It’s wrong to pay $40 a month to be a spiritual member of Weight Watchers. When I do go, my goal should be less of please-don’t-gain-please-don’t-gain-please-don’t-gain-ness and more of I-made-that-scale-my-bitch-ness.I've been a "spiritual member" of Weight Watchers for a long time now -- longer than I care to admit. And while counting points and meeting "good health guidelines" are always in the back of my brain, it has been a very VERY long time since I went to a meeting, and it has been just as long since I strung together more than 5 days of accountability in terms of journaling, counting points, and honoring the program. Yet every month, my checking account is debited 40 bucks, and I get a little membership card in the mail, taunting me. With it, I get access to eTools -- which I do find miraculously helpful -- and access to the message boards is always free. That is a community that I've on-and-off been a part of since I was about 25, and quite honestly, it might be the greatest source of support I've ever found throughout my weight loss battle.
Unfortunately, much like my gym membership, simply carrying the membership card in my wallet doesn't result in weight loss or increased fitness.
How ANNOYING.
Once again, I find myself confused about weight management -- I feel like I've been at this so long and LEARNED so much that I don't know what is true.
Clean eating? Low carb? Low fat? No dairy? More dairy? Seratonin diet? Paleo diet? Caveman diet? Single-30-something-girl-diet of popcorn and pinot grigio? Run marathons? Go for walks? Don't factor in exercise at all? All yoga, all the time? Skip the cardio and lift?
At the end of the day, I come back to "eat less, move more," and the wisdom of Jillian Michaels ("just count your calories. Seriously. That's all there is to it"), but I find myself with a brain full of pieces of knowledge that often conflict and confuse each other.
So I ask you, gentle reader, what is your method of weight loss? Are you a points person? A calorie counter? Do you hit the gym, pavement, trails, class? Or just manage your caloric intake? Do I keep spending that $40 a month and force myself back into meetings? Or should I put that money towards something else?
Help a sister out.
Off and running,
~Jessica
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10 comments:
I pray that you get a lot of wise answers to this post, because right now I feel so totally lost about how to make this work for myself. I feel like I keep bouncing from one thing to the next, all under the umbrella of healthy living, only to keep gaining and losing the same 5-10 pounds (which is about 30 up from where I WANT to be.)
I JUST WANT TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WORKS FOR ME. And I feel like a failure that I've not managed to do that yet.
I've been reading your blog off and on for years, and I admire you for your healthy living efforts.
For what it's worth, I'll give you my quick and dirty. I was overweight for my whole life in varying degrees, and I joined WW a number of times (once I even joined an at-work session, attended only the first meeting and ended up weighing more at the end of the session than the beginning). In 1999 I was profoundly overweight and felt terrible about myself. I joined WW in January and that was it for me. Since that time I have been more or less on program (had a few pregnancies along the way to shake things up) and am overall down almost 90 pounds. That is not to say that I am eating the same way I did in 1999. I embraced the WW Core program when it came out and love the new Points Plus program and try as much as possible to eat whole foods. I stay away from 100 calorie packs and other processed junk.
The biggest change for me came over the last 5 years when I started running and began training for and participating in road races and triathlons. The training has really enabled me to relax a little with point counting and also made me a much fitter person (resting HR of 50, BP 90/60). It's hard to fit in the time to get the exercise but boy is the payoff worth it!
I've broken no new ground here, but I'm basically saying that the tools that you use are those that I used to finally achieve a healthy lifestyle. Good luck!
So funny - I literally just emailed you about this topic.
I've always liked WW, but had a hard time keeping with it. And again, I love the gym but lack the motivation to get there.
I've been a member of WW for longer than I care to count too. I'm a lifetime member who has lapsed a few times and keep going back. I don't like how they focus so much on the scale and find myself doing unhealthy things just to see the scale go down each week. I picked up the book "The Eat Well Diet". It's written by a professor and published in conjunction with the people at Eating Well magazine. It is very common sense, brought me back to the basics (i.e. eat less, exercise more and count calories). So far I'm really loving it. There are no good or bad foods - just food. You can find all of the information on their website as well and they have a pretty active support group on-line as well.
I hope you tell us what everyone says here and let everyone know what works for everyone else. I'm grasping at straws right now with a new account with West Coast timing and travel ... and all I want is for the weight that I've put on over the last few years to come off!! I know it's not going to happen with a magic pill but i want it to (just being honest here). Send a girl some help ... or a miracle. I'll be waiting.
xo, keb
Just weighed myself today. Heaviest non-pregnant weight ever (not over, though, thank goodness). Looking for something. WW did it for me last time (27 lbs in 7 months), but once I stopped (Oct 2009), I gained it all plus 4 pounds back. Looking for something more long-term. I just don't think I have the whatever-it-is to stay on WW for my whole life.
