I joined Weigh****chers

I joined on Tuesday evening. I really want to establish good eating habits with something I know is easy to follow. I started counting points today and it's cool to see how well my pouch is still working [compared to years ago when the first few days were brutal, now I'm trying to find enough points!]. I am still having my protein shake for breakfast [4pts] and then I have 22 pts for the rest of the day. I thought it would go quickly, but today was fairly easy and I have 7 pts left and I'm not at all hungry. They say not to go below 20 pts, so I will try to add some strawberries later on. I don't think I will be telling any of the folks there that I had WLS, I'm tired of explaining that WLS isn't just an easy cure-all. It seems like at the WLS support meeting I hear, 'why do you need WW?' and from non-WLS people in my life I get, 'but, WHY do you need WW?' I'm a normal fat person trying to eat well and lose weight, well, at least I'm trying to be. I KNOW this is still the 'honeymoon' phase, but I DO NOT want to be a year out and like 'whoa' when my appetite comes back, my body adjusts and can absorb more calories, and my pouch can fit more food. I did not have life-threatening surgery to go back to sick and morbid. I will continue be pro-active with my mind AND body. I do have a few friends from my mom's group that I may go to meetings with, and they know, but like I said, I doubt I will be telling all [though keeping a secret isn't my strong suit, either]. I started today out with counting points [Flex] but may switch over to the Core plan if I find counting points becoming cumbersome. Not a day has gone by that I haven't logged every farting thing that's gone into my mouth on FitDay since February 15th, I'm sort of looking forward to just having to count 26 points. I was finding at the end of the day my calories were high, and I didn't want to be on FitDay with every meal, so I really think this will help me be a little more normal. Anyhow, thanks for reading this far, I hope this kicks the weight loss back up to 10lbs a month! xosm

Hi, It's good to hear that someone else is doing ww too. I was talking to a friend that is 2 year post op (under goal) and asked her if she thought ww would work for me. I have never seen a post regarding ww so I was excited to see yours. I am going to start my point counting today. I need to kick start my weight loss....stalled for too long. Best of luck to you and I hope you continue to post your progress. Corinna

I haven't really had a 'stall' since what I thought was stalling in the beginning. But last month my loss was slower and I'm hoping this will jump start me back up. I lost another 6 ish pounds since the first [I usually only weigh on the 1st and on my surgery anniversary date, which is the 15th]. I will find out when I go to WW this week what I lost in the week's time. The first 2 days I had a hard time getting in the points, but yesterday I was over one point. I really like the simplicity of it all, and feeling like I know where I am at regarding how much to eat. I am having to get used to not seeing my protein intake and fluid intake by the numbers. I think I may be getting LESS by not tracking on FitDay, and choosing low points foods means lower protein. But I still take my shake every morning, so I know I am getting over 50g [I used to get over 100g, though]. I am going to keep really close watch on my hair, nails and skin and maybe consider changing over to Core so that I can get more protein in. Or I just have to chose better foods, I suppose. I think I am still getting in at least 64 ounces of fluids, though I used to get over 70 and my aim is 100, it's not as easy to track with WW [their target is way low]. So I'm in the adjustment period, but I *think* I am doing WELL. Good luck to you, Corinna! It's nice to hear other WLSers not think I am nuts for wanting to do this now. xosm

You said your cals were getting high GG? What were they at? Just curious. I've been wanting to join WW too. I like the idea of a weekly weigh-in and group support. I've been on it so many times too-I laughed about what you said now compared to before...I remember those exchanges, and points...oh crap...I've used 18 points before 12 noon...LOL. It'd be nice to join now and have a little extra inside "help" with our tool. I wouldn't tell anyone either. No ones business, and things aren't easy for us...I ate a taco shell salad last night with the shell-what CREEP made an 800 calorie salad?

My calories at the beginning of the summer were around 1200 [I CAN EAT], but towards the end and thru September they were more like 1400 and sometimes 1600+. I just felt them slowly creeping up, and on FitDay I could SEE it happening [gosh, I love taco salad and Cobb salad from TGIF - even though I can't eat it all, it's still mega calories]. I hear Applebees has salads made for WW to be low in points, and they look good. I LOVE my salad. But I also was eating a lot of crap over the summer, nachos at baseball, fried foods, just junky carbs. Sure, NOW I can't really fit a lot in, but I know someday I WILL be able to. And I notice that with the healthy things I can fit even LESS in, if that makes sense. I've been eating strawberries with Cool Whip Free and some honey wheat germ [I love that stuff], and I can't eat the whole portion - I remember when TWO portions weren't enough. I really appreciate this week seeing the portions and the points and what I can actually eat, instead of FEELING like I ate a lot, I can physically SEE that I'm not really eating that much AND if I am hungry I can make healthy choices and still feel satisfied. So far, I would really recommend it, but I haven't weighed in yet, so I'll keep you posted! xosm

I'm so glad you posted this because I've been thinking of joining WW. I'm 8 months post op but I think I need the extra help and support to get to my goal and to maintain that goal. My previous problems with WW or any other diet I was on was portion control. Some days I would eat up all my points by lunch time But now with the help of my tool I'll be able to keep that under control and the program will work for me. Keep us updated on your success. Sylvia

Thanks so much for your support, Sylvia, I really thought [from the reaction I got at my WLS support group] that people were going to be a little critical ... it seems like those folks didn't think we needed to diet or change our habits BUT they were all only a month or two out - except one woman who was a BITTER BITTER woman who was a year out and MISERABLE and kept saying over and over to these newbies that 'YOU WILL gain your weight back' and 'obesity IS a disease that there is NO CURE FOR.' - she was scary but I think she was just one of those people who chooses to be miserable. She also scoffed at my joining WW and said she had never heard of the 'pouch rules' or considered trying to CHANGE her habits when she had the chance. She also seemed to be convinced that she could NEVER change, and hey, if I believed that I would never have had surgery, but that's me. I started therapy for the emotional side BEFORE surgery and continue to go weekly, I started paying attention to every thing that went into my mouth from day one [granted, I think I got lax with my choices, but I was still logging every day]. I am going to claw and fight my way to make sure that this surgery was not done in vain. Anyhoo, I've rambled enough, thanks for your support, I WILL keep everyone updated after I weigh in [I think I am going Thursday, but haven't decided yet]. xosm