Weight Watchers - Week Two

 As most of you know if you've read my last few posts I recently joined Weight Watchers.  This has been week number two for me on the program, but it's not really a program, it's more like an awakening.  Weight Watchers is unlike any other program I've ever been on and like most people battling with their weight I've been on a few.

Beverly Hills Diet, Herbal Magic and The Zone just to name a few.

Have I had success with these previous programs, well yes of course.  The problem was that after I lost the weight it was so easy to revert back to my normal habits that the weight automatically creeped back on at an unhealthy rate.

The difference I found (and in just two weeks) between Weight Watchers and every other program is that Weight Watchers teaches you about food.  They don't tell you to not eat this or that, they tell you you can eat it but at a price.  Based on your body weight, age and sex they (and I say They for lack of a better word for the people who thought up Weight Watchers) calculate a points system for you to maintain on a day to day basis.  Food is broken down into points, different foods have different points which are calculated based on the protein, carbohydrates, fat and fibres in the food.  With Weight Watchers you CAN eat ANYTHING, but just keep in mind the point of this program is to teach you to reach for the foods that have lower points values but higher nutritional intake and right now fruits and vegetables have a 0 points value so you can imagine what I fill up on most.  Like my coach likes to quote, "You didn't become overweight by eating fruits and vegetables."
This doesn't mean to gorge on fruits and veggies, but to know and understand that a fruit or a veggie is much healthier than what you will find in a bag of potato chips and more likely than not, it will fill you up longer!
For the first two weeks in a really long time the fruit in my fruit bowl actually gets eaten.  It is no longer a display piece for the kitchen table and I feel relieved because I know I'm the one that is eating it and I'm not throwing money away by having to toss it into the garbage bin because it rotted before I got to it.

There's more to it than just fruit and veggies though, and I'd like to keep track of my progress on here and see what works and what doesn't and hope that you guys join in my efforts to understand food and continue the battle of the bulge with me.

Last week I lost a total of 2.6lbs, which may not seem like much, but hey, every little bit counts!
What did I learn last week?  To be accountable.  I keep a food diary of everything I put into my mouth, from a piece of gum to a cherry pie.  The reasoning being that if I can't account for what I eat, who can?  It's time to stop lying to myself and tell the truth.  So I may have a had a few cookies one day, so what?  Now I know that the next day I have to work harder to find a cookie that packs less fat but still tastes just as great or reach for that apple or banana instead.  There are plenty of choices and I love that about this program!  I don't starve myself and I don't deny myself anything but I am slowly teaching myself that a carrot is much healthier than an ice cream cone, and that's what Weight Watchers does.  It teaches you about food and which foods make you feel fuller and which foods you can still eat but may not be the best for you.

This week I lost a total of 1.4lbs.  Not as great as last week and thinking back on it, yesterday was not a good day to gorge on nanaimo bars.  But, at least I know where I went wrong (so to speak) because I've been writing everything I eat in my diary forcing myself to be accountable.  But I'm still down a pound and I feel fantastic.
What have I learned this week?  You don't need to see a big loss on the scale to feel good.
I've lost a total of four pounds which puts me under the 250lb mark and yes I'm embarrassed to just admit that but I really don't care because I was the one that got this way and I "didn't gain weight by eating fruits and vegetables!"

I can't wait to see what next week brings!

Stay Healthy and Happy My Friends!!

XoXo,

Zxen