My Weight Watchers

Wednesday 15th May 2013, was a big day for me; it was the day I signed up to Weight Watchers. The following day I attended my first meeting. Nothing like jumping in at the deep end.

Using a system based on food carrying a value of points, I work out how much I can eat each day, based on my daily point allowance. I started on 44 points a day (seems like loads, considering the average breakfast is no less than 10 points), with an 47 extra points each week to "spend" how I like. Food is no longer an indulgent desire, it's a science. It's fun.

I don't know if it's because I'm a guy, but I felt totally out of my comfort zone. I was apprehensive, nervous and embarrased. I don't know why. However, it was one of the best things I have ever done (so far).

All images on this page, are from photos that I have taken myself

So far, so good! I'm totally addicted to the pro points calculator that I get online access to, which comes with my membership. I get a buzz from knowing I've not reached my allowance. It feels good to be hungry - I don't mean that in a negative way, eating disorder way - but in a, I recognise that I've had a good meal this evening, and my hunger is probably something else, or how my body used to behave from so much over indulgence. Hunger feels different somehow.

Tonight I made my own Garlic and Chilli prawns with Noodles (the pic on the right)...and a glass of wine...it was sooooooo good...and I still have points left to spend! Bonkers, right?

So far, I'm 5 days in, and I have to say, I'm really enjoying the ride. I finally feel that I am taking control of what I'm eating. I'm thinking sensibly about how much and what to eat. I'm planning meals based on their points to make sure I don't go over my allocated point allowance.

I spent a couple of days going quite under my point total. I can't have more than 44 points a day, and I was eating about 20. I emailed my group leader, and she suggested that as a man, I shouldn't go under 35 - she recommended that I eat some filling proteins - like nuts and houmous. Awesome! So, I measured out some points worth of cashew nuts, to have as a snack, if my points value are too low for the day.

I must say - I NEVER thought I would have a problem with not eating enough. Weird!

Thursday 23rd May 2013

I've just come back from my second meeting, and first weighing in after proactively following the Weight Watchers programme.

I was really nervous, and watching the scales was pretty daunting, as my weight was revealed! I had lost weight! It was fantastic to see. I've lost 5lb! I'm really chuffed!

This week, I have had wine, Ben&Jerry's ice-cream, whisky, chocolate...you name it! But hey, the pro points system works. Every food has points, my allowance is based on my height and weight - as long as I keep within my allowance, I should be fine. I also have an extra points to spend throughout the week - and can track my activity points (I earn 3 points for a 30 minute run) - so if I use all my daily points, and weekly points, I have a reserve of activity points to exchange for food. Cool huh?

My group leader, Rachel, is really nice too. She's been on the programme herself, and you can tell just by looking at her that Weight Watchers worked. Tonight, we talked about recipes and how you can work at incorporating within your points allowance even when entertaining. My daily allowance is 44 points, and we found a 3 course meal for 10 points! And it looked delicious! That's pretty good, isn't it?

Soooooo, now, let's see how this week pans out.

Monday 27th May 2013

Two weeks in, and so far, it would seem that my eating habits are changing, without really thinking about it. I'm eating way more fruit and veg than I would normally.

My shopping and grocery habits have also changed! I did a quick shop at Tesco on Friday night, and I spent about half an hour checking out the fruits, vegetables and salad...whaaaat? On a normal shop, I would know what I needed from that section, and I would be in and out!

Don't get me wrong, before Weight Watchers, I did eat healthily too - although, clearly not as well as I could do! Check out the picture here on the right, of my fruit and veg haul!

Yesterday, I went to a friends house for lunch. It was kinda tough going. We had a roast, I didn't feel that I could make any special requests for less oil on the roasted veggies, or requests how to prepare my food - I just went with the flow! I worked out that I ended up spending about 28 points! Normally, for lunch, I take no more than 10! We had roast chicken, it was delicious, but I felt kinda guilty. Oh well...one thing for it...an extra run today, and a concerted effort to be sensible with my point allowance! Weigh in is only 3 days away now! Yikes!

