How long have you been a Weight Watcher?
I have been on and off program since January 1989. The most recent time I joined was September 2006 and I have been a member since.
How did you get started/What made you decide to join?
In short, turning 35 that year made me realize I had wasted way too much of my life being fat and unhappy. I wanted to reclaim whatever youth and life I had left. I covered this in greater detail in a post about my last straw moment and how and when I got started.
I am thinking about getting started, any advice?
I talked about that in a blog post here.
Age/Height/Ethnicity?
I'm currently 39 (born in 1971), 5'2" and (3rd generation) Italian.
What is your goal weight? Are you at your goal weight?
My goal weight is 137. That is the maximum weight for my sex/age/height according to the Weight Watchers chart. I reached goal weight on July 27, 2010 and reached Lifetime on September 7, 2010 and am currently within my goal weight range.
How long did it take?
I hate this question because there is no easy answer and the bottom line is that it takes as long as it takes. Read more about my thoughts on this topic in this blog post.
You look so healthy and fit. Did you really used to be obese?
Yes, the majority of my life. And here's proof!
Do you work for Weight Watchers?
No not yet. I'm working on it! :)
What was your highest/lowest weight?
My highest weight ever was 208.2 in April of 2004. But I've flirted with or crossed that 200 number four times in my life (196 @ 19 years old, 204 @ 29 years old, 208 @ 32 years old and 196 @ 35 years old). With the help of Weight Watchers, I hit my lowest weight as an adult in 1992, when I was 21 years old. I was 140, but not for very long. I was never in the 130's as an adult until I reached goal in 2010.
How do you stay motivated?
I answered that in this blog post.
How often do you work out and what kind of activity do you do?
On average, I work out 6 times a week, for at least 35 minutes per session. In a single, average week, I take a Punk Rope class, a Total Body Conditioning class, a pilates class, I walk over 100 flights of stairs at work, I run on the treadmill, and I use the cardio machines (cross trainer or arc trainer, usually). When the weather is nice, I also ride my bike for hours at a time.
But I hate exercise. Do I really have to exercise?
No, you don't have to. You can lose weight without exercise. I have done it. Many times. But I never kept the weight off. So yes, you can lose weight just by cutting calories but I do not recommend it. I can tell you from experience that having incorporated exercise this time around has made a huge difference, and I credit it with my success. It has changed how my body looks, and how it works. It's instant therapy that I would swear has cured my lifelong depression. It has improved my mental clarity, my physical strength, my focus, my determination, my pride and my self confidence. Knowing what I know now about how great exercise makes me feel, I will never give it up! (You can read about how lazy I was and what pushed me to finally start moving in this blog post.)
What heart rate monitor do you use?
I have 3 heart rate monitors - A Polar F4. I wrote about it in this post.
I also have the Polar FT7 - it has better features than the F4 (like the pause/resume feature).
And now I have a Polar FT40 which I *love*. I highly recommend this heart rate monitor!
What scale to do you use?
I use a Weight Watchers scale by Conair. I wrote about it here.
Why don't you respond to more comments?
I respond to some comments, but not many. I get a lot of comments, and it would be very time consuming to address them all. Another reason I don't is because I don't know if the person leaving the question/comment is going to check back and see the answer. But I assure you, I do read all the comments.
Will you read my blog/link to my blog?
Unfortunately, I can't read or link to all of my reader's blogs. When I get a comment from an unfamiliar name, I do check out your blog. But I just don't have the time to keep on top of everyone's posts. If I know you personally or love your blog, I will add you to my blogroll.
Can I add you on Myspace/Facebook/Twitter/Tumblr/Weight Watchers/Flickr?
Yes, send me an invite, I will gladly accept! If you add me on Myspace or Facebook please just include a note that you are a blog reader and I will accept your request. If you send me a Twitter request and you have no followers and no tweet history, I am not accepting your request since I don't know who you are. All others are accepted.
My tumblr page is here, my Flickr page is here, and my Weight Watchers community profile is here.
I'm coming to NYC. Can I meet you?
I have met quite a few blog readers, actually. Send me an email (bitchcakes@nyc.rr.com) and if I can meet up with you, I will.
If I see you on the street, can I say hello?
People/strangers approach me and talk to me constantly. Depending on my mood or what I'm on my way to do, my response to them may vary. But I love meeting people who actually know me via my blog, so yes. Please say hello, and tell me you read my blog. You'll see how happy you made me. (And yes, I will pose for photos with you if you request it.)
Can I link to you/one of your posts on my blog?
