I am a WW lifetime member, made goal in '08 and kept it off for about 5 yrs. At present, I am approx 11 lbs over my goal weight. I can't seem to push myself to go back to a meeting and HAVE to embrace the new plan in which sweets are so costly. I love sweets :'( I'm also struggling with going back to feeling deprived. I still do many of the things that aided me in losing weight but obviously, I'm out of control enough to have gained some back. I'm feeling lousy about my current weight, embarrassed that I didn't keep it off yet none of those things must be extreme enough for me to go back to feeling deprived. Any strong words of wisdom out there???

Signed,
Tired of feeling hungry when losing weight yet tired of being fat!

I am a WW lifetime member. When I got to over my goal weight (by about 5 pounds) I didn't go back because I was sort of embarrassed about it and felt like a failure, etc. Well, I regained more than I started with and had to make multiple attempts to go back and now I'm back at goals (a higher goal now but within my range).

If there is a firm thing I believe in, it is that I do better when I go back if I am over my goal weight. I am sure that many people would say you could use lose that 11 pounds on your own. I know that for me I do better with the meeting structure. End of story.

Now as for the deprivation thing. Smart Point is an adjustment for sure. I have written a lot about it on my blog and how to transition to it and one of my most popular posts was on what to do if you hate SmartPoints. The main thing I encourage is to give it a chance of several weeks.

For many people it is an adjustment. But, honestly, I don't feel deprived on SmartPoints at all. Part of that is that I have changed how I eat. yes, I still like some sweet things but I manage them differently?

Chocolate -- A really small square of dark chocolate a few times a week (60 calories or so)

An enlightened fudge bar -- this is a low sugar frozen bar and is 2 SP. I can one of these a day if I want

Kay's Natural Protein Snacks -- Cinnamon pretzel sticks and Cinnamon Almond Cookie Bites -- a bag of either is 3 SP. They have some sweetness but are high protein so that mitigates the points.

I avoid buying things like cookies for the house. I can't handle the portion control on that. Or big things of ice or candy same thing. But, today, I had Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt after lunch with some candy mix-ins. The key there is I weigh each part of it carefully as I go along and I only do this once every month or two.

Eating higher protein foods will help. They are a points bargain. 3 ounces of boneless skinless chicken breast is 1 SP. So is tuna.

Believe me, I have snacks every day. I also have some things that have some sweetness but aren't bad on points. For breakfast I often have a Quest chocolate chip cookie dough bar. It is only 4 SP because it has a lot of protein.

And, many snacks are low points or no points (blackberries are a favorite and are zero point).

Basically what I am saying is that this can be done without feeling deprived.

Also, don't be afraid to eat some of your Fitpoints. You have to earn 3 of them in a day before you can eat the extras. I find that works for me really well. (I personally switch FitPoints before weekly points, but that is a personal choice).

The best way to learn how to manage without depriving yourself is to get in there and start working the program to see what works for you.

If you feel deprived then change what you are doing until you don't feel that way. Of course, you have to have a deficit to lose weight, but it is possible to find a way to do this without feeling miserable.