This post is sponsored by Weight Watchers. I am beyond thrilled to work with a company I absolutely love!
Hi, I’m Mique. And I have had an issue with my weight for most of my adult life. I’ve talked on and off about it over the years here on 30days. But I’m here to get real with you today and lay it all out there as to the where, why and how of it. Why I decided to join Weight Watchers.
When I was in elementary school the kids called me “Ethiopia.” It was meant to make fun of me for being too thin. But it was horrible for all different reasons. As a little girl I was on the thinner side and shorter side. And then the summer between sixth and seventh grade happened. I came into junior high having “developed.” It was quite a change to go from being thin to being top heavy. I didn’t really know what to expect when puberty hit. It could’ve gone either way as I have genes all over the place – some shorter, heavier relatives on one side of the family, tall and thin on the other side of my family.
By the time I began high school I was pretty average. Yet somehow I was self-conscious of my appearance. What I would give now to be “average” like I was in those days. Minus the hair. That is another conversation for another day. I went off to my dream college not really knowing too much about how to cook. My mom had prepared a well-balanced dinner and gave us healthy options all throughout my life. But here I was in college, eating in a cafeteria or out with friends for every single meal. By the time I had an apartment my cooking skills were not much better as all I knew how to make was bow tie pasta and baked potatoes. I didn’t even really know how to boil the pasta and can remember being nervous about doing it wrong. Oy!
It’s been quite a few years since I left my house and have been on my own, now raising my own family. I won’t bore you with those details. But I will say that my adult life has been one filled with challenges. Having a child with autism at the ripe old age of 22, losing my dad to cancer, dealing with depression and anxiety to name a few. You know what the one thing I turned to again and again in all of those situations? You guessed it, food. I’ve never had alcohol, don’t drink coffee, but a Cherry Coke sure tasted good on a really hard day. It’s been a lot of years of drinking Cherry Coke on a bad day.
Somehow that little girl they used to call “Ethiopia” is now grown up, and no longer fits that name. I’ve tried several things over the years to get on track – crazy diets, all different kinds of exercise. Because I have an “all or nothing” personality or mentality, I usually am ALL IN or ALL OUT. I can do an extreme diet of tilapia, sweet potatoes and cottage cheese for a month and lose 15 lbs. But then never ever want to see any of those things ever again. Yes I really did that. I’ve done Crossfit, trained for a half marathon, did a sprint triathlon, took a hip hop class, joined a few different gyms and went to a fitness camp. I’d “be good” and then gain all that weight back and feel awful all over again.
I have known for a while that I needed to make a lifestyle change – a real one – but didn’t want to give up my love of chili cheese fries at the baseball field. I’ve had high blood pressure for a lot of my adulthood (which I come by genetically – both my parents had it) but then I recently had some other health issues that I knew could be helped by carrying around less weight.
The one thing that I have never tried over the years is Weight Watchers. I don’t really know why. Maybe because I knew a lot of people who were doing it and I didn’t want to just be jumping on the bandwagon. Ummm… that was dumb. And now I’m kicking myself for not joining Weight Watchers sooner. I signed up a couple weeks ago and really started reading, finding recipes online, using the app and following some inspiring people.
The basics:
Based on your height, weight and goals, you get a number of Smart Points to use every day. Everything you eat has a point value. There are 200 zero Point foods on the new WW Freestyle program. That’s a ton!! You can do Weight Watchers two ways. If you’re looking for that in-person support there are weekly meetings that you can go to to help with accountability, weigh in and get some encouragement. Or if meetings aren’t for you and you prefer to go at it online, they have an online only program also. You live your life and work your food into it.
It’s been a couple weeks and I am feeling so much better. I’m sleeping better, eating better, my skin feels softer and I’m not cranky. Josh said that this is the first time that he isn’t feeling like I’m struggling with a “diet.” That’s because it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle. There is no food that is off limits. Which is amazing! It is so natural and while it isn’t “easy” (eating chili cheese fries and drinking Cherry Coke would be much easier), it is totally doable.
Instead of having big elaborate goals at the start of this journey and getting completely overwhelmed, I decided I would make it very simple. I have 3 main things that I want to accomplish.
GOALS:
- Drink more water daily.
- Move more.
- Lose 30 lbs.
What I’m currently loving:
- Over 200 ZERO Points foods on the new WW Freestyle program
If I’m feeling hungry but not wanting to use a lot of points I grab an apple, some cherry tomatoes, scramble some eggs or eat some baked chicken. There is A TON on that list. - The Weight Watchers app.
It’s so easy to use and doesn’t make me feel overwhelmed. I can scan barcodes at the store, look up restaurants, etc. - That I’m not obsessing over every little thing but feeling really good overall. And I’m mostly feeling very full and well fed.
I’m writing this because I have found several other posts that have really encouraged me. I don’t relate to people who want to eat kale chips and sweet potatoes naturally and just work out nonstop. That is not me. I have struggled. I have lost confidence. I have felt embarrassed. And while everything else was going well in my life and most would consider me successful, I still felt ashamed. I hope that as I go through this and share the highs (and probably some lows), that maybe I can encourage others to join me. I know that Weight Watchers is more than just a weight loss program. It’s a healthy lifestyle program- to help me live an overall balanced lifestyle (because I need balance in every possible aspect of my life, but especially this!).
Other Weight Watcher Posts
If you love this Weight Watchers post, you’re going to love these other Weight Watcher posts. Please click each link below to find the information:
- How I really feel on Weight Watchers
- Favorite Weight Watcher Recipes
- Weight Watcher Snacks
- Things that Will Help You on your Weight Watcher Journey
If you’ve done Weight Watchers and have tips/tricks/ideas for me, leave me a comment! I’d love to hear what has worked for you. I’m so excited to share my experience with you over the next few months!
Candy says
I joined WW in October. I’m down 7 pounds. I do it all on the app. I need to move more but when it’s 8* out with negative windchill and I live in a small town with nowhere to walk indoors that just sucks. I hope I can Connect with you on the app. Good luck! My favorite tip so far is put berries in the bottom of your cereal bowl with cinnamon Life looks like more.
Elizabeth at Reserved for Running says
I just recently found your blog and this post really speaks to me. I too, was very underweight as a child and then when I hit puberty, I swung the other direction and was heavy for most of my life. I tried WW in my early twenties and I liked it a lot. I didn’t feel like I was a crazy calorie counter. I was more aware of calories, but it really helped me balance what I ate throughout the day and how to make healthy adjustments. Those are skills you keep forever whether you are on the program or not.
I hope you like the program and it gives you the tools you need to reach your goals.
Laurie Agnello says
I can’t believe I found your post!!! I had lost alot of weight on a low carb diet about 2 years ago and kept it off until I had to have an aortic valve replacement which for me was open heart surgery on November 1…I am doing well but I am eating everything in sight.I was thinking about WW but wasnt sure.I am excited to go to a meeting and start…Thank you for the positive report…Good luck