I joined Weight Watchers yesterday.
This will be my last paid-diet attempt. I've done Nutrisystem; I've done Jenny Craig (for like, two weeks). I've even tried Slim Fast and diet pills (which also didn't last long because I hate taking pills), and I swear I've at LEAST flipped through every diet book known to man (or at least, our local Borders), and I think I've bought and donated more of them than most people own in a lifetime. I am a woman obsessed.
The odd thing is, the only diet "plan" I could ever stick to was when I had gestational diabetes. Granted, I HAD to stick to it. But I like to tell myself that I COULD have phoned it in (like the lady in our GD seminar who INSISTED that there was no possible way she and her family could switch to skim milk or even 2%), but instead, I stuck to it. And I think I really have that to thank for the fact that as soon as my uterus was done deflating, I was back to my pre-pregnancy size and weight almost right away.
The problem, of course, is that my pre-pregnancy size and weight were quite large to begin with. But I don't want to just phone it in anymore. Now, I don't want to EVER go back to a diabetic diet (and, actually, if I lose weight now, I will lessen my chances of that), but I found a way to make it work for me so I didn't feel too miserable all the time, and I think Weight Watchers will allow me to do that - find a way that works for me. I used to think that the only way I'd be successful is if someone else told me exactly what I needed to do and eat (hence, food delivery programs like Nutrisystem or Jenny Craig, or even meal replacements like Slim Fast), but I'm realizing that this is NOT the way. OBVIOUSLY. I mean, beneath my mild exterior lurks the heart of a rebel, and it is no wonder that those diets eventually got boring/restrictive/ridiculous, because there was no room for flexibility. Also, I hated having to turn down invites from friends (I have so few of them in the first place!)
So today is day 1 of WW. So far I've just had breakfast. So far, so good. I've been doing the Shred since Friday - today is day 5, but I took a rest day on day 3 (which I regretted, but I did wake up with horrible headache that day. But it gave my muscles a chance to heal and stop being so sore, which I definitely don't regret.) I noticed yesterday that some of the moves felt easier (read: I wasn't dying quite nearly so much). So, I guess this really works :)
And the most important part is that I'm feeling pretty good - not stressed out, not worried (except for all the money I'm spending on getting fit), and I'm looking forward to carrying this out long term. I'm not feeling like, "I can't WAIT for this to be over." And I really feel like it's within my ability to lose weight - next week when I go back to the meeting, I fully expect to see at least one pound down. (Note to self - always wear flip flops to meetings!)
So all in all, things are looking good, and so am I.
This will be my last paid-diet attempt. I've done Nutrisystem; I've done Jenny Craig (for like, two weeks). I've even tried Slim Fast and diet pills (which also didn't last long because I hate taking pills), and I swear I've at LEAST flipped through every diet book known to man (or at least, our local Borders), and I think I've bought and donated more of them than most people own in a lifetime. I am a woman obsessed.
The odd thing is, the only diet "plan" I could ever stick to was when I had gestational diabetes. Granted, I HAD to stick to it. But I like to tell myself that I COULD have phoned it in (like the lady in our GD seminar who INSISTED that there was no possible way she and her family could switch to skim milk or even 2%), but instead, I stuck to it. And I think I really have that to thank for the fact that as soon as my uterus was done deflating, I was back to my pre-pregnancy size and weight almost right away.
The problem, of course, is that my pre-pregnancy size and weight were quite large to begin with. But I don't want to just phone it in anymore. Now, I don't want to EVER go back to a diabetic diet (and, actually, if I lose weight now, I will lessen my chances of that), but I found a way to make it work for me so I didn't feel too miserable all the time, and I think Weight Watchers will allow me to do that - find a way that works for me. I used to think that the only way I'd be successful is if someone else told me exactly what I needed to do and eat (hence, food delivery programs like Nutrisystem or Jenny Craig, or even meal replacements like Slim Fast), but I'm realizing that this is NOT the way. OBVIOUSLY. I mean, beneath my mild exterior lurks the heart of a rebel, and it is no wonder that those diets eventually got boring/restrictive/ridiculous, because there was no room for flexibility. Also, I hated having to turn down invites from friends (I have so few of them in the first place!)
So today is day 1 of WW. So far I've just had breakfast. So far, so good. I've been doing the Shred since Friday - today is day 5, but I took a rest day on day 3 (which I regretted, but I did wake up with horrible headache that day. But it gave my muscles a chance to heal and stop being so sore, which I definitely don't regret.) I noticed yesterday that some of the moves felt easier (read: I wasn't dying quite nearly so much). So, I guess this really works :)
And the most important part is that I'm feeling pretty good - not stressed out, not worried (except for all the money I'm spending on getting fit), and I'm looking forward to carrying this out long term. I'm not feeling like, "I can't WAIT for this to be over." And I really feel like it's within my ability to lose weight - next week when I go back to the meeting, I fully expect to see at least one pound down. (Note to self - always wear flip flops to meetings!)
So all in all, things are looking good, and so am I.