The neverending review (Weight Watchers)

Member Name: thehonesttruth

Product:	Weight Watchers
Date:	01/10/08 (327 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to follow plans, dont feel hungry, lost weight

Disadvantages: shocking to realise how high in points some things are

Note : I've decided to do something a bit different here . I actually joined weightwatchers a week and a half ago, and intend to update this review frequently as I progress - not only to help inform others, but also as a sort of progress report for myself.

Why I Joined Weight Watchers.
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I used to be a skinny minnie - until at 16, I took a job in a chinese fast food restaurant. Now, the job came with a perk - free food - and having moved into a shared house with friends, as well as going to college, that free food mattered when counting the pennies. I'd get two free meals per 8 hour shift (the opening hours covered both lunchtime and dinner) and my favourites were things like battered chicken balls, deep fried spicy ribs, and heaping great portions of Chow Mein.

At 19, I took a job in a bakery, and also in the bar. Now, I had free cake, a small amount of free booze, plus cheap beer once I'd drunk my free beer. You can see by now where the calories are mounting up.

At 20, I had a baby. I got postnatal depression, so on top of not having free time for myself much anymore, I really didn't feel like looking after myself, and ate the fastest, easiest things I could find - namely crisps. My depression took 5 years to get a good handle on, and now, at 26, I have the free time with my daughter at school. I have a good life, but an awful figure. I'd gone from a trim 11st, to a decidedly un-trim 17st 5lb.

My dad had joined Weight Watchers six months ago. A few years ago he had a back injury, which meant he had to give up his hobby, jogging. He never got back into it, and while he wasn't 'fat' in my eyes, he'd put weight on. He lost it easily on Weight Watchers, and I figured if he could do it, I'd do it too .

My First Meeting
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Because my dad was a member, I already new which meeting I wanted to go to, but I did look into other meetings in my area - and there are lots of them. From my house, there are three meetings within a 20-30 minute walk, and at least another 9 I could easily get to by bus.

I went to the meeting, which was held in a local church, and first had to fill in a small form - nothing fancy, just name, address, d.o.b etc, and then went to get weighed for the first time . I removed my shoes, and stepped onto the electronic scales, and gasped with horror when I saw my weight as 17st 5lb.

However, the leader was very reassuring. She showed me a photo of herself before she lost weight (all leaders have been through the program themselves) and I was amazed by the difference. Without being too detailed, her 'before' photo made me look like a dainty little pixie - while the 'after' standing right in front of me reassuring me, looked stunning . She talked to me for a few minutes, explained the various payment methods, and gave me a few leaflets to read. She also asked me to remain a few minutes after the meeting so she could go through things in more detail with me.

I chose the monthly pass payment option - for 17.95 a month, you also get access to Weightwatchers Esource online - which has, amongst other things, a tracker to help you keep tabs on your eating, a forum, and lots of recipes and advice. It works out a little cheaper than paying for meetings individually, and I also got a free recipe book (which would normally sell for 9.99)

If i'd chosen to pay each meeting , it would be 5.50 a time, and would not include the Esource.

I sat down, and had a look around. There was the table where you signed in , the weighing area (with a sign saying to stand back from the person being weighed for privacy) and a table stacked with books, magazines, snack bars, soups, and other items.

The other members were a mixed bunch - young and old, some noticably overweight, some very trim. They were all very welcoming to me though, and one of them offered to bring me in some cookbooks she had duplicates of. My dad was the only man there.

Before the meeting, there were raffle tickets on sale, at a pound per 5 . I purchased a strip, and won a sort of plastic check with £5 written on it . I was told I could spent this at the table, and I used it to put towards the cost of a points calculator , paying the extra £2.

The meeting itself was very encouraging. The leader talked about the importance of eating enough, drinking plenty of water, eating fruit and veg. She praised members on their weight loss, and invited members to share their weekly loss, and also invited members to voice any concerns or difficulties they had with their plans. She was very upbeat , and I ended up getting a really positive attitude about it, thinking ' Yeah, I can do this! '

She also talked about ways to motivate ourselves when we need it . One idea I really liked was to get a piggy bank, and for every pound you lose, put a pound in the bank, to be opened when you reached goal . I decided to do this - Once I reach my goal , I'm going to treat myself to a makeover - hair, nails, the works.

After the meeting, she explained the two plans to me. There are two plans - Core and Points.

The core plan is basically to eat three meals a day, until you feel satisfied, containing only ingredients from a set list of 'core' foods - which are all simple, unprocessed foods, such as fresh veg, fresh meat, pulses and grains. In addition, you get a small points allowance, which you can spend if you like on processed foods otherwise not allowed on the plan - bread, for instance. The important thing on the core plan is to eat more slowly and give your body time to realise its satisfied . I decided this plan wasn't for me - I'm not a three meals a day person, I'm a grabber - I grab something when I have a moment to spare.