Thursday 30th May 2013

Well, I gotta say, I'm disappointed! I only lost half a pound this week! I was sure it was going to be at least 3.

I had to weigh in with a different group this week because I got stuck in traffic, so diverted to a different local group. The lady running it was really lovely, a lot of fun and very supportive.

I explained what I had done this week, and weirdly, she told me to keep eating my points! She explained that the most success comes when you give your body the right amounts points required, then to eat any activity points you make! I told her it sounded weird and wrong! She went on to say that your body will process all the food, and the points keep it measured. If you go under your points, your body isn't getting of what it needs, so it starts storing fat, which means you won't lose! Arrrrgh!

Soooo, this week, my plan is to eat all the points I have, going into my weekly points, and gaining activity points (by running and walking) and just seeing what happens. Maybe by doing so, I will lose more! I'm keeping optimistic!

Thursday 6th June 2013

Gah! This is getting really frustrating now! I only lost another half pound. I don't understand it, I've been following the plan to the letter - having only my daily and weekly allowance of points, and getting activity points in too.

I asked the instructor where I was going wrong, and she seems to think that I might be eating too much fruit! Fruit is zero points, so you can have as much as you want, so I have been. She suggested the fructose sugars in fruit could be making my body not burn as much fat I was would like. Grrrrr, surely if there was a problem with fruit there would be some sort of guideline about it? Apparently not!

So, I'm going to keep going, cut back on fruit a bit, although not cut it out completely, of course. I'm going to eat all my points, and try and get more activity points in, and see what happens.

Thursday 13th June 2013

Phew! Well that's more like it! I've been quite despondent for the last fortnight, having only lost half a pound at my weigh ins, but this week I lost 4.5! WOOHOO! Such a relief!

I had also reach my lucky 7 - which means I've lost 7 lbs so far...well actually, it's a total of 10.5 to be exact.

I got my free gift for signing up too - an Eat Out guide (pictured on the right) - FANTASTIC! It contains all (well, most) of the restaurants in the UK, their menus AND the number of pro-points! Last week, we went to Pizza Express, and it was surprisingly annoying to type in each option to my Weight Watchers app, to find out what I wanted. This makes it so easy, at a glance I can work out what I want.

So, my daily points allowance is 43, and my weekly 49. Get this: A Jack Daniels Monterey Burger is a whopping 78 points! It's just not worth, is it?

So, this week, the differences I made were: Eating less fruit (but not cutting it out), and achieved more Activity Points (14 in total) by going for an hour's walk (which is 4 points). Soooo, I plan to do more of the same this week, and see what next week brings! Ahhhhh, I feel so relieved :)

WOOO! I reached my lucky seven!

Thursday 20th June 2013

Well, it had to happen at some point. I gained weight. Waaaaah! I've put on 0.5lb, disappointed...but not lost hope.

What am I going to do differently this week:

• I've been eating carbs for breakfast (shreddies, or shredded wheat), it was suggested I try and change it up to have more protein fuelled breakfast - so I'm going to start eating medallion bacon, with a poached egg...3 points.
• This week, I gained 16 activity points, which were made up of 4 hours of walking. This week I'm going to get in at least 2 runs, to try and increase my heart rate - as I was doing before

Sooooo...those are the two things I'm going change...and keep my fingers crossed for a good weight loss next week...I just need to lose 1lb then I would have lost 5% of my original body weight - eeek!

Thursday 27th June 2013

This week I lost 4lbs...Amazing! This means in total, I've lost a stone! I've lost 5% body weight, and achieved another lucky 7!

I feel so excited about the future. Honestly, losing a stone wasn't that a big a deal - I've just followed the Weight Watchers programme. I ate when I wanted to, but I tracked everything I ate. I had a good balance of proteins and fruits. I drank wine and beer, ate chocolate, ate sweets...but a balanced amount.

