My Ongoing Weight Watchers Story
I’m what you might call a chronic Weight Watchers participant. I’ve
been going to Weight Watchers on and off for years. I’m not one of those
dramatic stories that you read about on the Weight Watchers website or
see in their TV ads. I didn’t go down five dress sizes, and until I
reached my mid forties, I never had a problem with weight. Oh, like most
teenagers and young women I fretted and thought I was fat, but trust
me, I wasn’t .
Thus, at Weight Watchers, I never cared about reaching a goal weight
or becoming a lifetime member. The last thing I was interested in was
being able to go to Weight Watchers meetings free for the rest of my
life. I only cared about losing the immediate ten or fifteen pounds that
were my temporary problem. When they were gone, so was I.
Weight Watchers would never claim me as a success story, but in a way
I am. I’ve never had the self discipline to eat healthy or count
calories on my own. I’ve started various diets with the best of
intentions after reading the book or being convinced by a friend, but
they never have lasted for more than two weeks. I did Atkins and
South Beach
, tried to stay in
The Zone
and
even tried eating for my blood type, oh and there was a time in the
80’s when liquid diets were all the rage. I tried something that
consisted of three protein drinks a day and nothing else and couldn’t do
it for more than a week. It made me feel awful.
It was after the liquid diet fiasco that I finally showed up at
Weight Watchers for the first time at the age of 44, and learned how to
check off those little boxes on my tracker. This was pre-internet, so
all tracking was done with pencil and paper. I had a certain number of
little boxes to check off per day divided into protein,fat, fruits and
veggies, dairy, etc. and I ticked them off. as I ate them. It was very
logical and structured. I remember that salads and most veggies were
free and I could eat all I wanted and I had to drink six glasses of
water a day. I was surprised at how easy it all was as long as I kept
track. Having to show up in person each week for a weigh in and to
compare notes with others kept me motivated.The group was all very rah
rah and the leader was a refugee from a cheer leading squad, but the
bottom line was that it worked. In a couple of months I lost the ten
pounds that represented creeping middle age and then, I just faded away,
until the next time I needed to lose ten or fifteen pounds. The next
time I returned ( a decade later I might add) Weight Watchers had
switched to a ” points program” which was easier to navigate and had
also started putting out its own line of foods.
I’ve done Weight Watchers at least half a dozen times and am
currently participating in the latest “Power Points Plus” version . What
do I think of Weight Watchers? I love and trust it. for a lifelong
recidivist like me, who just needs help from time to time to trim the
sails and stay in her jeans, it is an awesome program and the only thing
that over time really works for me.
Why Weight Watchers Works
I think Weight Watchers is the best long term, realistic program for
weight loss going. The most important thing it has going for it can be
summed up in two words–
honesty and accountability.
While these days you can do Weight Watchers exclusively online and
totally cut out the meetings and weigh ins, I don’t recommend it.
WeightWatchers.com is
a dynamite resource but the bottom line is that there is no substitute
for showing up at a physical place, getting on a scale and having
another human being weigh you. There is something about that person to
person contact that brings home the fact that you are the only one
accountable for how and what you eat in a way that no website or online
chat room, no matter how wonderful, can.
That said, the online tools that Weight Watchers offers are awesome.
They let you figure out virtually every possible meal you might ever
conceivably have and track it effectively electronically. You can also
keep track of fitness, find recipes, set up your own support community,
go to a chat room, and much more. Recently, I was out with a few friends
for Sunday Brunch at a local watering hole. A couple of the women at
the table were tying to figure out what the weight watchers point count
was for a particular dish and were wrangling over it while the waitress
waited, pad in hand. Finally the waitress, whipped out her smartphone,
went to the Weight Watchers online tools and figured it out for them.
How cool is that?
A Great Testimonial for Weight Watcher
At It Again with WW ” Points Plus”
I’m back at Weight Watchers again these days and have just about shed
the fifteen pounds I came there to get rid of. But I have to say a few
good words about the new Points Plus program that Weight Watchers has
introduced.
Basically it is just a fine tuning of the twelve year old “points”
program which I was already familiar with. I have to say I love points
plus. I never get hungry, can eat more fruit and there is more emphasis
on integrating exercise and working activity points into the program,
which I really love. I’m walking, swimming and wearing a pedometer
around the house. The weight comes off more slowly ( perhaps that is a
function of my age rather than Points plus) but it does come off and it
has been a breeze to do. Actually, it has been so easy, that I am
thinking of staying around for another ten pounds and getting to my goal
weight just to see what happens. All I know is my friends say I look
good and I feel great.
Explaining Points Plus & WW