So, I decided on the points plan . Basically, foods have a points value based on an equation taking into account the number of calories and the amount of saturated fat. ( They give you a card to work out values on labelled foods, and also a book listing the points values of many foods). Every persons points allowance will vary, depending on sex, and how much they weigh, among other things. You could also save some points towards a treat if you wanted to, and gain extra points through exercise. I decided to follow this plan. The booklet was given at the start of the meeting had some good ideas for points plan meals, which really made it pretty easy.

Week 1
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Upon getting home, I calculated how many points I needed using the simple test in the booklet, and worked it out to 26 a day . I then had a fiddle with the calculator , and looked at the things I had to eat in my house . I was pretty shocked at some of the things - for instance , a frankfurter, one of the kind you get from a chiller cabinet, was 3 points! 3 points for a sausage - and not even a proper sausage! A pack of my beloved Ramen noodles was 9 points (depending on the flavour, it varied a little) and an ordinary frozen beefburger was 6.

However, I didn't find it hard to stay within my points allowance - in fact, the sheer volume of food I was consuming each day in order to keep up with it was staggering . I actually couldn't see how on earth I was going to lose any weight. I'd have HUUUUUUUUGE steaming hot bowls of porridge each morning, drink lots of diet coke rather than the full fat version, have baked potatoes heaped with baked beans and tuna, and still have a few points left over each day.

I didn't feel hungry once. When I wanted something sweet, I had it - I just made better choices, having a cup of hot chocolate rather than a chocolate bar.

After the first three days, I actually started to feel better - more energetic than normal. In fact, I was positively bouncing off the walls . I decided to switch to caffeine free diet coke so I'd have a chance of actually sleeping, and although I still have much more energy, I'm not quite as scarily hyperactive.

I even went out for an all you can eat chinese buffet the night before my next weigh in - and stuffed myself stupid . But again, I made more sensible choices - avoiding all the deep fried stuff, and instead having stir fried veg and chicken curry. I couldn't really calculate the points while I was out, since they dont generally display nutritional information at buffets, so I decided to play it safe and count it as 20 of my daily points. Including the porrige I had in the morning, that meant I'd eaten 24 out of 26 points.

I got hungry later that evening, but I didnt starve . I made a soup out of tinned tomato, onion, brocolli, chilli powder and garlic. It took about 10 minutes (no recipe, I just tossed things into a pan) and was delicious. And the best bit - 0 points. Thats right! Certain things on the points plan are 0 points, mainly veg.

Week 2
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So, I'd finished my first week, and it was time for the weigh in. I felt a little apprehensive going to the meeting, as I'd felt like I was eating an awful lot, much more than I would usually eat, plus I'd had the huge chinese buffet the night before.

So I stepped on the scales and I'd lost - 6lb. I don't exaggerate here - I actually burst into tears, I was so happy . For those who aren't good with weights - thats three bags of sugar.

I was also given a new leaflet, which explained how to make good choices when eating out, listing points values for various Mcdonalds and Burger King meals, as well as meals from various pub chains .

I enjoyed the meeting again, it was great to be able to join in in celebrating my own weight loss. Another member got a silver 7 to stick on her weigh in card to celebrate losing half a stone in weight, and I thought to myself 'Well, next week, if I lose just 1lb, than thats half a stone I've lost'.

The meeting was fun, she had ten little figures on the table, 9 fat ones, and one thin one . For each fat one, she gave a reason a person might decide not to come to meetings , such as feeling bad about a gain in weight, or because they'd over eaten, and explained how important it was to keep coming for support. The thin one was of course the one that had stuck with it . I'm going to be the thin one one day .

So now, I'm halfway through my second week on the points plan. In the last few days I've had Pizza, beer , and a fry up - but still stayed within my points alowance, and still not had any hungry moments. My jeans feel a little looser, which is good, and my skin is a lot clearer - which may be down to eating healthier, or may be unrelated ^^

Week 3
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Another weigh in, another 2lb loss - and a change in dress size from 24 to 22 on the bottom . This week, our leader Sharon gave us little booklets about christmas, that included a section to write down what our goal was for christmas, how we were going to do it, situations that might throw us off, and how to cope . I've set my goal to lose a stone, wear a size 20 on the bottom (I'm a size 22 now) and to be more active . I think its achievable - I have twelve weeks, and if I stick to the plan while upping my excercise, I should easily reach, maybe even beat that goal . We also had a game of bingo for a giggle - sadly I didn't win :)



I'll update you more after my next weigh in ^^

Total lost so far : 6lb - 3 bags of Sugar

Money in my makeover kitty -
Enough for an eyebrow shaping.

Summary: Total weight loss so far 6lb. I'll keep you updated