An American friend sent me a link to this article making an educated guess about the launch of the new Weight Watchers plan in the States.
Given all former programmes, it makes sense that the American ProPoints would be called something else. It will be interesting to find out what other differences pop up.
Well, if the proof of the ProPoints is in the scales, this is a good start. I’ve lost 3 pounds this week having eaten every single available point – Daily, Weekly and Activity. It was also just about the most stressful week of my life and I lost. My wine consumption was well over limits but I lost. Good start. I’ll be happy to lose at least one more pound per week.
Highlights:
I can only comment on ProPoints with thirty years of weightloss baggage. I’d love to hear how people are doing who don’t remember needing to eat liver once a week in order to be “on plan”.
Lowlights:
So onto Week 2 where I will try to eat every available point and live as normal a life as I ever do. Till next Tuesday.
One of the first things you’ll hear is that WW has finally made a plan which matches the “new” scientific thinking of the day. I’m not sure how true that is but here’s a good clear explanation of what that means. It does seem to be new for WW if not the rest of the science of nutrition community.
I’ve tested that formula against the WW ProPoints paper calculator and get exactly the same results, so I’m guessing it’s the right one. Not sure why WW hasn’t had it removed. Maybe this information is actually in the public domain? Anyway, it makes for a nice Excel spreadsheet diary with built in ProPoints calculator!
Well I overcame my cynicsm and headed off to Weight Watchers this morning.
Life is currently more stressful than it’s been in a long time and I’m in serious need of distraction. I feel healthy enough in body and mind to do this out of curiosity rather than believing that I’m on the verge of “the answer”.
What a glorious feeling! I can mess about with the new plan as an experiment because it has no power whatsoever to make me feel either a success or a failure. It might suit me and it might not.
I may not yet have talked off all the weight but I have talked off a good portion of the crazies! 
I have to admit that I also wanted to give a bit of information to my North American friends who have to wait a while longer before they get ProPoints. (I’m sure I should be adding a little tm thingy every time I type that….)
So here’s the lowdown:
I’m off to London for the day tomorrow but will report back on Thursday about how it’s all going.
Before the summer I felt like I’d turned into a “RUNNER” – you know, someone who runs for pleasure – one of the despised.
And then, after a summer of living in a place where running just seemed impossible, I felt like I was no longer a RUNNER but a sloth. (But a sloth who hadn’t been attacked by a small dog on the seawall, thank you very much.)
It turns out that I had, in fact, run precisely 21 times in 6 weeks covering a total of 79 miles. That’s it, my whole running career since around 1983.
On a positive note, I managed to shave 15 minutes off my 5 mile time in just three or four runs per week. That, I’m proud of.
So I guess I can do it again. I tentatively set out for a 3 miler last week and didn’t bother timing. I also gave myself permission to walk as much as I wanted. I’ve done a couple since and have gone through my usual teeter-totter thinking…
My final decision is that the mood enhancing, quick benefits outweigh the addictiveness and lousy weather.
I’ve decided to change things up a bit and go all metric. I’ve mapped out a 5k and a 10k and done baseline speeds for each. I can still cover the 5k in just under 35 minutes – not too bad for a sloth. The 10k, however has a baseline of 80 minutes – so lots and lots of room for improvement.
I’ll try not to be too boring about running times but it’s good to know where I’m starting from so that, in 6 weeks I can come and celebrate how much I’ve shaved off that 80 minutes.
By the way – by RUNNING, I mean running till I can’t take it any more then walking till I can breathe again. I’m not crazy. Or all that fit.
On that note, I’m kind of looking forward to running when I’ve finally got a whole head of grey hair. I’ll be the only old lady on the roads in this community, that’s for sure.
My less than arduous goals this week were to:
And the results?
Let’s see if I can do that 2 weeks running.
I’ve now weighed a hundred and forty-something pounds for more than year – a feat unheard of since I hit my 40′s. It makes me think that I’ve actually learned something by writing my little heart out for the past 27 months.
Am I where I want to be?
No – but I’m close and so very very proud of myself for not giving up and gaining back what I’ve lost – and all this in years of grief, living in 2 countries, health worries and just getting older.
