My Five Month WWversity

Many people of a "certain age" (and my age has two "sixes" in it, so I certainly qualify) struggle with weight.  I am no exception.


In November of 2012, after a lot of agonizing, I joined  Weight Watchers,which, last year, changed its name to "WW".  I was overweight, on the verge of obesity, and suffering from a number of weight related issues when I signed up. 

I have a lot to thank Weight Watchers/WW for.  Their program taught me how to eat, the basics of portion control, and the need to journal your weight journey.  I learned I was a good person and deserved good health.   I learned that learning to eat correctly is a lifetime commitment when you have a weight issue..  Their weekly meetings gave me encouragement.  If I slipped up, I knew I could get back on track.  And, when the at-work meeting I went to was discontinued, I continued to lose weight using the website and app.  It took a year, but I met my goal.  I lost 43 pounds and dropped four dress sizes.   Macy's and Kohl's must have cheered me on.

Of course, all this costs money. For that payment, you get support - as much as you need.  Meetings (which, if you have a good group leader, are wonderful).  Weekly (private) weigh ins.  Apps.  Websites.  Tools.  In my case, once my at work program ceased to exist (not enough participation) I continued to subscribe to the website and iPhone app, and met my weight goal.

In October of 2015, billionaire entertainer, businesswoman and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey took a 10% stake in Weight Watchers, joined the Board of Directors and became a consultant.  If you have heard of Oprah, you know she has struggled with weight a lot of her life - gaining, losing, gaining, losing, with her public watching intently.  I give her a lot of credit for making her weight journey public.

Right after that, Weight Watchers had one of their periodic reboots.  Every several years, they change their program.  Existing members must decide if they want to continue what has worked for them, or embraced the new program.  For me and others I've read, the rollout was uneven.  Seeing Oprah's face on what seemed to be every issue of the Weight Watchers magazine was a turnoff.  I don't buy things just because a celebrity endorses them.

The "opportunity" to participate (with other members) in a phone call with Oprah was the last straw. 

In January of 2016 I quit Weight Watchers.

Surprise.  The weight came creeping back.  Not all of it, but almost 20 pounds worth.  I was back to being considered pre-diabetic.  My right knee hurt, as did my wardrobe. 

Enough was enough.  I was a caregiver for my elderly mother in law, who, by then, was in a nursing home with multiple health issues, and I was not taking care of myself.  Stress eating was taking its toll.

So, in September of 2018, I swallowed my pride and rejoined what is now WW.

Today, I reached the "lost 10 pounds" mark.  Yes, it took that long. I've seesawed up and down, but my direction has been "down".  I am starting to fit into clothes that I haven't fit into for two or three years.  Call it a happy"WWversity" almost at my five month mark.

But the happy news is that my blood sugar readings are within normal limits again.  My Dad was diabetic (and was never overweight, for whatever that is worth) and I've seen firsthand what diabetes can do.  A cousin of my spouse's had diabetes and I know it contributed to his declining health and somewhat unexpected death in December.

So, today, I do have something to celebrate, although the At Work program may be ending for me in March.  But I know I can do it on my own because I did it in 2013.

Now, the challenge will be, once again, to keep it off.

Healthy Super Bowl!

For those of my readers not in the United States, a brief explanation.  Super Bowl Sunday (today) is the final, championship game of our football (meaning American football, not football meaning soccer -oh, never mind) season. People gather to drink lots of beer, eat lots of snacks, gorge on mass quantities of fried chicken wings with caloric sauces, and watch commercials that cost millions of dollars.  And, somewhere in there, there is a sports match and a half time show featuring celebrity singers.

"Healthy" and "Super Bowl" normally do not go together. And, if you aren't careful, "delicious" and "healthy" variations of high fat items do not go together, either.

The first time we tried to make healthy snacks, it was New Years Eve, 2012, I was new to Weight Watchers and much of the food my spouse made was inedible.  Dry. Tasteless  Ugh. We decided that, in the future, we would not try to do "healthy" makeovers of fatty food, but rather, forge our own trail.  I've repeated this post several times, updating it each year, so here goes:

So, we have (no pun intended) lightened up a bit.  It's a splurge day.

We will have guacamole, although we won't make it in this device.  It is so simple - peel ripe avocadoes, mash (we like ours a little chunky), add chopped sweet pepper (orange, yellow, red), garlic, scallions, a little salt, a touch of homemade ground chili pepper (my spouse's own secret mix, so I can't tell you) and a touch of lime juice. Just don't eat too much.  Easier said than done.

We serve with chips, one of our splurges.  Or, make your own baked ones - take fresh corn tortillas, cut into triangles (pizza cutter works great for this), spread on cookie sheet, bake at 400 degrees F until they start to turn light brown.  (Celsius folks, you are on your own-sorry.)

Salsa makes a wonderful dip and is point free. It's so easy to make, too, if you have good fresh tomatoes available. If not, use canned dice tomatoes (preferably fire roasted diced tomatoes).  Simply chop up ripe fresh tomatoes or use the canned ones, combine with chopped pepper and onions, season with cilantro, lime juice, salt to taste, jalapenos if you like it spicy.  Or, buy it pre-made in the refrigerated section of your market.

We don't bother with low fat versions of high fat dips - we are not fans of fat free mayonnaise or fat free sour cream.  You can substitute fat free Greek yogurt with a touch of lime juice (for zing) for sour cream, and on the current WW program (what Weight Watchers is called now), fat free plain Greek yogurt and beans are point free.  An easy dip can be made with the fat free yogurt, a can of black beans, some cilantro, salsa, just blending it to consistency.  Add jalapenos for spice.

We also plan to make turkey chili - chicken and turkey breast are also point free on the current program.  Sadly, avocadoes still have points (SmartPoints, in the current system).

I don't think I'll even miss the fried, gloppy wings.  My pocketbook will thank us, too.



Do you make your own snacks?