The changes I made last week seemed to work - so I'm taking these forward. I'm making sure I don't eat cereal every morning for breakfast, and go on at least 2 30 minutes runs a week.

I had a bit of a slip up this week though. I went to the cinema and chose to eat popcorn - which I knew would be 22 points, a lot of points! We ended up going to the pub after, which was fine, I counted my points in beer...then we ended up going for a curry! Problem was, I didn't have my Eat Out book - uh oh! I frantically browsed the WW app, to make sure I could work out point value of what I was eating - but it was quite problematic. Cut a long story short, the next day, I worked out the curry alone worked out at 60 points! Which meant, that day, I ate over 100 points! ARRGH! This totally wiped out my weekly points - and even though I had accrued some Activity points (that I can "spend" if I want to).

So, this week I've been in a negative points. As it stands (Tuesday 2nd July) I have -2 points. I've been a run, and a 40 minute walk, which gave me 6 points. As my weigh in day is Thursday - I only have tomorrow to make up the 2 remaining points. Hopefully a walk tomorrow will do the trick! Then...back to normal on Thursday...just hope I haven't put on too much this week! Eeeeek!

Thursday 4th July 2013

I put on a pound. Very annoyed. I'm hoping it's just water retention. Assumedly, you've read my last post, so you understand what else happened :( :( :( Big sad face :( :( :(

Thursday 11th July 2012

I lost 1.5 lbs - not bad but was hoping for more...

Thursday 18th July 2013

I nearly didn't go to my Weight Watchers meeting tonight. I feel fat. I feel like I've not lost any weight. I have a few reasons for this though. I went out last Friday, and drank. I drank a lot! I also danced though, so kept activity going. That evening, I also had an Indian. I blew a lot of points.

I've been in Edinburgh, so have been doing a LOT of walking. On Sunday night, I drank a lot of beer. On Monday night, I drank a LOT more beer. The reason was because I racked up a lot of Activity points, I figured I would use them. Risky strategy, but I wanted to have fun. I had 24 activity points, on top of my weekly points that I spent...and finished my week with 2 points left of activity. Eeeeek!

I really didn't want to go to the meeting. The thought of gaining weight, after having so much fun, did not appeal. I went...and I lost 2.5lbs!!! HOW???? OMG, amazing! I'm so pleased. Hey, eating activity points works!

I haven't been running much either, because it's been so hot - it's been about 30degrees everyday! I'm so pleased with my loss! I'm very nearly at my 10% loss. Woooo!

Thursday 25th July 2013

Wooo! I've lost another 2lbs - only another 2 away from losing 10% of my weight!

I know the picture to the right is small, but you can see which way the line is heading...down!

I'm really pleased. I was a little worried, because this week I had ANOTHER family BBQ. Y'know the sort, full of creamy potato salads, creamy and cheesy coleslaw, dressing galore and LOTS of gorgeous breads and butters. I tried to take only what would work for Weight Watchers, so a portion of cous cous that would fit into my palm, a palm sized steak, vegetarian sausage, LOTS of salad, and only a small piece of brown bread.

I was also worried because I haven't down a lot of activity this week. It's just so bloomin' hot, I couldn't face it. I managed one half hour run though.

I'm determined to lose that extra 2lbs, to get to 10% before I head up to the Edinburgh festival! Wish me luck!

Thursday 1st August 2013

I struggled this week! I lost 1/2 a pound. It was tough. I had 2 birthday celebrations!

One was for my cousin's 22nd birthday - there was a lot of lovely food on the go: burgers, sausages, coleslaw, salad, BBQ chicken...you name it, it was there. There were a lot of points to be had! And that doesn't include the desserts - cakes, ice creams, sweets - blimey - it was tempting!

