Mar 22 2010
Why I Love WeightWatchers But Would Never Go Back
I used to look like this. Not anymore.
Nothing makes me happier than helping someone discover real food. Not only does their health physically transform, but they learn about a world of tastes and flavors that can be truly life changing.
My friend E began her healthstyle upgrade at the beginning of 2010, and I’m delighted that she agreed to share her story with Summer Tomato readers.
E. Foley is a geek girl extraordinaire. She writes amazing online dating profiles for geeks and non-geeks, helping clients all over the world find love. Her writing can be found at Examiner.com, Dating Sites Reviews, and elsewhere as a ghostwriter. By day, she is the Copywriter at ThinkGeek.
Follow her @geeksdreamgirl on Twitter.
Dating profiles for geeks = http://geeksdreamgirl.com
Non-geeks = http://onlinedatingprofiler.com
Why I Love WeightWatchers But Would Never Go Back
By E. Foley
My name is E and in 2003, I became a Lifetime Member of WeightWatchers after losing nearly 50 pounds and reaching my goal weight of 145.
Fast-forward to 2010, and I now weigh over 230 pounds. I’m 5’7″.
I gained back every pound I lost on WeightWatchers and then some. I did try to lose it. Over and over and over again I rejoined WeightWatchers and lost a handful of pounds before slipping back into bad habits and regaining them.
There is so much I love about the WeightWatchers program, but in the end, it’s Darya’s Healthstyle that has been the best choice for me.
Things I Loved About WeightWatchers
Weekly accountability
Knowing that I had to step on the scale in front of a staff member every Saturday motivated me to stay on track.
Group support
It may sound dumb, but it really felt good to have the group applaud for me when I had a good week. Knowing they’d be there to support me on a bad week was also comforting.
Balanced nutrition
I’ll get into this more later, but the WeightWatchers program, if followed to the letter, is nutritionally sound.
Role models
All the staff members are Lifetime Members, and there are always a few Lifetime Members who attend weekly meetings.
Things to ponder
Every meeting gave me something to think about, a food or recipe I wanted to try, or a warm fuzzy feeling that propelled me into the week.
Reasons Why I Can’t Go Back to WeightWatchers
Gaming the System
When I achieved Lifetime status, it was on the Flex plan. This plan allows you a certain budget of Points per day which you can spend on various types of food. The Points value of the food depends on its calories, fat, and fiber. Many vegetables are zero points, which you’d think would encourage their consumption. Not so. When I reached my goal weight, I was burning calories like mad at a gym. Some days I did two cardio classes in a row and then yoga or Pilates. This allowed me to earn Activity Points which I then spent on those tasty (but sugary!) Milk & Cereal bars that are anything but healthy.
When I regained the weight and went back to WeightWatchers, I jumped back into the same Flex program. The game for me was figuring out how to play the numbers so they added up on paper to the magic number. It got to the point where I could be “perfect” on paper but not lose a single pound.
Frustrated, I’d quit.
WeightWatchers’ Attempt at Healthstyle Fails
Later, WeightWatchers rolled out the Core program and I saw success again. Core allowed members to eat lean meats, fat-free dairy, fruits and vegetables “until satisfied.” A weekly Points budget allowed eating things that weren’t Core (namely carbs, sugars, and fats). Also included on the “free to eat” list was your daily serving of heart-healthy oils.
But Core wasn’t popular among the WeightWatchers membership. In my meetings, I’d often be the only person in the room on Core, so advice in the meeting was tailored toward Flex members. Sometimes I’d get lucky and have a leader who was on Core, but not always. Even though I was losing weight regularly on Core, the lack of support for the program made going to meetings not as helpful or motivating. WeightWatchers finally eliminated the Core program, going back to a One-Plan-Fits-All mentality.
Eat Healthy OR Filling
Remember how I said that the plan is nutritionally sound if followed to the letter? The problem with WeightWatchers is that as long as you lose weight, no one questions what you’re eating. I wish I still had my food journals from those days, because I can tell you I went full weeks without consuming a vegetable or fruit.
