Weight Watchers <tm> Discussion

[Divash]

This thread is specifically for those who have joined Weight Watchers and are going through the program, or are considering joining. In the meantime, here are the most important things I have learned from Weight Watchers.

1. Plan ahead! Place one to five dollars into a savings jar every time you lose any weight at all at your weekly weigh-in. I suggest at least two dollars per weight loss increment.

2. Drink 8 or more glasses of water every day. Drink more if the weather is very hot, very cold, or very dry. Drink more if you engage in vigorous physical activity (makes you breathe hard) for fifteen minutes or more. Drink more if you eat a lot of sodium-rich foods or MSG (especially Chinese food). Drink more in the week leading up to your menstrual cycle.

3. Eat at least two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables every day. A serving of fruit is generally one piece, though a whole grapefruit or a large banana is two servings. A serving of vegetables is one full cup. Do not count the starchy vegetables as more than one veggie serving per day (potatoes, rice, corn, beans, peas). Dried fruits and vegetables don't count.

4. Eat or drink at least two servings of low-fat or non-fat dairy foods per day. A serving is one cup of milk or soy milk, six ounces (3/4 cup) of yogurt or cottage cheese, or one ounce of hard cheese. Cream cheese, even the fat-free kind, doesn't count.

5. Eat protein at least twice a day. This includes dairy products, fish (tuna, salmon, trout), shellfish or crustaceans (clams, oysters, lobster, shrimp), fowl (chicken, turkey), or meat (beef, lamb, pork). It doesn't include nuts unless you're a vegetarian or vegan, because nuts are rich in protein, but even richer in fat.

6. Get at least 15 minutes of vigorous activity per day. Rearrange your furniture; dance; do heavy housework or yard work, play a game of one-on-one basketball. PLAY, or at least get some chores done -- don't think of it as exercise, because that sounds too much like something you're forced to do. Think of it as something you get to do.

7. Indulge yourself in a sensible way. Don't eat a whole carton of ice cream to get your "cold sweet treat" fix; go for one popsicle, one Weight Watchers fudge bar, one half-cup scoop of fat-free ice cream sweetened with Splenda. Don't eat six candy bars to get your chocolate fix; go for three Hershey's Kisses or a Weight Watchers One-Point Bar such as Peanut Butter Bliss or Chocolate Caramel. Do it rarely, though, not every single day. Try for two to three indulgences per week.

8. Reward yourself in the short term for following these guidelines. There should be two rewards per week. The first should be a healthy food reward. Try a bowl of strawberries sprinkled with Splenda, a new kind of salad or fat-free salad dressing you've been wanting to try, or sushi (without the avocado, cream cheese, tempura vegetables, or spicy sauce that happens to be made primarily of mayonnaise). The second reward should be non-food, such as a new lipstick or book, or a movie out with friends or family.

9. Remember step 1? If you've made each change faithfully, and stuck to each change faithfully for at least two weeks before taking on a new step, you've gone about four months, and your body has probably made some substantial changes. Go look into that jar. Count up what you've got, then go look in your closet for the article of clothing that is the largest. Keep that article of clothing. Why? Someday you'll be in a Weight Watchers commercial, holding it WAAAAAY out from your body to show how much weight you've lost! But you also need to replace it, especially if it's trousers or a skirt, because it's probably falling off and looks a bit silly now. Clean it, fold it, put it away, and then buy something in your new, slimmer size. Mazal tov!  

[Divash]

Joined Weight Watchers: 9 March 2006
Total Weight To Lose: 70 pounds (or more; I'll ask my doctor when I get that first 70 finished)
Current Goal: 15 more pounds to go!
Core or Flex: I've been doing Flex since March, but this week I'm trying Core instead. So far, I'm totally in love with it.  

[Divash]

Today's menu will be:

Breakfast:
Soymilk, with added fiber by Benefiber
Banana

Mid-morning Snack:
Carrot sticks, munched throughout the morning

Lunch:
Tuna sandwich with Weight Watchers bread (1/4 the Points value of regular bread), tuna packed in water, and fat-free mayonnaise (the bread is not on the Core plan, so I'm using a weekly Flex Point for it)
Possibly an apple

Afternoon Snack:
Weight Watchers oatmeal (maple & brown 'sugar' flavor)

Dinner:
Beef stew with carrots, celery, and peas (only a little bit of beef, for flavoring)
Israeli salad (diced cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, and pickles; salt, pepper; lime juice; a tiny bit of olive oil)
Homemade challah (again, it's not on the Core plan, so I'm using weekly Flex Points, and I'm only having enough to fulfill an obligation to eat bread on Sabbath evening)
Grape juice (just enough to fulfill an obligation to drink 'wine' on Sabbath evening)
Homemade whole-fruit cranberry sorbet, sweetened with Splenda

Late Night Snack:
Apple or kiwifruit  

[Divash]

I have a little news. I'd gone down to a 'decade' of weight (100, 130, 170, and annything ending in 0 is a 'decade') two weeks ago, then gained a bit. As of yesterday's weigh-in, I'm back down, having exactly hit my decade again. I'm pretty thrilled.  