I had to really think about what I was eating, but also, really consider why I was there, and to try and relax and ultimately enjoy myself. I was conscious that completely letting go would undo all the hard work I've been putting in since May. It takes a long time to lose the weight, so I didn't want to be frivilous and have a few minutes yummy food pleasure, and weeks and weeks of trying to lose the weight again.

So how did I cope and what strategy did I use? I could have done a "Filling and Healthy Day" instead of point counting, but I still haven't quite got my head around that, so decided to count. I kept my carb intake to a minimum - I had one bun, with a burger. I also filled up on chicken, and a sausage. I ate a lot of salad too! It was great. I even had a weight watchers wine! For dessert I wanted to have a cupcake, so I let myself. I figured that my family went to all the trouble, I wanted to have something to show appreciation. Everyone had a biggish bowl of ice cream - so I used my small cupcake case as a bowl for my ice cream - meaning I could have some, but kept my portion sensible.

Last night was my beautiful boyfriend's birthday celebration, and so for that, I threw caution to the wind...by keeping very low points during the day! We were going to an Italian, so I used my Eat Out guide to choose the best options. I had tomato and mozzarella salad to start, followed by a small steak with tomato chilli sauce, with vegetables...oh and mouthful of the birthday boy's Tiramisu - I opted out of dessert! So, for what was a relatively low point meal, I made up for with wine, gin and limoncello.

After a full-of-food week - I'm pleased with my loss of half a pound. I really thought this week was going to be a gain! This coming week, I have more birthday celebrations...so hopefully I can lose another 1.5lbs to get to my 10%.

Thursday 8th August 2013

This was a great week for me...I have lost 10% of my body weight and I feel great! I lost 1.5lbs. Giving me a total weight loss of 21lbs - which also means, I got my 3rd lucky 7 - yup, I've lost 1.5 stones!

It's been a tricky week really, because I've been up at the Edinburgh Festival - tempted by beer and fast food from all the food vans that seem to linger at each and every corner!

The Edinburgh meetings seem to be a lot more formal than my Oxford ones, but our lady is pretty good...helping to keep me motivated.

Thursday 15th and 22nd August 2013

I figured I wanted to increase my activity as much as I could...not only am I doing ridiculous amounts of walking to make it to all of the shows I want to see at the Festival, but I've joined the local gym by buying 10 fitness class passes - I've joined Body Attack! Yes, the very class that gave me Sciatica, and made me put on so much weight in the first place. I'm taking it easy though.

Week 14, I lost 3 lbs, which I was really pleased with...but Week 15, I gained 1lb - boooo! We're putting it down to add muscle mass from the crazy amounts of walking, as well as the Body Attack classes I've been going to. Is it a worthy way to put weight on though - when I'm trying lose? Now is not the time to be building muscle! Arrrgh!

Thursday 29th August 2013

This week, I took a trip to America, for my best friend's wedding. This summer, at the Weight Watchers meetings, we've been talking about how to cope with a holiday - food wise. You can either stay on WW and watch what you're eating, to get a weight loss. You can eat a few points a day to maintain your body weight. Or you can choose to stop WW and just eat whatever you fancy.

I thought long and hard about this. I hardly ever see Andrew, as we're in different countries. So, I took the decision to not be fussy about where we go, what we do, or what we eat. I was there to celebrate his wedding, so hells yeah, I wanted to drink and be merry with him and his gorgeous bride. I chose to come off WW for the week...however, I also wanted to stay sensible with it. For example, we went out to a lovely restaurant one night, so I had half a pint of craft beer and a Chicken Caesar salad, but chose to only use a bit of dressing. It was fine.

