I am a Brit living in Louisiana, I met my now husband in July 1998 playing text adventures online. In Sept 2002 I moved to the States to get married. I am a gamer, a geek, a pet (furry and scaley) lover, a book lover (fantasy and sci-fi) and just lately a health nut.Weight Watchers
Posted by Morkai on February 17, 2009
Well after my last small rant at life and myself dearest Pa came up with a suggestion, Weight Watchers.
My initial instinct was pfft, done that (many many years ago) bunch of crap, nasty processed foods, counting points ocd eek, but I heard him out and figured what the hell. 
This might potentially be the best thing I did. The points thing is not triggering my OCD. I don’t have to weigh every single blasted lettuce leaf, just my non-veggies. Nothing is banned. Now with that said most of the elite nutrition systems poo poo WW because they don’t teach good nutrition. If you want to spend all your points on 100 calorie snack packs in a day you can.
And yeah I have seen a good chunk of that in the message board etc but you don’t have to eat that way. And even WW is now teaching ‘healthy guidelines’ which include plenty of water, fruits and veggies, lean proteins and healthy fats.. sound familiar?
I am applying all the healthy nutritious eating I have learned within the points structure and so far its working. Even with valentines day which included a trip to a japanese steakhouse and the ice cream parlour after I lost weight. I weighed in 2lbs down this morning which is fantastic. I am over the moon.
Granted I got in my 5 full days of workouts last week which probably helped a lot but it really showed me what I can do when I put my mind to it.
Speaking of which, Beth Rocks Friday night was a full hours session and she put me through the wringer I’ll leave that for another post but I felt real good this weekend that this plan works, I can see it will work, I just have to stick to it. And on that score my beloved husband has decided I am going to stick to the plan 100% for 6 months and he is going to help me. I believe this currently involves unlimited tickling (which I hate) when I go over my points. And kicking me out of bed early to get extra workouts in to make up for the points.
I’m think I’m either going to be in awesome shape or divorced in 6 months
Cynthia said
Keep us posted. I personally have never gotten along with the points thing. I tried WW in the past, but didn’t like it. However, I have NOT ever tried the online WW version. Perhaps that is better.
Morkai said
It’s definitely better than the meetings I attended back when I was 16 or so. I think that was pre-points system.
It feels a whole lot easier than counting cals for me, when it comes down to it it really isn’t that much different although the points are not a direct conversion. Fibre is taken into acct up to a point. So two 140 cal food items are not the same if one has fibre and the other doesn’t. They do have a cap on it though so 2 items do not always add up to twice the points of 1. makes the brain hurt a little if you try to work out what they are doing but for now I am just trusting in the system.
The novelty is enough to keep me going for a while if nothing else
blubberbegone said
Hey Morkai – a blast from the past. Just came across your comment on Cyn’s blog and thought I’d drop you a line. In the UK, WW has two plans – count and core, or something like that – I haven’t been for over a year, but basically core gives you unlimited amounts of wholesome foods (so it kind of does teach you about nutrition, or at least healthy eating) and you only use your points for treats that aren’t included in the list (21 points a week total). Also, the newest thing is the Discover plan which teaches you about eating ‘filling foods’, ie. with low energy density and high nutrient density. So while they don’t use the lingo, the modern WW does teach about healthy eating. Is it different in the States?
Angie
Morkai said
Heya Angie, good to ’see’ you again, I’ll have to catch up on your blog
They combined the two plans into the new Momentum plan but yeah pretty much the same. The whole filling foods thing does not work for me, thats basically what I have been attempting up until now but I have a dimensional pocket for a stomach and can eat way more than I should without feeling stuffed. So I am counting points.
I was going to post a bit more about that as yes I do feel WW is getting a somewhat undeserved rap in some places now that I am actually reading everything. I was a tad distracted while typing and got cut short a bit and forgot to add the extra thoughts. The newest plan (which from what I can see is maybe this years plan) seems pretty well thought out for general living. Not for an athelete maybe but for your average american who is staying fit and wants to eat well there is a lot of good info.
I like the freedom to build in indulgences without it feeling like I am going off plan. I like not having to worry about every calorie or planning perfect macro’s. I like that I can fit it around me and that along as my points add up I can eat 3 meals or 6 meals, however I think it’ll work that day.
I keep meaning to add some stuff up to figure exactly what sort of calorie range it has me at just out of interest’s sake but so far I have been feeling good and training good on the daily points. We’ll see how the next couple of weeks go.
blubberbegone said
I heard a story that in the really old days, if you had put weight on you had to wear a pig mask. True?
Morkai said
Oh gracious.. I think I would have been out so fast I would have been a blur if that was the case. Definitely was not so in the UK when I was 16. Maybe a USA thing.
Humiliation at the hands of my spouse in private is one thing, to sit through a meeting full of strangers wearing a pig mask is just horrible. I think that would be psychologically damaging. I was saying to hubby earlier that it can’t just be about punishment, working towards a healthy body is one thing by in between non-food rewards are also important. I think I might make mine a massage for every 2 months I stay on plan, something like that – maybe monthly if it’s not too expensive
blubberbegone said
Sounds good to me. Certainly WW these days has come a long way.
Cynthia said
I don’t believe the story about the pig mask… if it happened, it may have been an isolated meeting or something like that. My mother was in WW back in the 1970s, possibly earlier, I just don’t remember that well. She did make her goal, I know that. I also know they did have some foods you were supposed to eat, like liver… yuck! But Mom became a WW leader at one point and while I helped her with some props and stuff sometimes for her meetings, a pig mask was not one of them. Nor did she ever mention having to wear one.
I know they have points and core… but I suspect I’d have trouble on core, because I can quite easily overeat healthy foods. Even filling foods.
Anyway, I did work out a meal plan today after reading your comment, Morkai and so far, so good. Except part of me is thinking it would be lovely to go out and stuff myself at McDs… as I have a coupon. I have not done it… but the itch is there. I’m probably starting to jones for carbs. Gray skies and carbs seem to go together.