Weight Watchers: Questions Answered

I've gotten a lot of questions lately about Weight Watchers and its methods from some friends, so I thought I would explain for my many followers my loyal readers my mom, who actually reads my blog.

Why did you decide to start Weight Watchers
Over New Year's, Mitch and I went to Dallas to visit some friends and attend the Cotton Bowl. We had an absolute blast, going out to eat and shopping and hanging out. But I had a few revelations on that trip. 1. I went shopping for dress pants and realized that although I kept grabbing my normal size of pants, none of them were fitting. Oh crap. 2. I realized that my favorite jeans had a whole in the inner thigh area where my legs had rubbed the fabric down. Oh snap.

I realized at that moment that I had had enough. I would no longer accept the slow accumulation of weight that had been sneaking up on me since our wedding (hello, 20 lbs!) The next week, I signed up for Weight Watchers online.

So, what can you actually eat?
Well, really I can eat whatever I want. I could eat a stick of butter if I wanted. The reality of the WW system is that you learn to equate a point value to each serving of a food. The points are calculated from calories, fat and fiber. So, when you look at that macaroni and cheese, you realize that 1 cup of it is worth 8 points. When you look at a cup of grapes, you see 1 point. WW is all about choosing what you would rather spend your daily allotment of points on. (That stick of butter, by the way? 24 points.)

How many points do you get in a day?
I get 22 right now. There are a lot of variables to calculate your points, including activity level, age and gender. We should not even talk about how unfair it is that men get 6 points per day more than women just because they're guys.

Is it hard? Is it working?
For me, it's not hard. I know that losing weight is important to me, so I take it seriously. Mitch is also losing weight, so we've just made a lifestyle switch. The great thing is that we eat at home nearly every single meal now. It's just so much easier than trying to guess what they cooked your food in.

And is it working? Heck yes. In 5 weeks, I've lost 8.6 pounds. My clothes that were tight are fitting well or loosely. I have more energy, more money from not eating out and more pride in myself for a job well done. My ultimate goal is to wear the bikini I bought for our honeymoon this summer on a trip for our 2nd anniversary. (It's still new, since we ended up in Alaska for our honeymoon.) 14 pounds to go.


Thanksgiving 2009. Goodbye, belly! Note, not even a 140-pound Doberman makes my belly look any smaller. And hi Mom!


January 2008, 140 pounds. This is more like it!