[Itryharder]

Dear Folks,
Almost a year ago I joined Weight Watchers for the gumzumpth time.
For some reason this time I have been able to make it work. Has it been easy? No. But I didn't ask for easy, I just asked for doable. WW doesn't have as many answers for me as when I first joined. Didn't like liver? Too bad--eat it anyway. No, warmed up tuna from a can didn't count as a "hot fish" which somehow was better than a "cold fish." And I honestly remember not being able to have bread after the noon meal. Am I dreaming or was there really such a regulation?
Well, before I wander too far from my subject, let me say that about a year ago when I joined WW, I really desperately wanted to lose weight. I've had lots of challenges (two of my children got married in this last year and we hosted lots of parties and get togethers for them) and my weight loss was nowhere near where I hoped it would be. Starting at 235 I hoped to lose about a pound a week. That didn't materialize, but I learned a lot about healthy eating and emotional eating. WW doesn't tell you anywhere near what they used to tell you, but they help you figure it out.
I feel so much more able to eat properly than I did a year ago. Medications and hormone swings are playing havoc with my weight loss, but somehow I do keep on losing weight even though it's erratic. The good news is that the weight is coming off. The better news is that I feel I am making permanent lifestyle changes that I can live with for the rest of my life.
Do I get tired of journaling? Sure, but I do it because otherwise I am wily and try to fool myself. That doesn't work. Do I get tired of cooking and preparing as much as I am doing right now? Sure, but the food's good and I am satisfied most of the time. Do I get upset when I have perfect weeks and gain weight? Sure, but I'm human and luckily the weight does come off again and I keep on chipping away at the large amount I still need to lose. Am I sad that I didn't start sooner? Sure, but when I started before, I didn't make the program work for me. This time I am successful and I'm losing weight.
I didn't mean to take this much space. What I meant to do is to say that had I known I wouldn't average a pound a week I might not even started. That would have been a shame. So--what are YOU glad about starting WW for?

235/207/slimmer

[L144S]

I am glad I started ww because it has taken me on to a road of self dicovery.......

I am the preson in charge of my life.....

I make the choices........

I am responsible for me........

[BigFatBooty]

Itryharder

i rejoined for the 3rd (and final time) and have to admit that although it is slow - approx 1lb a week - it's coming off.

This time round I feel I have become more focused and whereas if I gain, I just get back in the saddle. Last time - I stopped the program because I was so discouraged on being good all week and then having nothing to show for it.

I decided that this time it was up to me and I needed to be selfish to myself to reach my goal. I have about 70lbs to take off, but am looking at 7lb targets, so as not to become too daunted by the task ahead.

I found this site from a reference in the UK WW site and have been coming here about 3 weeks. I have found so many useful tips both here and in the chatroom. It's nice to know that at anytime I can get some support and encouragement.

My only 2 regrets - that I let the weight gain get so high! and that it has taken my 3rd attempt at WW to get my head round the problem. But hey, I never said I was perfect.

[KathM]

ItryHarder: You and I must have joined WW around the same time. I joined aboiut a year ago and I started out around the same weight as you. I had tried all sorts of diets in the past and had been successful on some but always gained it back and more. You are right it is a great program and the amount lost is an individual thing. I can say that I too have made significant changes in my eating and lifestyle and now have habits that I am sure that I will keep for the rest of my life. When I started I was sure that I would be at my goal long ago but I now realize that I was not being realistic and I recognize that the longer it takes the more rooted in my new lifestyle I will be. What I am thankful to WW for is that it enabled me to change my life around and focus on eating better and developing habits that I will keep forever.

I think that this weekend I will celebrate being one year on program which it is a very important milestone: a year since I changed my life around.

Kathy
(239.5/169.5/155)

[Lauren H]

ITryHarder, what a great thread. And you put it so elegantly.

I hadn't been on WW before, but I'd tried other weight loss programs. And I'd been "successful," too -- lost over 100 pounds on the draconian Diet Center program. You couldn't eat bread, only up to 6 tiny crackers a day; no carrots or tomatoes because they were too high in sugar, etc. Just awful. But boy, did I lose the weight.

And boy, did I gain it all back plus more. Because unlike WW123, Diet Center only taught me how to diet; it never taught me how to EAT. And frankly, even if it had, I wouldn't have listened. I thought a diet was what you did to get the weight off, just a short, painful interlude before you could go back to eating the way you wanted.

Wrong.

I joined WW 2.75 years ago (it'll be 3 in June). I lost weight at a good clip initially, then it slowed and I lost heart. Went off the program for about 6 months and found out how easy it was to put back on 16 pounds. Caught myself, turned around, and lost the 16 -- plus another 5. That has NEVER happened to me before -- stopping a gain before it gets out of hand. I credit it to two things: 1. I'm smarter than I used to be, and 2. This is a great program and easy to stick to (and go back on).

WW123 is teaching me, step by painful step, how to eat all things in moderation. In other words, it's teaching me how to live with food in the real world. I can't say enough about how glad I am to be doing this at last.

I'm not going for the power weight loss anymore, losing 100 pounds in less than a year. (Yikes!) I'm content to be a turtle, learning as I go -- and KEEPING IT OFF, too.

--Lauren
(274/215/down)