I quit Weight Watchers (WW) yesterday. And I’m feeling fairly – somewhat – nonono – I definitely feel good about this.
I’ve joined WW twice in my life. The first time was shortly after I completed a lengthy round of prescribed medication that helped to pack over thirty pounds onto my body. As the remaining traces of the meds left me, and I followed the plan, the weight dropped pretty quickly. I rejoined just two years ago. This last decade saw me gain a fair amount of weight and I started off quite well on the new WW. I was two thirds of my way to my goal when I decided to go on maintenance for a bit of a break. And it worked. Never fluctuating more than a pound or two, I decided to resume my diet and lose the rest of my weight after the holidays. you know, the start of 2020. Whoopsie.
This year has seen me, along with a huge percent of our population, gain weight. Although I’ve managed to avoid gaining significant amounts, (I’ve read surveys showing a two pound a month increase for many), I’m still concerned. I’ve been saying I need to actually follow the WW plan every day and get back to ‘normal’. When I realized I was thinking living on a WW diet was ‘normal’, I also realized I needed a ‘rethink’. when precisely did this shift happen?
Way back when, when I was a mere child, our perceptions of food, serving size, nutritional needs, were indeed completely different. Additives were a relatively new thingy, and McDonald’s was still counting its sales in the millions. Not to mention, my mom was well ahead of her time (or was it on current trend?): homemade granola, Diet for a Small Planet on the shelf and only olive oil in the house. In short, what is now called Intuitive Eating, was, in my house, the accepted behavior. Writing this now, I realize I’m a reflection of the profound changes in society, environment, interactions, and so much more that have reshaped our behaviors and relationships with food and health. Not to mention the ubiquitous (and ominous) societal link between weight and self worth. I seem to finally be acknowledging how my own interpretation of my daily diet has changed – and about time too! Without the acknowledgement, there is no hope for success. Hmmm. Time for some quiet thinking. I believe its also time to stop my decent into that diet/exercise/food/society rabbit hole now. Perhaps a bet of a pep talk to wrap this up: Be positive! Remember: “Screw your courage to the sticking place and we’ll not fail”! (Okay, maybe Lady Macbeth is not the best role model, but what a character! what a quote! (one day I’ll tell you about seeing Maggie Smith on stage as Lady Macbeth))
Thanks for reading and stay safe.
AnotherDay - vmc 