I had such a great time. Ate quite a lot, drank a lot more! So the following week, I found out where my weight loss was...I started September, on Thursday 5th, with a 2.5lb gain! But you know what, they actually congratulated me, because over a two week trip to the states, the average weight gain is 8lbs!! Wow! Knowing it takes about 3 weeks to lose 5-7lbs, a full 8lb gain would have been taking a huge step back...so grateful that I didn't put on that much. Yes, I made the conscious decision to stop the plan, but at the same time made a conscious decision to make sensible eating decisions when I could :)

Thursday 12th September 2013

Huge relief this week. I managed to shift my holiday weight and more! I lost 3.5lbs! Wooo!

Thursday 19th September 2013

Sad news this week. My Abingdon Weight Watchers leader, Rachel, is leaving. Tonight was her last meeting with us. It was really sad, I didn't realise how attached I had gotten to the group. She gave us lots of good parting advice, plus a recipe for a 0 zero pointer ratatouille! Fab! What I always appreciated about her advice was that it was practical. At other meetings I had been to, the advice was general, a bit wishy-washy and theoretical - whereas Rachel would say to me things like "have some bacon medallions and an egg for breakfast a couple of times, instead of cereal and see if that works"...and it did. When I couldn't eat enough points, she suggested eating a small portion of cashew nuts or a little tub of houmous and some carrot sticks...and it worked. Shame she's left, but onwards and upwards, we have a new leader now to embrace.

This week, I lost another 1.5lbs :)

Thursday 26th September and 3rd October 2013

This fortnight has been incredibly stressful. We moved house. Moving a flat full of furniture, on the second floor, is no mean feat. It was tough. The fools we are decided to do it ourselves. Stress was high, and muscles were weak! We did it eventually - after all the planning, organising, runs to the charity shop, carrying boxes here there and everywhere!

The first week, I lost 2.5lbs. The second week was the actual move. My eating habits were all over the place, I found it hard to find the time to eat the right things. I didn't track at all. I just didn't have time or energy. Oops! On the final night of the move, we went to a restaurant and pretty much scoffed our faces. We were tired and hadn't eaten properly in days. We even had dessert. I was dubious about the upcoming weigh in, but I had lost another 2lbs. Must have been all that activity...I can't think what else it would have been. I wonder if I had lost more, had I not eaten that dessert? Hmmm we'll never know.

What this means, is that I have now officially lost 2 stone! **BIG SMILEY FACE!**

Thursday 10th October 2013

I lost another 1.5lbs this week. I made a concerted effort to increase my activity points. I went for an hour's walk on Sunday, then this week I was working in Oxford. Instead of getting the bus in from the Park and Ride, I decided to walk! So, so far so good!

So, at the weekly meeting - it was interesting, a lady was talking about how she's going, and was talking about how she only tries to eat 16 points a day! Is she crazy? She said she doesn't touch her 49 weekly points, and she never eats her full daily allowance. In my opinion, that's not right. To me, Weight Watchers is about sustaining a healthy eating regime for life, and the WW helps "train" you for that. If you treat WW like a diet, as soon as you stop, surely you'll go back to old eating habits. She sounds like she's depriving herself, so probably won't be able to sustain her eating in the future. I eat all my points, I eat chocolate every day, I drink alcohol a few times a week...I don't not eat something if I want it... but, I make it fit in with my points. If I want chocolate, I ask myself, what have I eaten that day and what will I be eating later, can I fit it in? Or am I planning on some exercise this week, where I can regain the points spent on the chocolate.

Aaaaaanyway...the way that works for me is to eat all my points...I can't imagine eating less points...it doesn't seem healthy to me. This weekend, I'm at wedding - that means canapes, champagne, lots of food, more champagne, more food and more champagne - eeeeek - wish me luck!

Thursday 17th October 2013

ARRGGH!! This week I put on 1.5lbs - which apart from my holiday, is the most I've ever put on - arrrgh! Well, at least I know why, and what happened...it was the wedding! I had a great time, so have no regrets. Ok, ok, ok, I could have swapped a few wines for diet coke, sure...but hey!