In the meetings, the leader would talk about getting your heart healthy oil in every day, and inevitably, someone would complain about having to “waste Points” on olive oil, when they could just use a few spritzes of aerosol cooking spray instead. When you’re working with 20 points per day (which is what I was eating when I was close to my goal weight), it does seem like a waste to use 4 of those points for a tablespoon of olive oil. Especially when 4 points could be spent on bread or meat or cheese. Or a Milk & Cereal bar.
Diet For Life?
My biggest problem with WeightWatchers is that it never felt like a way to eat for the rest of my life. Maybe it did for a while, but once hard times hit, I didn’t have the incentive to stick to my guns and eat healthy, mainly because what I ate when I was on program wasn’t all that tasty. (WeightWatchers has tons of recipe books, but all the recipes are pretty bland and uninspired.)
Finding Darya Was The Best Thing That Happened To Me
Dr. Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating, says that “the best diet is the one you don’t know you’re on.” This is exactly how I feel about my new healthstyle.
I don’t feel stressed out about food.
I don’t feel deprived of things I want to eat.
I don’t look forward to the day I get to “eat normal” again.
I don’t feel like the way I am eating is a ball and chain.
I don’t eat food that doesn’t taste delicious.
My Healthstyle
Breakfast: Every other Sunday, I make a giant batch of breakfast hot pockets from scratch. I have played with the dough recipe a bit to decrease the white flour down to 5 cups white, 3.5 cups wheat, 1.5 cups almond meal. Since my boyfriend is vegetarian, we use the sausage substitute. They freeze well and reheat in the microwave in 95 seconds. I love them because I am not a morning person, so I wake up as late as possible and eat on my drive to the gym.
Exercise: I am blessed to have a work schedule that allows me to work out from 8:30-9:45 a.m. just about every day. I do miss the gym from time to time, but I’m there more days than I’m not, which is a great start!
Lunch: I love salad bars, but they’re so expensive. So I started up a Salad Club at my work! We have anywhere from 4 to 6 people who participate each week, pitching in various veggies and fruits and toppings and dressings. If you’re curious, follow me on Twitter and you can see a picture of my Salad Club every weekday. When I’m lunching at home, it’s usually kale with toasted nuts and garlic and whatever leftover grain I have in the fridge.
Snacks: Back in my WeightWatchers days, I avoided nuts. Too high in calories, too high in fat, too many Points! Now, I have a variety of nuts on my desk at work and usually eat an ounce or two of nuts every day. They really help bridge the gap between meals and prevent me from snacking on the junk food in the office kitchen.
Dinner: I make all sorts of great things for dinners now. We still have our old standbys (vegetarian tacos & Annie’s mac n’ cheese), but more often than not, I’m surfing the internet for recipes after buying whatever looks good in the store (Sadly, being on the East Coast makes the farmers market thing a little less feasible in the winter. But spring is almost here!!). I think my favorite so far is the stuffed portobello mushrooms (pictured here).
The Bottom Line
I don’t feel like this is a diet. I feel like I’m eating better and tastier foods than I have in my whole life. I’ve eaten more nuts and olive oil in the past 3 months than I have in 3 years. But I’m losing at a steady rate of about a 1/2 pound per week. No, it’s not fast or impressive. But I’m eating amazing food, I’m never hungry (for long!), and I’m not killing myself at the gym to do it. If it takes me 3 years to get down to 140-150 again, that’s fine by me. The weight loss is just a pleasant side effect of my healthstyle, and I have Darya to thank for all her advice and personal coaching.
If you’ve been lurking on the blog and wondering about working with Darya to get your healthstyle on, take the step and do it. I feel so much better and the weight is melting off while I’m eating the most delicious food of my life. You can do it, too.
What is your healthstyle?
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Tags: diets, Geek's Dream Girl, Weight Loss, WeightWatchers
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I get that WW is a good plan, but I find it awfully misleading that they market themselves in a way that implies (implicitely) that they’re not a ‘diet’. If I have to track every thing that enters my mouth, calculate points for activities, etc., it’s a diet or a diet plan.
I think I lost the same 10-15 pounds on WW every other year and always, ALWAYS gained it back as soon as I wasn’t monitoring every food/exercise move I made.
