Weight Watchers gives good way to count calories

by Mimi K
(Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)

The first time I did Weight Watchers was 3 years ago. I counted my points for a month and walked to work everyday for a month and lost 10 pounds!

The second time was about 8 months later. I had gained back the 10 pounds.

I did weight watchers for 2 months and lost 20 pounds, started running, ran my first half-marathon and was finally in my "healthy BMI" range!

It wasn't hard once I got going and was committed to it. The points are pretty easy to calculate and now I know how to easily calculate calories in a meal by using the points system.

Losing weight is also addictive and the weekly weigh ins with clear results help maintain the motivation.

I wasn't hungry, except for the first few days when I would start the diet. Then I would find tricks like packing veggies to eat for when I want chips.

I could eat whatever I wanted but I found out quickly that if I used my points for chips I wouldn't have many left for other foods that would make me feel full.

Eating out in restaurants was easy, especially because you get 35 extra points a week and so you can allow yourself a few extra cheats a week.

It was easy to stick to, but I found that I obsessed about the points.

I have gained the weight back since. I find that I took the diet to the extreme and it would've been better for me to really listen to the teachings and add exercise slowly and use up my extra points.

I would definitely recommend it to others. I have met many people who have maintained the weight successfully.

Having Poly Cystic Ovaries (PCOS) makes me susceptible to gaining weight so it might partially be why I've gained the weight back.

It definitely helps to know which foods are actually healthy and which aren't and how big a portion should really be.

Mimi

Note from Dr. Dan

Mimi,

Several years ago I went with my family to Australia. The first thing we noticed when we got off the plane was that people there were much thinner.

While we were there we noticed two things. One, they tended to walk a lot more than people in the U.S.

And two, they didn't have so much fast food.

There is a lot of talk about the economy lately, and about whether we will be able to maintain our standard of living.

But with gas prices going up, it's actually not all bad. If people lived closer to their work they could walk to work.

And if they walked to work, like you found when you walked, they would be healthier, probably happier and would live longer.

Dr. Dan