This week, here is what I'm going to do differently:

• Try not to go too far into my weekly points. Yes, I know eating your points is good, however, I can't guarantee I'm going to be able to get many activity points in - so just to err on the side of caution, I'm going to eat 30-40 of my weekly points, rather than the full 49. IF I manage to get lots of activity, I'll eat more.
• I'm going to reduce my carbs. My leader told us a fabulous idea about switching rice or pasta for grated cauliflower! Sounds bonkers right? It's fab! Basically, with a low point curry, instead of rice, just grate some cauliflower, pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes with a tablespoon of water, and have that instead. Let's see how it is!

Here's to a better weigh in, next time!

Thursday 24th and 31st October 2013

It's been a very frustrating fortnight. I lost the grand total of half a pound! The first week, I lost a pound, and the week just gone, I lost nothing...I also didn't gain...so small mercies, I guess. So, my current weight is 13stone 0.5lbs.

The last meeting was really good, and was about not feeling tempted around the Halloween season, with so much chocolate and candies everywhere, they suggested ways to avoid over-indulgence. Little tips like buying little pound shop toys to give out, instead of sweets...so no candies in the house! Fab!

For a long time now, the leaders at Weight Watchers have been trying to get members to do Filling and Healthy days. This means you can eat as much as you want (well, a sensible portion) of whatever is listed as green points, in the Weight Watchers catalogue. Sounds fine, but to me, I always found it easier just to count and track. After my rubbish weigh in this week, Wendy (one of my fabulous leaders) suggested I should try it, just to see what happens. I was reluctant. It seems like there's too much planning involved. She immediately gave me a resounding "why not?" - which is a great question! Well, why not? Soooo, today (Saturday 2nd Nov'13) I'm doing my first ever F&H day. I've worked out what I'm going to have...but I'm going round a friends tonight, we usually eat snacks and drink alcohol. I've decided to drive, so there's zero temptation to drink, and I'm going to take round diet coke and fruits. Eeek.

It took a little bit of planning but this is what I came up with. I plan to fill out some of these meals with fruits and vegetables that take my fancy at the time. The nice thing about Filling and Healthy days, is whilst you don't count points, if you eat anything that isn't F&H, you just take it out of your 49 weekly points. So, I might put some cheese on my Jacket Potato, and just count those points. Not sure yet, we'll see :)

I plan to do another F&H day on Monday and Tuesday. And try to increase my activity again (...I had 25 activity points last week, and still didn't lose, uber frustrating...please work for me F&H days!!). Fingers crossed that it all makes for a good weigh in next week :)

Thursday 7th and 14th November 2013

It's been good. Filling & Healthy works!

In my first week, I lost 1.5 lbs and this week, at yesterday's weigh in, I lost 2.5lbs. 4lbs in 2 weeks, is pretty good going. I'll take that! So, now I'm 12 stone 10.5 lbs.

Filling & Healthy has been good to me, and surprisingly it's not been that difficult. I find it a bit more of a faff to plan (my leader says it's because my comfort blanket of pointing has gone...but you still need to point anything you don't eat that is F&H).

When I've been eating out with friends, the mad panic and reaching for the WW Eat Out book is taken over by ordering a Jacket Potato with Beans. No cheese, or butter. Sound boring, but it does the job.

Thinking ahead to Christmas, I would love to be down to at least 12.5stone. Going to try to get closer to the 12stone mark. I really want to relax over Christmas and not worry about counting...which could mean that I would put on more weight and have to shift it...hmmm. Really hoping for helpful advice and tips from the Weight Watchers leaders as we get closer!

Well, my 28th weigh in was naff...gained a pound! ARGGH!! But, all is not lost, 29th Weigh in I lost 2.5lbs meaning I had reached my 5th lucky 7! So lost a total of 36lbs...wooo!

Thursday 5th and 12th December 2013

With Christmas on the horizon, Weight Watcher's folk have a decision to make - over Christmas, will you choose to gain, stay the same, or lose weight? December is always super busy, and I love Christmas - so I made the conscious decision that over Christmas, I would take a gain.