I finally came to the conclusion that the only thing that was going to work for me was moderation in everything–food, drink, exercise. And it’s worked. I’ve lost 25 pounds since October.* I make it to the gym 3-6 times a week, depending no my work schedule. When I have time to cook, I cook well-rounded healthy foods that leave me enough for left overs or freezeables for crunch times. Sure, I occasionally hit Taco Bell for some Taco Frescos, but at 150 calories each, I don’t feel too guilty about it!
I think WW is great for someone who doesn’t understand the nutritional values of foods or how to moderate eating, but once a person gets into the swing of things, it can easily become an excuse (as J mentioned) to cover your points but not worry about the value of those points.
*I did start off taking Phentermine for the first 6 weeks, but when I forgot to take it home with me for Thanksgiving AND Xmas, I realized that I really didn’t need it. If I could moderate myself during the two fattiest food holidays of the year, then I should be ok for a majority of the rest of my days!
Michelle – Oy, Taco Bell. I eat there if I want to shed 5 pounds the quick and uncomfortable way.
My boyfriend loves the place, but I can’t manage to eat there without getting sick.
Of course, since implementing my healthstyle, I’m getting like that with almost all fast food. Pretty crazy!
Great post, E! Really compelling. I’ve been following Weight Watchers for over a year and a half, with a fair amount of time off due to illness, and I’ve lost about 22 pounds. Very slow, but fairly steady. However, I use all my daily points, all my weekly points, and many, if not all, of the activity points I get, because I eat what you eat, olive oil, nuts, and all. No Weight Watchers products for me. No aerosol cooking spray. No whipped topping stuffed between fat free fake oreo cookies and called an “ice cream sandwich” (what is that all about?!!). I cannot/will not compromise my health with that stuff.
I use the plan as a guideline for healthy eating: portion control, tracking (which helps me make sure I’m eating enough fruits and vegetables), support & camaraderie at meetings, etc. I have an unusual WW group — most people eat food (as defined by Michael Pollan) and eschew chemical-laden, processed substances pretending to be food. And I have a leader who is, without a doubt, marvelous, and is now a friend. She also doesn’t push WW products, for which, no doubt, she suffers because the consequence is that she doesn’t sell as much as other leaders.
You’ve addressed the bottom line so well here. It’s what works for our lifestyles, or healthstyles, as you so aptly put it. I’ve just recently started to dig into all of Darya’s resources, even though I’m ashamed to admit I’ve been following her on twitter for some time. Good luck on your journey, E. And thank you both, E and Darya.
Beth – You’re lucky to have such a great meeting. I meeting-hopped quite a bit and always found there to be both members (and sadly, leaders) who promoted all sorts of processed “food” products. Sure, those crisp-things are 1 Point for the bag, but I’d much rather spend those calories on a giant pile of freshly baked kale chips.
I really miss Core and wish that WeightWatchers could move as a whole toward the real food philosophy. But sadly, what gets people in the door and keeps them there is the Points system, so I doubt it’s going away anytime in the future.
Maybe we’ll get Darya to start up Healthstyle centers!
P.S. Darya, you and your blog will be an awesome resource to use alongside the Weight Watchers stuff. Thanks again.
I’m sorry it hear that Weight Watchers didn’t work out for you. I reached Lifetime 2 years ago and have stopped going to meetings but stayed on the program on my own. I know they’ve changed things around a lot in the last 2 years, and I don’t know that I’d ever want to go back regularly – but it’s all about finding what works for you.
Kim – Congrats on keeping it off! You’re right, it’s all about finding what works, and for some folks, WW is the magic bullet and they’re able to keep it off for the long haul. It’s taken me 7 years to realize that while I love WW, it’s just not my magic bullet. I support my friends who are on the program, but for me, I find eating by Darya’s healthstyle guidelines feels much less stressful, more free, and is by all means much tastier!
My daughter and I have discussed that issue with some choosing an unhealthier choice just because it’s lower in points. If you have veggies as your mainstay there’s less of a chance you’ll go wrong with the system. Great article. Thanks.
