Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Weight Watchers!

A couple of months ago, I joined Weight Watchers, and it has been a big part of my life ever since.  It's been elemental in helping me work on my goal to live a happy and healthy life, and because it is, I think it's definitely time I told you all more about it.

For those who are unfamiliar, Weight Watchers is a program that assigns point values to all food and drinks (including many brands and restaurant items, as well).  When one signs up, they are given a certain number of points to use daily as well as a bunch of "free points" to use throughout the week.  These points are calculated and assigned based on one's height and weight.  Weight Watchers underwent a revamp in 2011, and recalculated points to a newer, more-accurate system  called "points plus."  When I refer to points in the remainder of this post, I am referencing the points plus system.

Weight Watchers has been getting some major kudos in the press lately.  Charles Barkley's and Jennifer Hudson's success with the program has been an inspiration to many, and just last week, Jessica Simpson signed on as a new spokesperson and participant of the program in an effort to shed the weight she gained during her pregnancy (yeesh - I sure wish someone would pay me $4 million to lose weight responsibly!).

When I decided to join the program, it was basically for the same reason that everyone seems to: I was unhappy with where my body was, and I was ready to make a change.

I've committed wholly to the program, and two months later, I'm in a great place.  I look better, I feel better, and my self-confidence has taken a major turn in the upward direction.  Furthermore, participating in this program has been instrumental in giving me the inspiration I needed to start Get Bizzy Living!

I could probably name a gazillion reasons why I'm a fan of the program, but I've condensed them into eight solid reasons: 

#8:  I can still eat whatever I want, just in smaller portions (aka, moderation!).  So I don't have to say goodbye to macaroni and cheese all together, I just have to be more modest in my intake.  It's a nice change of pace from other diets that make you give up certain foods all together.
#7:  Whenever I engage in physical activity, I keep track of it as "activity points," which can be counted towards food!  I can even track my daily number of steps (for my height and weight, I get 4 points just for walking 10,000 steps a day!).  
#6:  I can track my food and activity points very easily using either my computer or my smartphone (I love the iPhone app), so it's an easy program to keep up with no matter how active or busy my life gets. 
#5:  There are tons of great recipes on the website, and they put the point values on everything.
#4:  They constantly offer promotions on the sign-up fees so I didn't feel like I was breaking the bank when I committed to it (if you're interested, BradsDeals is a great resource for finding Weight Watchers membership deals).
#3:  The program makes me very aware of everything I am putting in my body - whether it's food or drink.  As a result, I find myself gravitating towards foods that will be the most beneficial for my body, which in turn promotes healthier eating habits. 
#2:  Fruits and vegetables are zero points - so I can eat them to my heart's content without affecting my daily point value!  Foods made entirely of fruits or veggies like salsa (without corn or beans) are also zero points.  My go-to snacks have transitioned from chips and crackers (which can rack up calories quite quickly) to grapes and carrot sticks.  I love guilt-free snacking!
#1:  It works!  I was so skeptical to start this program (and I'm sure I wasn't the only one), but I've lost a solid amount of weight already (10% of my original body weight so far!) without having to completely cut out things I love to eat and drink.    

If you're looking for a fun and manageable way to lose weight, I highly suggest giving this a shot.  It's definitely worth experiencing and seeing if it's a program that can work for you.  And if you need a push, I'd be more than happy to trade tips or go to a community meeting with you!  

Finally, a quick disclaimer - everything I've written above is a reflection of my own personal opinions - this is certainly not a sponsored entry or anything like that.  I am just beyond pleased with how much Weight Watchers has positively affected my life, and I'm hoping that it can help others with similar health goals in mind out, too!  

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