Weight Watchers has been around a long time and has changed over the years. Looking back at it, I definitely I learned some valuable things I still apply to my life today. I’ve also had to overcome a lot that has not served me well.
My mother sent me to Weight Watchers when I was 17 which was in the 70’s. There wasn’t as much of a diet industry as we see today. She had a model’s figure and really didn’t know how to guide me in weight loss so it all seemed like a good idea. WW back then didn’t have the Points System we see today. They were just starting to launch some of their products, nothing like what you see today,
So armed with a paperback calorie guide I set out to slim down. I wasn’t obese by any means but compared to the model thin image I thought I needed I was FAT.
I must say that when you count calories, or any form of tracking you become aware of what you eat. That awareness is eye-opening! Learning what foods are higher in calories than other can be valuable information. This is more valuable if you were to learn more about what’s really good for you, but I learned about that much later.
As for the meetings, the tips and ideas are good and for most, sharing the challenges and experience with a group is helpful. Everything was about staying on the diet. Staying on track at parties, sticking to the plan when you’re busy, dieting while eating out…. Diet, diet, diet!!! I began to feel a real sense of doom. Will I have to be on a diet forever?
Now I’m quite sure this is not something the organization would condone, but after a week of binge-eating followed by a weight gain the Weight Watchers leader chastised be sternly in front of the entire group. It was one of my worst days ever! That awful experience only served to make me withdraw more.
Oddly enough after I quit Weight Watchers and decided to just try to eat right to avoid gaining anymore I lost a good amount of weight. Yes, a healthy lifestyle wins over diet every time!
Fast-forward to 2013 this time I was overweight and believed I needed a diet to fix the problem. Not only was I fat my blood pressure was high. I was motivated. My company had decided to offer Weight Watchers at Work. Now after my experience about 30 years prior the last thing I wanted was to be lectured by a Weight Watchers leader in front of my coworkers! So with great hesitancy, I joined along with 11 others in the office and we had meetings every Tuesday. I have to say that an employer who will pay for the program and allow employees to attend during business hours is very supportive. Not only that, $250 was offered for every 5% of weight loss. My overly competitive side kicked in!
So this time the WW leaders were kinder and offered plenty of tips for staying on the diet. I learned to Weight Watcher’s Points System and quickly added the app to my phone and began tracking EVERYTHING.
Now let me just say that tracking is a form of awareness and it certainly is good to be aware of what you eat and learn to make good choices. At the time I didn’t know how tracking could eventually prevent me from enjoying any freedom at all.
I lost 40% of my body weight and enjoyed all those bonuses.
YAY! The problem is are you going to track points for the rest of your life? I think not. I also didn’t like the fact that the WW products contain sucralose and other ingredients that are unhealthy.
I learned about awareness which was a positive thing. A community of others facing similar challenges is great as well. The downside was definitely the tracking and the constant “diet mentality” and for that reason, I later sought out a healthy balanced lifestyle as my approach.