DomesticProductions15.com
Laurie – I think there are a lot of leaders who want to be popular with the members and will let members push them in a direction where they’re spending lots of the meeting discussing low-Point “foods” rather than recipes made with real food (that will taste a TON better!). I was in education for 7 years, so I know how hard it is to stick to your guns when your students want something that’s not quite what you want to teach.
I didn’t think about the pressure at the meetings. My daughter never felt the pressure just a little frustration that they didn’t spend much time on the really healthy food options. But she’s always had good nutrition throughout her life; some haven’t and I’m sure that makes a difference. Thanks for your reply. Keeping it simple is definitely the best!
DomesticProductions15.com
Interesting post, my mom has done weight watchers on and off for years and I’ve observed the same thing – they are way too obsessed with “gaming the system” with diet foods like skinny cow ice cream bars, those salad spritzer things, etc. Naturally thin people NEVER touch that stuff! I think if you truly want to eat healthy you need to eliminate all unhealthy snack foods (like the cereal bars you mentioned) from your house, “diet” or not. I think encouraging people to keep low-fat chips, skinny cow ice cream bars, etc on their grocery list is really counter-productive.
Laura – Yep. And I was there with the spray “butter” and the Skinny Cows and the WW bars. Now I’d much rather eat apple slices with cashew butter for dessert and use – *gasp* – a little real butter in things. It’s much more enjoyable and I’m losing weight – so can’t complain!
Great post E, and D!!! Very inspiring, which is just what this junk-food junkie needs!
*hugs*
Lee – Thanks! I’ve found that the more vegetables and fruits I eat, the more junk food actually tastes NASTY. I can taste all the fake and processed stuff in it.
If I want junk food now, I make it from scratch. I made a delicious carrot pie last week (tastes a lot like a pumpkin pie) with cream cheese frosting. Yum. Making stuff from scratch means it’s special and it’s not an every week thing.
E. Foley: Great piece you wrote. I can relate to the wonderful feeling of not being a prisoner to food. I’ve been reading Daria’s blog for a while but have only recently started to eat the foods she suggests and it has changed my life. I use to do the same thing with the endless cycle of going to the gym so that I could eat whatever junk I wanted. In the end, I accomplished nothing. I am glad that I am now off that roller coaster. Good luck to you! You will do great.
So great to hear Madison! Email me if you are ever interested in sharing your story here
Madison – Thanks! I do love being free from the prison of constantly worrying about food. Sure, sometimes it’s hard to find good stuff to eat when traveling, but I’m getting better with that, too. I’m heading to a convention this weekend and bringing a backpack full of fresh fruits and nuts. So much tastier and better than convention center food!
Madison — I completely agree with you! E’s post today couldn’t have been more timely. After reading Darya’s blog for the past several months, I finally stepped off the diet roller-coaster just about ten days ago, and have already seen significant positive changes in my life, not to mention a 2.5 lbs. drop in pounds. For the first time in my life, I can honestly say that the weight loss is only one of the positive benefits of living this way. I’m thrilled not to be obsessed with food, counting food, thinking about what I can and can’t eat, etc. I am finally seeing how life does not need to be an all-or-nothing teeter-totter. I’m easing into making permanent lifestyle changes, and loving it! Thanks Darya, for your wonderful website. I’m a newbie and learning so much here.
I tried WW on two different occasions, since it’s offered at a great discount through my workplace. I do OK for the first two weeks, then start to resent having to write everything down – then I start to feel like everyone is watching every morsel I put in my mouth, because my coworkers attend meetings too. The thing that made me really quit WW was that while the materials they hand out at meetings focus on real food, they really push the packaged crap. Since I don’t believe in diet junk food, this was a huge turnoff (hey, if you’re going to eat junk, you may as well go all the way with it!)
I’m working towards a better healthstyle, and I just need to figure out how to make it work with my extreme tendency towards laziness and desire for convenience.
Kirsten – I do journal my food, but it’s because I have Darya working with me one-on-one. I journal in Google Wave and she pops in, reads what I’ve eaten and any questions I think of, and gives me advice. Every two weeks, she writes up a report about how I’m doing and suggestions for taking it to the next level. It’s really helpful.
