I wasn't going to write about it here. In fact, besides my Mom and Andy, I wasn't going to tell anyone because for whatever reason, I am super embarrassed about it. Why? I'm not sure... I guess partly because I don't have a major weight problem so I was worried people there would think, "Why is she here?" and also because people in the rest of the world probably look at me and think I look like a normal person so I probably have a normal relationship with food. Well... you all already know that I struggle with what I eat, and I really have tried to be very open and honest while writing this blog. So. There it is. I'm on day two of Weight Watchers.
Here's what happened at the meeting:
The meeting was different from what I expected. For starters there were a LOT of people there. They ranged from their 20s to probably their 70s. There were some pretty overweight people, but there was also a lady that was really tiny and ripped, and honestly everyone else looked... pretty normal. It just goes to show you just never know what people are dealing with. There were some men, but it was mostly women - and these women were feisty! They had no problem speaking up, making jokes, etc. I was honestly expecting it to be a bunch of sad people (I probably thought that just because that's how I was feeling) but it was the exact opposite. That was one confident crowd. :-)
When you first get there, you weigh. I have admittedly gained back almost everything I lost while training for my marathon (I know that's disgusting because it's only been what... two weeks?). In an effort to be really transparent, I'll just come out with it. My starting weight with Weight Watchers was 169.8. Now of course I was wearing clothes so I'd like to think maybe it's a teensy tiny bit less. ;-) I'm going to try really hard not to weigh myself again until the next meeting. I think taking a break from my scale at home might be the best thing to come from this entire experience. We'll see if I can do it - you all know I'm addicted to the scale. Once I had my weight I was given how many points I'm allowed to eat each day. In Weight Watchers, every food is given a points value. The healthier the food, the lower the points (that's an overly simplified definition) - so no foods are off limits, it just makes you think twice to decide whether or not you're willing to spend all of your points on a piece of chocolate cake. Makes sense... The thing I'm most interested about with this program is that in addition to the points you get each day, you get 49 extra points each week - so if you want ice cream every night, you can divvy the extra points up over the course of the week, or if you want to go out to dinner or to a party, you can use those extra points for that.... basically the extra points teach you how to indulge in moderation, something I am TERRIBLE at doing.
Ok back to the meeting. After weighing in, the meeting starts. The meetings are short so honestly not a lot is covered. The leader started by asking if anyone had tried any new foods this week - some woman had spaghetti squash. Boring... I can't think of many foods I haven't tried (except tuna, haha), but it actually turned into an interesting conversation because people started talking about different ways they prepare it, different recipes they use it in... I actually got a few good ideas. Then the focus shifted to activity and she reminded everyone that going to the gym every day doesn't make you an active person - it makes you active for an hour of your day. Good point. In the grand scheme of things I spend the majority of my day sitting at a desk, so I should focus on ways to move more when I'm not specifically exercising. Not rocket science, but it was a good point. And finally she talked about choices. She suggested if there is a food you can't go without, don't. Plan to have that food and then figure out how many points you have left to work with for the rest of your day. Seems simple, but I've never thought of it that way before. Usually I'd be like... ok I'm being good... no more peanut butter. But now I can say, you know... I really want peanut butter. Then I can have it. And then it just means maybe having my sandwich with only one piece of bread, or making some other sort of compromise that really doesn't bother me all that much. Oh and speaking of planning to have certain foods, she also recommended that we plan our dinner the night before - otherwise if we wait to figure out what we're having for dinner after work, well it's a lot more likely to go downhill. Good point!
Here are my thoughts so far:
It's kind of a hassle to look up the points values of each food, but I'm sure I will memorize them quickly, just like I've memorized the calories in most foods. Fruits and vegetables have zero points. Yesterday afternoon I had some grapes, and it was so nice to just eat them and not worry about how many grapes/calories I was eating. Same with a smoothie I made for breakfast this morning. I measured the yogurt and milk, but when it was time to add frozen berries, I just got to dump them in without measuring! And it was a lot easier to make a salad for lunch today because I didn't have to weigh my lettuce to know if I was having 7 calories of lettuce or 12 calories of lettuce (I told you I have issues...). Of course, each time I've had a fruit or vegetable willy nilly, I do wonder... is this really going to work? It's hard to give up control, but I'll know next week when I weigh-in if it's working or not. Besides - eating fruits and vegetables willy nilly is a lot healthier than randomly eating handfuls of cereal and scoops of peanut butter!
In closing - I promise not to turn my blog into a Weight Watchers adventures blog. But I wanted to let you all know what I'm up to, and I'll certainly highlight interesting things I learn. And hopefully report back a happy weigh-in next week too. :-)
I'm so proud of you, Babs! You are an inspiration!
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