I’m chuffed.
I’m also thinking that it would be nice, one day, to write: “I’ve now weighed less that 145 pounds for a whole year.”
I think that’s a sensible goal for my age, my level of commitment to activity and my level of commitment to wine. But it means losing at least another 7 pounds and I’m so so so so so sick of the process…….
I appear to be, once again, choosing what I want more:
Good question. Since losing the weight will also make me free of dieting, I guess that’s the sensible choice. I need to make this as easy as possible for me and those around me.
What 3 small changes could I make for maximum impact?
OK. Those are the three things I’m going to do for a week. If I haven’t lost a pound by next Tuesday Wednesday, I will get back to journalling. At least, that’s the plan from here.
Yesterday something happened that made me realise I had a new weapon against obesity: food snobbery.
I found myself craving chocolate in that “nothing else will do – to hell with everything” way. I was walking to meet friends and knew I could get some at the store along the way. The only fair trade fruit and nut was the store brand so I decided to try it.
I left the store, tore open the very (very) large bar and broke off a good chunk. It was repulsive – tasteless and unsatisfying. I ate a bit and then…..get this…….threw the whole thing in the bin. The whole thing!
That’s when I realised that food snobbery is a blessing. I am no longer satisfied by cheap chocolate. Or cheap potato chips or cheap ice cream or commercial baked goods. A little of the best is far far more satisfying that a lot of the worst, or even the middling.
I have no idea when this crept up on me but I like it. It makes me much more thoughtful about what I really crave and what will satisfy that craving. Maybe it’s the thinking about food rather than the snobbery that’s the real weapon.
Note to self: This doesn’t mean you’re “cured” of anything. Don’t go near the crap if you don’t want to eat it.
The average UK woman is 5′ 3″ and 11 stone (154 pounds). At 2 inches shorter and 7 pounds heavier than me, I guess this would explain the fact that all tops now resemble materinity wear.
But it doesn’t explain why I’m still a size Large. What are really large people wearing?
But that’s not really what I was going to blog about today.
What I really wanted to say is that I’ve found that I can stick to a weight between 147 and 149 without being obsessive. That’s progress because my “set-point” (for lack of a better term) used to be about 10 pounds higher.
If I can get that down 5 more pounds without a super struggle, I’ll be very happy. However, I went shopping yesterday and dressing room mirrors told me in no uncertain terms that I can’t lose anymore inches off my hips. “STOP!”, they shouted, then added, “But please do something about the top half.”
Time to start with those weights.
I’m on a new “whole woman” kick with a handful of things to accomplish before I’m 50.
I’d better say a little more about that. I’ve realised that when I say I like “slow weight loss”, what I’m really saying is that I’m happy with the rhythm of losing some weight quickly then maintaining that loss for a while before finding the energy to do it all again.
When I did try “slow weight loss” with the Maintenance Diet, I got almost instantly frustrated by the lack of results. But I’m still very attracted to the idea of just eating for the size I want to be six months from now. That means settling for a pound and a bit per month, not per day or week. I want to be the person who can do that.
What would have to change for me to be that person?
I figure that I haven’t lost anything lately partly because I’m just bored. I want to weigh ten pounds less than I do right now. My body is willing but my psyche just can’t be bothered to get all caught up in the thrills and spills of the “losing phase”.
So maybe I’m past it. Or maybe I need to ride out this phase and wait till I’m ready to go into losing mode again.
That’s possible – but, as 50 approaches, I’d rather be who I want to be for the rest of my life.
I want to be a person who doesn’t have to feel full all day – a person who eats to satisfy hunger, enjoy company, delight in tastes and textures. I want to be a vibrant person who doesn’t crave more calories than a body needs to stay slim and healthy.
I’m done rehearsing. I know all I need to know about myself and food. The challenge is to relax and trust myself and my body. And to keep moving.
So is this actually a plan? Does it have a form?
Three points is enough. I’ll stop by periodically but I’m going to do what I can to genuinely embrace Slow Weight Loss.
Talking It Off is using WP-Gravatar
Follow Millie…..