I've had some success, not a tremendous amount but some.
In the meantime, I've been spending $40 per month for the Weight Watchers membership. With that $40 I can attend meetings whenever I want, and use all of the online resources - community message boards, online weight tracker, recipe builder, stuff like that.
Out of all of those resources, the only thing I do actually use is the weekly meetings... and I'm not too thrilled about those. The "leader" we have is nice, but I just don't find the meetings to be all that engaging. To be completely honest, half of the time the meetings thoroughly piss me off. Now, I understand that if you're going into a meeting with at least a dozen other people who are trying to lose weight, there are going to be people who have issues with their relationship towards food.
There will be people who may not overeat, but just don't make the wisest choices in regards to what types of food they put into their body. These will be the people who eat regular meals, but maybe those meals don't have a proper nutritional balance - they may be to carb or fat heavy and are lacking in lean protein, fiber, whole grains and vegetables. Those are the people who need to put more focus on the quality of their food as opposed to the quantity. Those are the people who may not have a problem with passing over food when they aren't truly hungry. I believe that this is the category that I fall into.
What I've benefited from Weight Watchers in the past four months is that I've been reminded of how to make healthier choices... to chose baked over fried, to increase the vegetables and lean protein in my diet, to chose healthier fats such as olive oil and skim milk. I'm not saying that I make these healthier choices all of the time, but I'm trying - undoing a lifetime of poor choices is not going to happen overnight, theres going to be a learning curve and a transition phase. However, I know the basics and am on my way there.
My dilemma at this point is that I really don't want to attend the meetings any longer. I am bored beyond belief during the 45 minutes that I'm there, counting down the minutes until I can leave, and getting angry when the meeting goes over the scheduled time. Since I know the basics at this point that I can continue with implementing them into my daily life on my own. I have the resources to make educated choices, and have the motivation (more in a moment...) to continue with the weight loss.
Also, theres other things I could do with that $40 each month. Like, join a gym.
I can get a discounted gym membership through my work to 24 Hour Fitness for less than $40 each month.
I've got motivation to continue losing weight, and motivation to start working out more.
The weight loss motivation is my cousin Carries wedding. At the end of August I'm going to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, and this is the dress I'll be wearing:
You see how I'm going to need to try to tone my arms up a bit for that?
The motivation to start exercising more is the 3-day, 60 mile, breast cancer walk I'm planning on participating in this fall. I've got a lot of training to do if I'm seriously going to complete this walk without killing myself.
I've also gotten the idea in my head that I NEED to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. I think I got this idea when I found roundtrip airfare from San Francisco to Lima Peru for $409 this May. I don't want to go to Peru and NOT see Machu Picchu, but I also know that I am not in the physical shape that the hike would demand. While everything I've read says that the hike is not that challenging as far as the terrain is concerned, the altitude is what makes it demanding. In order to successfully complete the hike I would need to train for it physically, at high elevations as well as on a stair master. I would love to be able to go to Peru and complete this goal next April - thats the tail end of the "wet" season and right before the crowded tourist season begins.
So, what should I do?
Stick with Weight Watchers and go to the dreaded meetings each week, or drop it, continue the better eating habits on my own, and join a gym?
Historically, I have done better with weight loss when I've gone to the gym and worked out and am hoping that doing that again would help to boost my currently sluggish metabolism.
Let me know your opinion in the poll on the left.
Also, let me know what you think of the dress!
4 comments:
the dress is lovely. is it that color too?
ww is good for most peolpe but if it's getting on your nerves on a regular basis then it's served its purpose. i'd move on....
That IS the color! We'll have red & rust colored roses for our bouquets
It sounds like you are educated about healthy foods and eating right, so unless the WW meetings are filling a need for you, I say ditch them. You're much better off at the gym for 45 minutes.
And the dress? Gorgeous. You are so lucky.
I do like the dress! I'm thinking that it actually is one of those that might be able to be worn again
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