I was watching YouTube videos and I came across some women talking about being on Weight Watchers (now called WW). It brought me back to the summer of 2007 when I signed up with them to get help with losing weight.
For this post, I wanted to share my experiences with the company.
A little about WW
WW started in 1961 by a woman named, Jean Nidetch. It was at first a weight loss support group that would meet in her apartment. Eventually, it blossomed into what it is now!
They are still big on support and community when it comes to weight loss. You can go to meetings in-person, chat or by phone.
The points system wasn’t actually started until the 90s (I had no idea until recently!). Food is given points based on their nutrition and you get a certain number of points a day. Not everyone’s number will be the same.
The WW brand also sells food products in grocery stores. These are great because you don’t really have to calculate the points yourself.
This page breaks WW (and other diets) down really well: https://health.usnews.com/best-diet/weight-watchers-diet
After graduating high school
My senior year of high school involved eating mainly junk food and not exercising. I would drink a lot of pop, consume high calorie drinks from coffee shops, eat Chinese take-out multiple times a month etc.
It was bad!
I got to July of 2007 and I realized how chunky I was. I immediately wanted to change and get healthier. I told my mother about how I wanted to lose weight and she suggested trying Weight Watchers with her.
I had heard about it from commercials, but I didn’t know what it was all about. Admittedly, I was kind of embarrassed to be starting it because it seemed like only older women did it. My determination to get slimmer made me move forward with it though.
Starting and doing WW
My mother and I signed up for the online plan. This was because we were both uninterested in attending any of the support meetings but still wanted to try out their program.
Since it was a long time ago, I don’t remember the exact details. I do recall that we ended up getting different points. I know for a fact that we were very excited to get started though!
The first few days were eye-opening when it came to the amount and kind of food we were able to eat. We realized what serving sizes really looked like.
Our snacking at night stopped due to our needing to not go over our points for the day. What I was pleasantly surprised about was how full I felt on the reduced amount of food. My mom felt this way too.
We were able to find a lot of different meal recipes that fit in our diet. They all tasted good to us which was a great thing. It kept us going.
After four weeks of being on WW, I noticed on my plan account that there was a space to put that exercise was done that day. It showed that I would get more points if I did that (again, this was a long time ago so I might be a little wrong). This excited me and made me interested in starting to exercise regularly.
Beginning to exercise really accelerated my weight loss rate. I had been losing one pound a week, but it became more like 2.5-3 pounds. I also started losing inches off my waist and thighs.
In October, my weight was at around 120 pounds. At that point I was barely counting points and doing anything with my WW plan, so we decided that I was going to cancel my account with them. I didn’t need WW to be healthy anymore.
What I gained from doing WW
As I mentioned, I don’t remember exactly how the plan worked but I do know what I got out of doing it.
The love of exercising regularly was one big thing I gained from it. It hasn’t let up yet and I don’t think it ever will.
Another thing I got out of it was the idea that eating healthier can still taste good. In fact, I really like a lot of healthy food (like steamed broccoli). Diets are even more important when it comes to maintaining a lean body.
I am grateful
Even though I didn’t need WW after a little while, it wasn’t a waste of time. It helped me on the path to a better, healthier life. For that I am very thankful.
I think it is a great choice for a diet program and I do recommend it. The support meetings that are part of the program were not something I utilized. That kind of thing is helpful for a lot of people though.
Have you done or know someone that has done WW? How did it go?
Thanks for reading!
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