[AmberLepu]

Weight Watchers really seems to have a nice system...-wishes she could afford it-  

[Divash]

You might be able to afford it. Right now they're running a special where registration's free, so you only have to pay for meetings. And while you can buy Weight Watchers foods (treats, breads, that kind of thing), you don't have to do that if you don't want.  

[Divash]

I'm now 2.6 pounds down from where I was on last week's weigh-in. I'm very much enjoying the Core plan. I honestly encourage anyone at all to try out Weight Watchers. Yes, it costs a little bit of money. But it'll save you money in the long run. How? Glad you asked.

1. Grocery bills. The savings here are immediate. Fruits, vegetables, whole-grain pastas, and other truly healthy foods taste just as good as the fattening foods; they're more colorful on the plate, and therefore more visually appealing than unhealthy foods; they fill you up faster and for longer than unhealthy foods; and they cost less to buy than heavily processed foods.

2. Right now, Weight Watchers is running a special. You still have to pay for meetings, but the normal registration fee is waived, so you won't be paying for registration. That'll save you a hundred bucks or so, right there.

3. You're less likely to have adult-onset diabetes, which will save you money on medications, doctor visits, diabetic care/treatment supplies such as syringes and insulin pumps, and hospital bills.

4. You're also less likely to have obesity-related heart problems. This, too, will save you money on medications, doctor visits, and other medical expenses, including expensive and painful surgeries.

5. Not having as much of a huge health risk means not losing time (and pay) at work due to being unwell or recovering from weight-related surgeries.

6. You can pay anywhere from $5 to $50 extra for articles of clothing purchased at sizes higher than a US size 14. Losing weight will mean you don't have to pay plus-sized prices for clothing anymore.

7. Every so often, airlines or buses threaten to charge extra for overweight passengers or charge them for more than one seat, to offset the costs of larger seats, increased fuel costs, and the irritation of other passengers who get snippy when a larger person is "sitting too close" (because those seats, I swear, are meant for undersized children rather than for actual adults, let alone overweight adults). You'll save money on travel by being thinner.

8. By the time you get ready to marry and/or have children, you'll already be in the good habits that you'll establish with Weight Watchers. This will in turn make it easier to rear children who eat healthier, and therefore less expensive, foods themselves.

9. It may actually be easier to get a lucrative job, or a raise at your current job, if you look the part. Informal studies have shown that thinner people are more likely to be hired than overweight people, because employers see them as more confident and therefore more likely to be competent for the job. Likewise, a thinner person is likely to get a larger raise than an overweight person, because their bosses will think of them as more competent. They usually aren't aware of thinking this way, and they may not say or even think, "A is fat and B is thin, so B is probably better at the job." However, a lot of people have a visceral feeling that makes their instincts kick in in a subconscious process that goes something like this: "They've got the ability to keep themselves healthy, which means they've got will power, intelligence, and the ability to earn what they need. Those are qualities I want in an employee. This healthy, fit person has those qualities; the overweight one doesn't." It's superficial, it's shallow, and most people don't even realize that they're feeling this way, but it could be affecting your pocketbook.

It's hard to put a price on good health, energy, or self-esteem. If there's any other expense you might be able to do without, I'd honestly suggest trading that expense for the relatively inexpensive adventure of fun, healthy, lasting weight loss.  

[Faux-Lanzer]

You don't need the brackets for the "tm" in the thread title,the official symbol is in the windows character map.

Like this™  

[Divash]

I'm not using Windows.  

[Kipluck]

I am sorta doing Weight Watchers. See, I used to, but then I had no more money. And then I got Diabetes "officially." So, instead, I am using the WW info I know and going it on my own... with a diabetic twist...

Total Weight To Lose: Eventually, I would heart to lose, let's see, 105, and then BMI would even be friends!
Current Goal: Get under 200. Yeah.
Core or Flex: Core (I *hate* counting.)... with a little bit of other stuff that I count points for)  

[Divash]

Kipluck, I feel for you. I've got an uncle with adult-onset diabetes and a brother-in-law (who's very thin) with juvenile diabetes. It's a pain in the rear for both of them. The uncle is doing Atkins. My doctor told me I was headed for diabetes if I didn't correct my eating habits, so I joined WW, and now I'm apparently in no danger at all, even though I still have some weight to lose.

You can still do WW within your diabetic plan; just talk to your doctor, after showing her (him?) the food plan and ask her to make suggestions/corrections for your appropriate nutrient balance.  

[Groovy Spleen]

How would I find out about a Weight Watchers group in my area?  

[Divash]

Hey there, Groovy! smile The Weight Watchers website has a handy little meeting finder. It works anywhere in the US, although I'm not certain if they have a finder that applies to other countries. Good luck, GS, and I hope you decide to join up. WW won't force you to lose weight, but they'll give you the information you need in order to make healthier decisions for yourself, and the weight will come off.  

[Divash]

Update: I'm down 50.6 pounds total since joining Weight Watchers, and I have the refrigerator magnet to prove it. biggrin  

[Kipluck]

Divash

Update: I'm down 50.6 pounds total since joining Weight Watchers, and I have the refrigerator magnet to prove it. biggrin

Oh my heck, CONGRATULATIONS!