My Success with Weight Watchers

For years I have struggled with weight issues. My highest weight was 412 pounds; I lost down to 260 pounds after having a gastric bypass. Unfortunately, after a year and a half, I stopped losing and started gaining. I gained back up to 338 pounds. Depressed and terrified that I would gain all the weight back, I started going to Weight Watchers about a year ago. For me, Weight Watchers has been a godsend; I have learned that there are no good foods and no bad foods. I learned that I don't have to be on a diet to lose weight and be healthy.

Weight Watchers uses the point system to help us track our food intake. The calories in food are calculated into points. My Weight Watchers book has a slide rule that calculates my points. I don't have to count calories. I've learned lots of ideas to help keep me on the losing track. For instance, when I get my groceries home from the store, I write down the point value per serving on each and every box and container of food, so I don't have to look up the point value later.

What I learned from Weight Watchers

Weight Watchers taught me the difference between a serving and a portion. A portion is how much you put on your plate, and a serving is the amount listed on the food item. I discovered, even though I was cutting down on my eating, I was still eating more than an individual serving of particular foods. For instance, I like instant oatmeal. I would normally open two packets and prepare them as my portion. I don't do that anymore, because that is two servings instead of one. Servings and portions are not always the same, but you can make them the same, if you eat the recommended servings. Eating the recommended servings has allowed me to experience weight loss.

My weight loss hasn't been quick; on the contrary, it has been very slow, but it has been consistent. I have gone from 338 down to 295 in a year. That is only 43 pounds, but I am proud of my accomplishment. I celebrate my successes. Rather than saying to myself, "I only lost 1 pound this week," I celebrate that loss. That pound is like a pound of butter that has been removed from my body. Sometimes I only lose a fraction of a pound. One week I lost 0.8 pounds, and I was down on myself. My Weight Watcher's counselor scolded me for thinking of that loss as a failure. She told me to be happy for that loss.

Another thing that Weight Watchers has taught me is to not get obsessed over the number on the scales. Linda, my counselor, taught me that the scales don't tell the whole story about weight loss. She said to notice how my clothes fit me, and to notice how I am walking better and not favoring my knees or hips due to pain. She said to notice how I feel, and also to notice how my food tastes have changed.

Conclusion

My life and habits are forever changed due to Weight Watchers. I no longer crave foods with little or no nutrition. I experienced how my body feels when it isn't bogged down with empty calories. It's not just losing weight that is important to me, it is that I am eating healthy meals, and I feel better. I'm much narrower now than I was before starting Weight Watchers. I'm now inheriting many of my daughter's clothes that she is shrinking out of. She also is on Weight Watchers and all of her clothes are bagging on her. That is good for me, because I don't have to buy any new clothes!

Source

My life.