I don't diet.... Well, at least I didn't until after I got married. My weight started fluctuating right around "I do." I lost several pounds before the wedding because of stress and skipped meals. My weight returned to normal once my life settled down, but then I added a few more pounds after Thanksgiving. I lost that weight before Christmas, only to realize that my waistline had expanded after the New Year. I lost my extra cushion again before Valentine's Day, but it was back -- plus more -- after our honeymoon.
Enough was enough! Although the scale only moved 3-5 pounds during each episode, I know how easily 3-5 pounds can turn into 7-10 or 15-20. I had to get my weight back in check, and I hated that I was doing it by dieting. Limiting carbohydrates, skipping dessert, substituting meals with protein shakes -- not my style and certainly not sustainable. Blech.
Soooo, I joined Weight Watchers Online. Yes, I'm well aware that this may seem a bit extreme considering that I always returned to my normal weight fairly quickly, but my primary concern was maintenance. To give you the basics, Weight Watchers assigns point values to foods, and you're allotted a certain number of points each day, plus extra points that you can use at your discretion throughout the week. You can also gain activity points by working out. With the online version, you keep track of everything on your computer or cell phone. You weigh yourself and take your measurements once a week, and that's that.
Unlike a typical diet, you can spend your points on pretty much whatever foods you want, but the program naturally lends itself to healthy habits. The activity points also prevent you from developing a false sense of confidence in exercise. Sure, working out is great; but if you're not a hard-core athlete, you can't just eat anything! For example, jogging for an hour is equivalent to eating a small fry at McDonald's (or half of a McFlurry). Yikes!
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| Weight Watchers Success Story |
Nonetheless, I was not impressed. The first week, I lost three pounds... but that usually happens when I get back on my regular schedule after vacation. Over the course of the next 2 months, I lost a total of 5 pounds. That's right -- 3 pounds in the first week, and 2 pounds in the next 8 weeks.
To be fair, I was already at a healthy weight when I started Weight Watchers, even with the extra pounds. I was also doing an "insane" workout program, and I knew that my fat was being replaced with muscle. However, months of recording my food and sweating it out six days a week with barely any movement on the scale was super-disappointing.
As I was beginning to give up, a strange thing happened: I lost another pound and hit my 5% loss milestone... in the midst of end-of-semester parties and beginning-of-summer celebrations. Since when did cake, ice cream, ribs, sangria, and macaroni salad add up to weight loss?! I was definitely motivated to finish the remainder of my contract.
With the end of my three months came my first real challenge: a conference. For me, this meant airport food, schedule changes, continental breakfast buffets, lunches on the go, cookies in the afternoon, cocktail receptions in the evening with appetizers and wine, then a dinner often followed by dessert. Nothing home-cooked, over-sized portions, and a general diet nightmare.
Buuutt, I wasn't on a diet. I was changing my lifestyle, right?? I tracked my food, added in my exercise, and hoped for the best.
When I got back home and did my weekly weigh-in, the scale was up by only one pound. By the next week, I'd lost two pounds and weighed less than I did when I left for the conference. Whoa!
Of course I thought this was a fluke, and I was tested again a few weeks later on vacation -- to Turkey of all places. Istanbul meant bread, baklava, real cream in everything from coffee to dessert, and enough olive oil to bathe in. Not one to deprive myself of delicious, authentic food, I put my pedometer to work. I walked everywhere, which added up to about 7-8 miles each day. It sounds like a lot, but points-wise, my miles were equivalent to a simit with cheese.
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| Delicious? Yes. Worth 7-8 miles? No. |
However, I kept tracking... through my daily breakfasts of fruit, yogurt, eggs, potatoes, and bread; through our five-course dinner cruise and our five-course cooking class the next morning; through the night we ate dessert for dinner then followed it with dessert for dessert; and through the two extra meals that I ate on the plane because of the time difference. I stayed in my points range by loading up on "power foods" -- fruits, veggies, low-fat dairy, lean meats, and whole grains -- but I wasn't sure if that would be enough.
When I got back, the scale had gone up half a pound. Half a pound?! I could sneeze and get rid of half a pound! Sure enough, less than a week later, I've already lost another 1.5 pounts... and reached my goal. I'm speechless.
Weight Watchers has certainly proven it's worth. However, I think I'm going to let my contract expire. I'm at the low end of my normal weight range, and there's not a vacation or holiday in sight for awhile. I'll stick closely to their list of power foods, and I'm definitely keeping my pedometer. I'll probably continue to track my food choices on my own for awhile, and I may even buy their companion book with points values for a sanity check every now and then.
Despite two vacations, a sporadic exercise schedule, several happy hours, a few graduation parties, and some cookouts -- I'm feeling good!