But yeah, I did hate it when people knew I was on WW, because they’d always ask, “How many Points is that?” Drove me nuts.
I am pretty lazy, too! Things that help me:
1) Making brown rice, quinoa, lentils and beans in large batches, freezing them in baggies to use later.
2) The breakfast hot pockets!! (Recipe link is in the article.) Sometimes I even eat one for dinner if I’m too lazy to cook.
3) Making lots of food so I have leftovers to play with later. We make a big batch of vegetarian taco filling for taco night and then I’ll add canned tomatoes and veggies to it and turn it into chili for later in the week.
I’m also getting fresh fruit delivered by FruitGuys, which motivates me to grab an apple or orange to take to work in the morning.
So true, “diets” are not the answer. Only eat food that tastes really great, savor it and don’t deny yourself a treat on occassion. Moderation and quality are the key.
Meagan – Totally. When I eat really good food, I don’t need huge portions to feel satisfied. (And on the other hand, I can eat a huge portion of kale chips and it’s not a bad thing!)
Great post, E! My husband and I briefly sort-of tried WW a couple years ago (a friend who was a member gave us a points book and some other material so we could check it out before paying to join) and only lasted a few days. I felt seriously deprived because Robert got so many more points per day than I did, and I hated having to measure and count and write everything down. (I should make the disclaimer that I had serious food issues when I was in junior high and a borderline eating disorder, so becoming obsessed with food is a danger for me. I’ve never been able to keep up with any sort of food journal for that very reason – I know it’s a very helpful tool for a lot of people, and that’s great! But for me it’s a bad bad thing.)
I’m still really working on Darya’s healthstyle. It’s the only thing that’s ever made sense to me, and it actually is pretty much what my doctor has recommended for me – I’m just not quite there yet. I like sweets too much, and while I love veggies, whole grains, legumes, and all the other good things, they don’t do much for me when I need comfort food – though maybe that’s another issue for me entirely. I’m trying though! Cutting out processed crap was easy (we didn’t eat a whole lot of it anyway). I’m hoping the whole thing will get easier when the farmer’s market opens (assuming I manage to get my lazy ass down there on Saturday mornings…).
I’ve lost 11 1/2 pounds in 7 months without feeling deprived, though, so I guess I’m doing some things right…
Connie – Yeah, the eating disorder history definitely makes it tough to do a program like WeightWatchers where you have to journal every “bite, lick and taste.”
I still get the urge for comfort foods, but it’s less and less these days. If it’s been a rough day, we may make a box of macaroni and cheese, but it’s the organic stuff at least.
Congrats on your loss – slow and steady wins the race!
I agree completely with E. Losing any weight at all is win win. Especially if you are still eating more sweets than you feel is ideal. Just keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll end up exactly where you belong.
Also I definitely find my sugar needs are strongly dependent on my recent eating behavior. If I avoid sugars for a few days, I hardly want them at all. But if I eat a big sweet dessert (rare, but it happens), I’ll have cravings for a day or two and have to actively suppress them. Goes away quickly, but only if I get through the rough spell.
Great Post. E, thank you for sharing your story. I have heard so many of the same things about Weight Watchers. I am a firm believe of good healthy food in moderation as well as getting the body moving. Whether it be a class at the gym or going for a long walk every day. I know for me that if I can get a couple spin classes in as well as a couple runs, the weight does come off.
E. keep up the great job!!
Chez – Thanks!! I’ve been thinking about trying spin, but I’m not so great with bikes (my knees don’t like it). The elliptical and I get along great. My gym does a beginner spin class once a month that’s more about getting the right setup for the bike and teaching slowly, so I may stop in for that at some point to give it a shot. I hear spin burns mega calories.
I’m on WW. The system they have now encourages people to eat at least 5 fruits and veggies per day and at least 2 servings of lean meat and 2 or 3 servigs of milk. I would go days without eating more than 1 or 2 before WW. I guess the program has changed quite a bit since you were on it. I do feel like this isn’t a diet and want to eat these healthy foods for the rest of my life. My family eats the same things I eat, too. I’ve never felt deprived or like I was starving. Anyone who does simply doesn’t understand the program. I’ve also NEVER seen anyone pushing the prepacked foods.
