The Psychology of Food: My Weight Watchers Experience

Losing weight can be difficult, but many consultants say "it's all in your head". Studies show that Weight Watchers is one of the healthiest ways to lose weight. It requires members to eat 'real' food, instead of buying strictly Weight Watchers brand products like some programs do. The main focus of this program is to concentrate on portion control, with emphasis on drinking lots of water and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. Members are encouraged to track the Points Values of everything they eat on a weekly basis. Journaling the amount of points we eat will literally show us when we overeat. Determining the amount of points in a particular food is very simple. Members are given a slider. Based on the amount of fiber, number of calories and total grams of fat we can determine the number of points. A booklet is also given at the first meeting to help you determine how many points you are allowed per week. At your first meeting, the Weight Watchers leader will answer any questions or concerns that may arise.

The goal of most leaders is to help change the way we think about food. After attending several weekly meetings (as this is my second time on the program), I have learned that there is a certain psychology about eating. Americans are surrounded by marketing schemes that make us buy more food. For example, we drive through McDonald's with our little kids and the employee asks if we want to Super Size the meal for only $.20 more. Of course we do, that's cheap! Then we get this large meal and feel we need to finish the entire thing.

Times are changing and we need to retrain our brains. Remember when bagels were small? Remember when tasty cakes only came in two packs? America is fat and for some reason food corporations have decided 'bigger is better'. Weight Watchers helps remind our brains what a serving really is. It is very important that all members attend the weekly meetings. Studies show those who attend meetings lose three times more weight than those who don't. The first time I joined Weight Watchers, I ignored this little known fact. Guess what? I failed. After losing 23 lbs, I seemed to stay the same weight for 5 weeks straight so I quit. Yes, I'm a quitter! But this time is different.

I owe a lot of my motivation to the woman who keeps me on my toes each week. Pam, my Monday night leader, reminds me that I'm not dieting, I'm "living a healthy lifestyle". This allows me to change my thought process to a more positive direction. I'm not 'on a diet' because this is a forever thing. Individuals on a diet perceive their weight loss as short term. Every Monday night Pam reiterates that healthy eating is a lifelong journey. She goes on to say that "hearing the same thing 21 times will change the way we think about it". I'm into my 7th week and feel that she is absolutely correct. Not only do the weekly weight checks aid in the motivation, but other members pass on what they've learned as well.

At my first meeting 6 weeks ago, I learned of an extremely helpful website created by a "Weight Watcher warrior". Go to www.dwlz.com to see the point values for different restaurants. This information has been compiled by a woman named Dotti who has obviously put forth an enormous amount of effort to aid in the weight loss of other valuable members. Her motto is one we should all live by: "It's a lifestyle, not a diet".

A few nights ago I had a dream I ate an entire box of donuts!! I was a mess................a disgusting fat mess. As I stood in line (in real life) to get weighed at the Weight Watchers meeting, I decided I was going to tell Pam about my dream. I told her I cheated and ate a box of donuts in my dream. She laughed, but then corrected me. "Weight Watcher warriors don't cheat, they make the wrong choice". She always finds the good in what one may perceive as bad.
Six weeks into it, I'm down 9.8 lbs and I want the world to know it!!!!!!!!!

Overall, I'm traveling down the path to a new and healthier me. I feel really good and want to pass on this feeling to others! Check out www.weightwatchers.com for more information about how you can tackle the unnecessary weight.

My goal is to lose 40 lbs. Just 30.2 lbs to go!

Eat your heart out Kirstie Alley...........