Hi, everybody!!

I will be starting weight watchers (at home) next Monday...I am really excited about it! I have a stubborn 20-30 pounds that I have been struggling with for years, and have really done my research this time and am hoping that this will be the key to lasting weight loss. My last diet was SB--I lost a little over 10 pounds, but then just stopped losing...the scale didn't budge for two months. That was so discouraging that I eventually quit altogether, and gained it all back. Of course...story of our lives . BUT, in the interim, I have read a lot of Geneen Roth, and am planning on following the ww program but in line with her principles of rejecting body hatred and paying attention to my body's needs and hunger/fullness signals. So that's my plan!! I am thinking total lifestyle, long-term change.

Here is my question for you guys: What do you wish you had known before starting weight watchers? What lessons did you not realize until you were knee-deep in the process that would have been helpful to know at the beginning? Any and all advice is greatly appreciated...I am here to learn!

Hi! I am also doing WW at Home - I wish you great success! Make sure you check out our weekly thread in the WW @ Home section for lots of support and tips!

For me, WW has been a "last resort" so to speak. I yo yo dieted through my teenage years and most of my 20's. My OB/GYN had always told me the best diet around was WW - the only thing better, she said, was WW with a friend. One day, I woke up stepped on the scale and was heavier than I had been even during my twin pregnancy. That day, I decided the only thing to do was WW.

WW is so easy to incorporate nto your life, that there are no big "wish I would haves" that I have. The only thinkg that I guess I could have done better was to get some more veggies and find low fat/FF foods that I enjoyed sooner. Once you get the hang of grocery shopping for new things, I think the rest is easy!

Good luck with WW and come join us on the @ Home forum!

What do I wish I had known before I started WW? How well it works, how easy it is and I wish I had known sooner!!!

Welcome Mary! I did ww in the past and lost all my weight on it, 60 lbs... but then got stupid and left the plan, gained weight back and then took years to figure out I needed to come back to what works for me, lol. But i'm back and loving it.
There really is no secrets to weight watchers that suprise you later on. Just know this tidbit. A lot of people think if they don't eat all their pts or not use their flex points they'll lose faster, but it will be a HUGE mistake. Usually always backfires and you stall or hardly lose anything. So please eat them all and try to earn as many activity points as possible too. You don't have to eat those though. When you first start have plenty of zero pt items in your house for when you are hungry. My favorite zero pt snack is sf jello with a couple tablespoons of ff whipped topping, hits my sweet tooth and gets me to dinner without needing to use any pts So familiarize yourself with that list and use it. There should never be any reason to be hungry on this plan, that is the best part!
Well again welcome, and come join us on the ww at home thread, we have a daily thread there that stays busy and we will definitely help you on your journey!

Thank you so much, everybody!! I will be joining you all over at the weight watchers at home thread!

Before you go, one thing they don't tell you- those 35 flex points are ONLY for emergency. Eating them, or even some of them weekly, will slow down your progress. Good luck to you!

Oh dear, I don't mean to disagree, but the fact is, the Flex Points are built into the program to be used, and are not for emergencies.

Some people split them up for daily usage, others eat them on the weekends, or a special night. Although each body is different, you should still be able to eat them and lose weight. If that isn't the case, check to see if you are eating healthily, especially by following the 8 Healthy Guidelines.

Also, consider this that when you reach goal, the amount of weekly points you are allowed to eat for the rest of your life will be higher if you incorporate the 35 Flex Points now.

I agree with Jane on this-the 35 Points are built into the plan on purpose. I was a calorie counter for YEARS before I started doing WW, and I checked the stats. Normally I would be eating about 1600 calories a day at my current weight and activity level to LOSE weight. WW has me eating about 1400 calories a day (28 Points)...BUT, if I add in those 35 Weekly Points-it brings me right in at the level that I SHOULD be at-around 1600ish per day over the course of the week.

The reason that they put them into a weekly Point bank, is so that you basically cycle your daily calories (you might eat 1200 one day, and 1747 the next day) which helps prevent plateaus...and it also gives you a bank of available Points for nights on the town, holidays, etc. and you don't go off plan that way.

The 35 are there for you to USE.

The Activity Points are also there for you to use. You are not eating back everything you burned by using them. (I also did the math on this!) If you do a workout that burns, say, 150 calories...the Activy Points that you are given for that workout would have you eating back about 50 calories of that. It is meant to motivate you to exercise (therefore increasing muscle mass and lowering body fat percentage) while providing you with that little bit of extra energy you need if you workout regularly.

Thank you so much for the advice about flex points! Yesterday, I used two flex points for the first time, and I felt so guilty about it, like I was cheating! So do you ladies try to use all of your flex points each week? What in general is your strategy for using them?

With me it depends on the week. If there is a family gathering or holiday that week where food is going to be an issue...then I try to save most of them for that day, so I can indulge in a glass of wine and dessert without going off plan. On the weeks where I have PMS, I tend to spread them out, maybe having a couple of them eacy day to keep me on plan. (For some reason, every month I am alway starving for 4-5 days before my period.)

On days where I attend dance workshops/seminars, I try to save some extra for those days-because I am often dancing/exercising for 3-6 hours on those days, and need the extra food.

It also varies...one week I used all 35 Flex Points...and another week in my journal I used only 4. Use your schedule, and your hunger as a guide.