I have am active Weight Watchers member and have been for 3+ years. Without the tools, tips and tricks I have learned with many thanks to the Weight Watchers program and my original leader (Carol) I admit I would not have achieved the success I have found today.
I joined Weight Watchers because I KNEW it worked. I was a member when I was around 18 years old
and I lost around 40-50 pounds. I
stopped going for one reason or another (I was a member with my mother then –
who I would like to note before she got pregnant with me lost over 100 pounds
following the program).
The #1 reason Weight Watchers has worked for me is because I
believed in the program from the
very start. Even if you start out as a
mediocre believer – my only advise is to fake it ‘til you make it because
believing in the program AND yourself makes the journey that much easier. The program is very versatile; it fits into
any lifestyle because there are absolutely NO foods that are off limits. This is all about a lifestyle change – it’s
not a diet. There are no pre-packaged
foods you live off of (admitted there are frozen dinners available but those
are there for convenience for members, they are not a meal plan), you eat what
you love (but the key to this is learning
to eat it in moderation and being honest when you track it).
When starting a weight loss journey we should all remember
that our journeys should be catered to us. Since we are all individuals, we take things
in stride because at the end of the day we are all different. I personally dived right into the tools given
to me from Weight Watchers and went chopping away. Admittedly I was a little grumpy for a few
weeks (because I went from eating everything and anything I wanted down to a
regimented meal plan). But I knew if I
started it not 100% I would procrastinate until I got to that full 100%. I know of members who cater the program to
themselves so they can get acclimated with particular aspects so they don’t get
overwhelmed and quit. I say do whatever
works for you, to help you get initially comfortable with the program. Conquer the bigger aspects – whether that is
portion, weighing/measuring, or even eliminating some “problem” foods/drinks
(meaning the foods that tend to make you binge). Once you got those key areas under control,
the rest if a breeze and it’ll be the best decision you’ve made in your life.
I admit, even three years in, I still find I have some “trigger
foods” that pop up from time to time that I am more comfortable having at a
distance than right on hand in my kitchen.
It’s not always the same thing and sometimes trigger foods just happen
randomly, even though I’ve never found them to be a trigger before. By the way –
if you’re not sure what a trigger food is – it’s a food that when you have just
a bite, you simply cannot stop and you will eat it until it’s essentially gone
or thrown away.
Because this is a lifestyle and not a diet, I do go out to eat, I eat pizza fairly regularly (it’s
my favorite food and if someone told me I could never eat pizza again I don’t
know what I’d do) and I do enjoy my sweets. But the difference between me now
(as a Weight Watchers member) and before is I enjoy the foods I love and crave in
moderation. I look up the points plus
values – and if I cannot find them I do my best guest judgment and I enjoy what
I eat. No guilt because nothing is off
limits. One of the biggest changes is, I
cook a lot more now than I have ever in my life. I actually prefer to cook my
own means than I do go out and buy them because in my mind I know exactly what’s
going onto it and I know the points plus values. I love food, I would have never become a
Weight Watchers member if I didn’t, but cooking gives me a nice, enjoyable
outlet to experiment with new foods and flavors.
And remember … if you don’t tell someone something is a
Weight Watchers recipe, 9 times out of 10, they’ll never know. Just a little helpful tip!
QUESTION:
If you've started your journey - how did you personally incorporate Weight Watchers into your lifestyle?
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