The Heiser household has lost more than 100 pounds since March.

Kristen Heiser, a project designer who has been with Mid-States since Jan. 2007, joined Weight Watchers on March 16, 2017.  Her husband, Jake, joined a few weeks earlier.  After watching her husband participate in Weight Watchers, Heiser said it just made sense for the two of them to do it together for meal planning, exercise, and support purposes.

Through Weight Watchers, the two have learned to make better choices about food, and the family – including the couple’s five-year-old son Kyle and Border Collie Mix Bella – now take a walk together every night before or after dinner.  Plus, Heiser walks about 1.2 miles on her lunch break every day.

“We spend more family time together now, going on walks,” Heiser said.

As of August 14, Heiser had lost 50 pounds and is down two clothing sizes.  Her husband is down 51 pounds.  The two wear Fitbits and compete with others in a step challenge.  They recently gave their son a Fitbit as an early birthday present because he wanted to compete, too.

Kyle has become curious about food choices as well, comparing two foods against each other, and asking his parents about the points associated with foods.  The couple try to teach Kyle about making better choices and balancing the good with the bad.

To change their food choices, the family has changed the way they look at food.  For example, when it comes to eating out, the value meals the family used to order had more points in one meal than they should have all day.  Clearly, they no longer eat out this way.

And where the family had previously relied on processed or prepackaged foods for meals, the Heisers have gotten pretty good at buying fresh and using seasonings to get the flavors they like.

Heiser has also tried to cut out sweets, but she loves to bake.  So, she allows herself one piece and then brings the rest to work, where she knows everyone else will enjoy it.  She has also cut her pop consumption and drinks mostly water now.  What Heiser loves is that she can have as many fruits and veggies as she wants and they are zero points but fill her up.

Heiser can see the weight loss in her face and feel it in her legs.  She also had to tighten the wristband of her Fitbit, though it had never really occurred to her that you could lose weight in your wrists.  And the health benefits have been great, too.  Heiser finds that she has more energy now.  She added that ever since she got pregnant with Kyle, she has experienced some sort of health issue.  Moving has helped with that.

“I want to be active with Kyle,” Heiser said.  “I don’t want to be the mom who sits on the sidelines.  I want to play with him.”

Although Heiser has made great progress, her goal is to lose another 40 to 70 pounds.  Where does this goal come from?  Well, if she loses another 40 pounds, she will be under 200 pounds.  If she loses another 70 pounds, it will put her close to her high school weight.

Heiser weighs herself every day and logs it into her Fitbit.  She weighs in weekly with the Weight Watchers app.  And Heiser has learned that if you have one bad day, you don’t give up.  Every day is a new day to get back on track and continue making better choices.  With that kind of attitude, Heiser is sure to meet her goal.

“Once I lose the weight, I plan to keep it off, not just go back to the ways things were, but maintain this new lifestyle,” Heiser said.