Joined the Community Center gym and am going more than I have before and am trying a few simple rules (stop eating at 9:30!). WW worked great, though, and I might go back for 3 months to kick start me.
Thank you for all your awesomeness and honesty. Love You.
~V~
I run marathons and triathlons, do open water swims, etc. I train hard at least 6 days a week and only take one day because my trainer threatens me if I don't. I burn, on average, close to 7000 calories a week. And I track everything that goes in my mouth. With my trainer and a nutritionist I put together a 1200-1300 (1500 on days I train for more than 2.5 hours) nutrient timing based diet. And? I've gained 17 pounds since the beginning of the year. WTF? I'm now seeing an endcrinologist to figure out why my body refuses to work for me after I do all this work for it. Wish I had some answers too.
Thank you for writing about this topic. Seriously, yeaterday I was just contemplating quiting my monthly pass and meetings. I too have been a WW member (on and off again) for years, literally since I was 14 and I am now almost 31. I recently rejoined to learn about the new program. I feel like I am a really fit person. I teach fitness classes, did an olympic distance triathlon, and ran two half marathons in the last year but the truth is (and the pictures don't lie) I am over weight so I wanted to get control of this and lose the mind set of, "I exercise so I can eat whatever I want" So far it has been working but I feel like the meetings are waste of time and money. This week for example the leader was all encouraging and motivating for people to walk a 5K or MAYBE try running one. Yeah, after the meeting I went out and ran 4 miles no problem. Not to mention there is the whole weigh in issue. I go to meetings on Monday's because it's the only time that fits into my life. I can have a PERFECT on program week, and indulge or celebrate on the weekend BUT also staying with in my Point Plus allowance which I think is a healthy way to live. BUT then I weigh in and of course see a gain or a tiny loss. There is so much I love about WW but so much that annoys me. For now I canceled my monthly pass and plan on doing online with the support of my future sister-in-law and another bridesmaid who are also trying to lose weight. That way I can weigh in when I want (wearing what I want) and avoid boring meeting topics and fees. Good luck!
Great post -- I wish I had the answers. I do have some thoughts, though. Basically, if you dropped the WW membership, would you feel like a weight had lifted -- or like you'd jumped off a cliff? Does the membership nag at you and (for lack of a better word) eat at you and make you feel like a failure every day, rather like too tight clothes in the closet?
The trouble with feeling overweight is that you also feel trapped and often desperate. (Or at least, this is how I feel!) But you still have choices. What could you spend the $40 on? Subscriptions to a few inspirational/aspirational health and fitness magazines that you'll enjoy reading? Some new tunes to make you more inclined to work out? A manicure as a treat so you don't need food to do that job (or need it less)? A trial of diet delivery services? Some expensive organic ingredients or frozen entrees (I like Amy's, but they're not cheap) so you don't have to think some days?
The truth is, most of us -- certainly all of us reading blogs -- _know_ how to lose weight. The truth is also that almost anything will work if you will stick to it. So what is the one thing that's really going to help you do it? Yes, it may have been Weight Watchers at one point, but just because it did in the past doesn't mean it will again. (Hey, remember when the Gap changed their sizing and you couldn't just go in and put on the same size/style of jeans? OK, bad analogy when dealing with weight, but you know what I mean.)
You can totally do it and you WILL do it. And the first step is deciding you'll commit to WW or you'll ditch it, but either way you'll make a decision and move on. (You can also break up with it temporarily and um, date, other people. I think it will forgive you...)
courtney xx
I often feel like I'm on information overload too. I was holding on to WW for dear life for years and realized it was just a money suck. I only went back to eTools, etc. when I was nearing my scary number. That number kept getting higher and higher and then I realized I was putting too much pressure on myself to be at a certain number. The one thing I loved about WW was the portion control and public accountability. I just didn't like making such a huge ordeal over every meal. Prepping, weighing, journaling - it became obsessive for me.
I am not doing awesome on my own by any means, but I am learning that I need to really listen to myself and my body. If I want something, I need to just have it, or I will spend just as many calories eating fruit, veggies, and other "clean" foods to try to satisfy the original want/craving. It never works. Calories really are just calories. By not having what I wanted, I still got to the same calorie count for the day and I still had the craving.
Being overweight sucks and like you, I am a rock star in every other aspect of my life. It's frustrating, but I just keep plugging along. Your continued drive and efforts towards a healthy lifestyle inspire a lot of people - me included for sure.
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