Weight Watchers--First Impressions

Drum roll please ...

Three weeks ago, I joined Weight Watchers.  I suppose my journey to Weight Watchers started like any other good idea; first, someone I know and love did WW and had great success, then I went through years of putting on weight, bit by bit, losing some, then gaining it back, then I had a baby and put on more weight, then I made a goal which necessitated losing weight, then several of my friends around here joined Weight Watchers and finally, BAM, I took the plunge.  Going into it, I didn't know what to expect, other than learning a healthier lifestyle.  What I did know, was that I didn't have anything to lose but weight (and the monthly dues of course).  But what is a little money traded for a lifetime of health?  I decided that I would try it for one month, and if it just wasn't working for me, I would quit.  Imagine my surprise and my delight when I lost 8 pounds in my first week, then 3 more in the second week, and another 2 this past week.  All together I have lost 13 pounds in just 3 weeks (results not typical).  I'm sure that the first week included some of the effects from weaning Lydia, but all in all, WOW! I haven't been this weight since I first got pregnant.

I believe the keys to my success so far are three-fold.

First of all, the points system that Weight Watchers uses has really helped me to be able to better gauge what I am eating and how that translates into weight loss or gain.  If you don't know how Weight Watchers works, basically every food is assigned a point value.  Fruits and most vegetables (the unstarchy ones), are worth zero points.  Every person is assigned a daily points target (the lowest is 29 points), as well as an extra weekly points allowance of 49 points which expires at the end of the week.  You can also earn extra activity points which you can trade for more food points, if you want.  The program is very easy to use, you can input nutritional data into the computer or your mobile phone and it will keep track of everything for you.  The online tools have about a gazillion different foods already programmed in, and you can add your own recipes too and it will calculate the points for you.  I am so glad to have a better idea of the impact of the food I eat.  It has really helped me to cut back on foods that are higher in fat or simple sugars.  Before weight watchers, the only plan I had for losing weight was "eat less, exercise more," you know, the mantra of doctors and health nuts.  I never could figure out for myself, how to translate that into weight loss.

Secondly, I've discovered that accountability is key for me.  Now that I have to track everything I eat, you can bet I've cut down on my mindless snacking.  Also, there's the added incentive of "weighing-in" each week when I go to meetings.  It helps knowing that I'll have to account for my lapses, should there be any.

Lastly, Weight Watchers has freed me from food-related guilt.  I didn't realize how terrible my guilt was until it was gone.  I used to feel guilty about nearly everything I put into my mouth.  "Oh," I thought, "if only I could refrain from eating this I would lose weight ... oh well ..." *chomp chomp*.  The guilt was a huge obstacle for me.  Feeling guilty only made me more emotional, which made me eat more.  And I could never really overcome that guilt, until now.  Now I can eat WHATEVER I want, as long as I stay around my daily points target, and I can use my extra weekly points until they are gone.  I know the amount of points that I get is specifically designated for me, and I don't worry about it.  If I have "so" many points, I eat all my points, end of story, and I don't feel guilty about it or worry.

So there you have it.  Consider me an official fan of Weight Watchers.  If you know me, you know that I hope to lose a lot of weight, eventually.  It's going to take me a while and it's going to be hard.  I know there will be times when I will wonder what ever possessed me to join WW.  But for now, I'm content to be on  my Weight Watchers honeymoon, and just so grateful that I'm not 13 pounds heavier right now.