and I have a problem.
Welcome, Tammi!
I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting tonight.
I did not go quietly. I was complaining and whining the whole way. I was tired after work, which didn’t help me deal with my fear of the unknown. I was afraid I would be told I had to drink soy milk and eat fake cheese. I was afraid I would be confronted with judgemental stares. But most of all, I was afraid I would fail. Fail? you ask. How can you fail before you even try? I don’t know. But fear does that to you, makes you afraid of unreal things. So, I was afraid of letting my friend down (WW was her idea), I was afraid I would have to say good-bye forever to chocolate, and I was afraid I would fail myself.
But, I actually felt empowered after my first meeting. I know I made the right move going there. I am dealing with an addiction to food. I use food for more than sustaining my life, and I know it. I’ve always known it. In the past, I have had short-lived periods of success dealing with my addiction. One thing that I didn’t have during those periods of success was a meeting. After going to this Weight Watchers meeting I realized there are some similarities to an AA meeting, and rightly so, for me. So, maybe WW is my equivalent to AA. Maybe this time will be a life-long success.
The first thing I learned, to my relief, is that WW celebrates little goals first. When you are 90 lbs overweight, the task of losing all of that weight can seem insurmountable; it is very discouraging. But, the WW program does not look at the elephant in the room. Rather, it focuses on the first bite. For me, the first bite was going to the meeting. So I celebrate that I took a step in the right direction. My next goal is 5% of my body weight. I think I can do this.
Next, I learned about the points system. This was another huge relief. I have never been good at simultaneously counting calories, tracking fat grams, and journaling every bite I take. In any other area of my life, I am a World Class Multi-tasker, but put me on a diet and I develop dyslexia, amnesia, and writer’s block all at once. (Not to mention and insatiable hunger for chocolate!) But this point system is kind of easy. I write down the food I eat, I look up the assigned point value (I’m pretty sure I’ll quickly memorize some frequently consumed point values) and subtract it from my daily allowance – kind of like an expense account. I only deal with simple math. I think I can do this.
And, the best part, was learning that I have bonus points, just in case I get caught in a situation where eating right isn’t possible. The bonus points allow me to blow it once in a while. (That’s why I don’t have to say good-bye to chocolate!) Plus, I can earn points by walking my dog around the block. I think I can do this.
Hi, my name is Tammi, and I don’t think I’m going to have a problem doing this.
