I'm a lifetime Weight Watchers member. That means I've lost weight (35 pounds in 2010) and have
maintained that loss. I continue to attend meetings not only because I need to weigh in monthly to keep my lifetime status, but also because I love them. I'm a huge Weight Watchers advocate. Yes, the program teaches members how to eat right and adopt a healthy lifestyle. But the program is so much more.
Weight Watchers recognizes that all the willpower in the world won't help in some situations--like if you didn't have a filling lunch, no snacks, and come home with no healthy food in the house and start devouring whatever unhealthy food is in sight. They teach you routines and tools to deal with those situations, like planning meals, always having healthy snacks on hand, and eating filling lunches.
The program also offers a powerful support network. At the meetings we share restaurant reviews, tips on food and recipes, and suggestions about what's helped each of us. Even though I'm vegan and very active so I'm very different from most members, I get something out of every meeting.
This week's topic introduced a new routine for members to try this month: Walk five minutes every hour. The goal is to get people who live sedentary lives to start being active. Obviously, this isn't something I need to work on. But what I got out of this week's meeting was pride. I mentioned in a previous post how it's sometimes hard to not judge myself against how fast other runners are. I am slow, and sometimes I get very frustrated being slow, especially when I read about others' marathon pace being my fastest interval pace. But when I compare myself to those who do no activity and whose goal is to just walk for five minutes at a time, I'm proud of where I've come--from never being able to run to now running regularly with two half-marathons under my belt. Like weight loss, running is an individual journey, and I need to remember that.
Here's a good article from Runner's World on how runners and those successful at losing weight are similar.
Labels: weight loss