Yes, of course you may! You do not need to email me asking permission to link to any of my posts or my blog. The only thing you should never do (to me or anyone else) is take my photos or words and use them as your own. If you want me to know about your post/mention of me, email me the link: bitchcakes@nyc.rr.com I will be happy to see it, and probably link to it in a blog post.
How do you spend your points?
I am a vegan, so I do not consume any land or sea animals, or products with animal ingredients. I also do not consume anything with artificial ingredients. I eat natural food, as much organic as possible, and I use the Weight Watchers Good Health Guidelines to remind me what I should be eating/doing each day.
What do you typically eat in a day? I eat a lot of real, whole foods - fruit, vegetables, beans, nuts, grains, and soy products mostly. But I always save points for beer (though not every day). To see some full day's menus, check out some sample daily food journals (Note: I was not always vegan on this journey, I used to be lacto-ovo vegetarian. And prior to May 2009, I used to eat processed food.) This is also a great sampling of how I eat - these are 4 weeks worth of food journals leading up to reaching goal.
Do you consume all your weekly and activity points?
I always go through my weekly points and use some, if not all, of my activity points too. And sometimes I exceed all of those points too.
How do you fit it all in - dating, cooking at home and working out so much?
First of all, you need to make yourself a priority in this journey and part of that is figuring out where you can modify your schedule or change how you are currently doing things. Time management is very important. I am fortunate enough to not have to worry about taking care of anyone else, so all my time is mine. But I did have to figure out how to make the most of my time so I could do all the things I need to do on this journey. I work full time and spend at least 3 hours a day commuting so here are some of the things I do to help me manage my time more efficiently: I joined a gym by my job in addition to one by my apartment. On days I work out during work, I save myself an hour at home that night. I always cook multiple servings of meals/recipes, that way I have meals for other nights. (Cook once/clean up once/eat several times = hours saved). And I recently bought a netbook so now some of my commuting time is spent getting caught up with my online stuff. It really is about making the most of the time that you have.
What kind of bike do you ride?
I gleefully ride a Nirve Hello Kitty Beach Cruiser. Here is the story of how that bike came into my life with links to some sites that sell the bike online.
Other bike questions?
I get tons of questions about my bike/biking. Here is a Part 1 FAQ.
Do you get paid to talk about any products you mention?/Do you make any money from this blog?
All opinions expressed on these pages are my own. Every product, recipe, book and the Weight Watchers program that I promote on my blog are all things that I love (or don't love, sometimes). But I am not paid for my opinions or anything I write about. I make absolutely no money from anyone and receive no gifts of any kind as a result of this blog. (Adsense won't even let me put their links up because of 'language content' - no doubt because of the word 'bitch' throughout.)
These are some non-weight related questions I get often:
What kind of makeup do you use?
I have a blog about that.
How do you do your hair?
I have a blog about that.
Where do you shop?
I have a blog about that.
What kind of camera do you use?
I currently use a Canon Powershot SD 1300 IS. (Note: I have no photography knowledge. I just point and shoot and hope for the best.)
Random tattoo questions... "Did it hurt? Where did you get them? How many do you have?" Blah, blah blah...
I don't like talking about my tattoos and I don't advocate tattoos. If you want to get them, that's your business, but I do not recommend it. And if I could wake up tomorrow morning 20 pounds heavier with no tattoos, I would do it. That being said, if you are going to get them - make sure you go to a reputable and clean place and check out the artist's work first. There's no such thing as a good, cheap tattoo. You do not want "cheap" - you want quality and cleanliness. My favorite artist is Josh Lord. He currently works out of East Side Ink on Ave B in Manhattan (LES) between East 6th and East 7th St. You may need to google him since tattoo artists move around often.
And of course... Where did you get the name "Bitch Cakes"?
The term "Bitchcakes" is actually an obscure reference to one of my all time favorite TV shows, News Radio. They used that word only two times in one episode - and it was used as a verb (Vicki said it to Lisa - something along the lines of "If my boyfriend did that, I would go "bitchcakes" on him". "Bitchcakes?" Lisa asked. Vicki said she made it up and was trying to get it to catch on.) I liked it from the moment I heard it and always remembered it. When I created my myspace account in 2003, I put *Bitch Cakes* as my display name. Somehow, it just caught on instantly and people that knew me for years started referring to me that way. The rest is history.
Other Stuff:
Here is a Flickr set with photos of me through the years at different weights.
Here is a blog with a pictoral history of my weight battle, starting at age 8.
You can also check out these other blog posts where I answered other reader questions.
If you have a question that wasn't answered here, email me: bitchcakes@nyc.rr.com.
Thank you for reading!
xo Sheryl