Weight Watchers 1st, 2nd, 3rd times the charm?

by Michelle Crooker
(Forest, VA)

Weight Watchers is a good program that gets you thinking about how you eat and how to change your lifestyle in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The first time I tried weight watchers it was very new to me and I followed the program very strictly. It worked well and I lost 50 pounds.

After moving to a new area I stopped going to WW and although I gained a little weight back I mostly maintained my weight.

The second time I went to WW was after the birth of my second child. I gained quite a bit during pregnancy and figured that since WW worked so well the first time I may as well try it again.

This time I did not follow the plan as strictly (I was chasing two small children at the time) and while I lost a bit it took a lot longer and I did not see the dramatic weight loss that I saw the first time.

Along come child #3 and with child #3 more weight gain. I returned to weight watchers and once again did not see a dramatic change. This third time I attended meetings for 6 months before leaving.

I decided that it made no sense to pay money to go each week to only gain 1, lose 1, gain 2, lose 1, gain 0, lose 0.

Lately I have been doing my own plan and it is working really well. In the last 3 months I have lost 20 pounds. All that I am doing is watching what I eat, and I am only eating when I am hungry.

I combine that with exercise (3 - 5 times a week) and it is making a big difference.

As an incentive I am planning a family trip - we are going to go on the trip once I have lost my initial goal of 60 pounds. I am 1/3 of the way there! :)