joke with each other all the time. For as long as I can remember we’ve both gave each other "covert fingers" while scratching our nose or rubbing our eyes. Neither of us have ever been insulted by them as we never mean them in an insulting way. It comes down to intent. Our intent is playful fun not the traditional "up yours."
I’m sorry if you are insulted by the pictures but you have to remember I’m letting you into my life and in my life the husband and I joke in that matter.

What was the Tummy Tuck experience like? Was is worth it? Are you planning more kids? What will happen if you have more kids?

I can’t say this enough, I would do it again in a heartbeat. The first 2 months were painful, I can’t lie. It’s not the quick fix everyone thinks it is. Recover is long and hard. You swell for about a year and the scar is pretty intense. But even with all that it was well wroth it for me. As for the kids question, I asked the same thing of my doctor. I am not planning more kids so it was the right time for me. If I was I would have waited until I was done. However, the doctor said it would not be the end of the world if I would happen to get pregnant. I would just undo a bit, re-stretch skin, muscle and such. If you are considering the surgery I recommend getting a free consultation (most plastic surgeons give them) and asking. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
Update: I had another kids post Tummy Tuck! I talk about here in this video and show my post baby tummy.

What’s your email address?

I used to have my email address on the main page but I started to get too many and couldn’t keep up. If you would like to contact me feel free to send a message to roni@skinnyminnymedia.com. At least this way I know you dug a little to find it! ;~)

How did/do you do all this?

Well, I’m a web developer by trade. I do all my own design and programming. The site, the writing, the photographs, the recipes, the code, the graphics have all become my creative outlet. Web is my medium and I love every aspect of it! (except when there’s a technical problem, then I want to throw my computer out the window.)

How do you make money with the blogs?

Advertising and sponsorships. I try not to beat you over the head with ads and I really felt like I was selling out when I started placing ads, but running this blog (and GreenLiteBites and BlogToLose) take time, a lot of time. So much time, I had to decide between them and my REAL job.

I also accept products for review but I do NOT get paid to write reviews. I will always give my honest opinion and everything expressed on this blog are my words unless otherwise noted.

Will you stop blogging?

I have no plans! As of now, blogging is my job. I also consult through my small (meaning me) company SkinnyMinnyMedia.com to make up the difference. I hope one day to support my family on my blogs. I truly LOVE what I do.