You are also encouraged to workout by earning more points. I’m doing things I haven’t been able to do in years.
I guess I’m just having a different experience, but then again, it’s all what you make it.
I also feel WW isn’t really for people who just want to “tone up” and lose 5-15 pounds. Those people just need to get off the couch and move.
Anytime you are doing something where you are trying to work the system, things will not go well. Common sense, however, goes a long way. Losing weight by any means doesn’t mean it will stay off. You must do the work needed to keep it off.
Tina – I am trying not to take your comment personally. But let me let you know exactly how well I know the WW program: I was being recruited when I was a Lifetime member to become a WW leader. Unfortunately, the market I was in already had too many leaders for the amount of meetings.
I know the system up, down, and sideways (at least as it was circa 2007, which was the last time I attended meetings).
The key word you used there is “encourages.” WW “encourages” you to eat more fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean meats. But if you can lose weight eating SmartOnes, you’ll still be applauded. (A lesbian couple in one of my meetings both made Lifetime by eating cereal for breakfast, a SmartOnes for lunch, and a SmartOnes for dinner. Everyone applauded them and was inspired by them. “Food” from a box. I wish I was joking.)
But the bottom line is this – if it works for you and you can keep it off for the rest of your life – AWESOME. I’m not here to stop you from doing what works for you. I’m just here to say that I’ve found something that works better for me.
Agree totally with the approach. Although I’ve never been to weight watchers, I’ve gained back every pound I’ve ever lost (and more) on a “diet”. The key is finding that healthy way of eating that’s personally sustainable over time.
Totally! I miss my “diet” food when I end up going out of town and having to eat less-than-great stuff. I was just on a trip to Puerto Rico and when I came home, all I wanted to do was stuff my face with kale.
Thanks for the post, E. I felt like I was reading my own story. I am also a WW flunkee. I lost close to 40 lbs on WW, but gained back 60. Joy!
I finally had enough, and decided to go the healthy route. I stumbled across Summer Tomato while looking for recipes, and I am so glad I did! Since I started my new health style (thanks, Darya, for that terminology!) I have lost 38 lbs and am halfway to my goal weight of 148. I still use the WW points system to monitor my daily intake, but all my food choices are based on eating fresh, whole foods. It has taken me a while to cut out the refined carbs, but I am finding easier and easier everyday. Glad to hear it is working for you too.
You go, Sam!
I agree that it’s a little hard at first to eat more veggies and fewer carbs, but it gets easier and now I get totally excited about eating veggies. It’s funny because I’m at the point now where I’ll turn down pizza in favor of salad. I’m a freak! (But I love it.) 
Wow, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all of your posts. Many different ideas and things to ponder. I am familiar with WW while attempting to help my 17 year old daughter lose some weight and have discovered that we have fallen into the point system trap. Sometimes it’s easier to eat a smart ones where the point value is obvious than constantly trying to figure out the point value of recipes that aren’t WW recipes. I think the basic premise of high fiber/ low fat foods can work, but it’s up to you to make sure you are eating real food and not the fake stuff. I also think that being aware of portion size is helpful . If you don’t measure food at times and see how much you are eating, it’s easy to overeat. I am definately going to try to stay away from the processed choices in leiu of more nutritional healthy foods. Thanks for the eye opener!!
Yay, thanks for your comment! This made my day
This was an interesting read, and I can relate to your desire to eat real food. I have been on WW since early March and have lost 35 pounds. I do it on my own. No meetings. Personally, I love it. (I’m the kind of girl who enjoys Excel documents, so tracking is fun for me.) But I REFUSE to eat fake food. I don’t eat fake sweeteners. I don’t eat their pre-packaged snacks or anything like that. I am with you when it comes to nuts. They are healthy in moderation! I keep them around as well. I’ve been lucky enough to continue to lose without having to compromise my “food ethics” (if that makes any sense!), but I can COMPLETELY see how it could be easy to cheat the system and eat loads of crap with WW. I went into it refusing to do that, and with the main goal of having an easy way to track for a little while until I got tired of it.
I enjoyed reading your post here. Good insights.