Strange, on my first weigh in, I lost 2lbs and the second, I stayed the same. Ok, ok, ok...the start of December doesn't really count because for me, the Christmas season hasn't really started yet. But, I know I have lots of family parties and meal outs...and of course, the big day itself coming up fast. How long can I keep up a good success rate on Weight Watchers, I wonder?

Wednesday 18th December 2013

The madness has started, but I'm trying to keep control (even though I've been making mince pies like a demon). I had to go to a different meeting this week as I'm on a city break on my usual weigh in day. I went to a lunchtime meeting in Abingdon, which was full old dears, so being the only non-oldy and only male was a little intimidating...but somehow, I managed to lose 2.5lbs. Whaaaat? Not that I'm complaining!

The leader (who I'd never met before) was great. She celebrated her first full year being at goal, and talked to us about our choices over the Christmas period again. She gave us these really cute little Christmas trees (pic to the right), to write on a G, S, L (gain, stay the same or lose), to keep on us, to help and remind us what our goals are over Christmas. I wrote a G on mine, and that was that. She also did a quiz about buffet food, which was really interesting - who knew a mini sausage roll only carries 1 point? Not me! But the general rule of thumb is STAY AWAY FROM BEIGE FOOD!

This is me last weigh in until after Christmas - I have dinner booked at a 2* Michelin restaurant (there's no way that I'm not eating everything...WW can wait!), 2 Christmas dinners, Christmas and New Year's parties...all sorts. However, I'm prepared for the scales to tell me I've gained at the start of 2014 - but for me, life's too short not to enjoy time with friends and family - and weirdly, food is very much part of that. I know it doesn't have to be, but I'm making the choice and am prepared for the consequences...eeeeeek!

Happy Christmas, and Happy New Year, by the way :)

Saturday 4th January 2014

It's felt like a really long time since I'd been to a meeting, and been founding it hard to find the motivation to return to my Weight Watcher's app and track! So, I went along to a Saturday meeting - having meetings on a Thursday, kinda screws up getting to a meeting, when Christmas and New Year are so close to Thursday's in 2013!!

Sooooooo - I knew it was coming...I gained 5lbs! To be honest, I wasn't expecting that much - consider a week in America, back in September only let me gain 2.5lbs. But hey, I wasn't upset, I accepted what I had done - meh, sadder things have happened. But now I'm ready to back to losing weight.

Weight Watcher's launched a new programme called Simple Start - it looks great, and a perfect way to get going on the programme - no weighing, or measuring. However, I'm sticking to point counting, for me, that's where I'm most comfortable. The beauty of Simple Start though, is that it relies on the Filling and Healthy foods (aaah haaa - so THAT's why there was a massive F&H push at the tail end of last year), so they've released a whole bunch of recipes and ideas of ways to be creative with the F&H foods - definitely going to try some of them!

So, I have work to do - I really want the scales to read a loss at the next meeting, less than a week away! Here goes!

Thursday 9th January 2014

Onwards and Upwards...this week I lost 1.5lbs - pheeew! Not as much as I would have liked, but a loss all the same.

The thing I love about the Weight Watcher's meetings, is that you get so many tips and ideas from other people. I know there's the forums and things online, but I feel without the meetings, I wouldn't be doing half as well. Our Edinburgh leader has a great Facebook group, which I joined...and so there's so much great stuff on there. She shared a link to this video, so I'm sharing here. Strangely, it's from a youtuber who I already followed, and has just started WW - I love her charisma...

As I'm checking out other bloggers, I come across some really good advice, and blogs packed with some really useful information. So, here they are:

Or maybe you've been on another diet programme, like the Atkins (shudder) diet or something. How were they? Did you enjoy them? Are you thinking about starting Weight Watchers. Let me know in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you.

If you have a Weight Watcher's blog, why not drop the link here too...