Weight Watchers? Well ...

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you know that weight is a major issue for me.  I’ve had a serious weight problem since my teens, and throughout my adult life.

And I had many, many attempts to lose weight.  I’d lose a few pounds, fall off the wagon, gain it all back, and more, too.

About 10 years ago I lost 70 pounds.  The euphoria didn’t last. Neither did the weight loss.

The lesson to be learned?  You can’t fix what’s on your plate until you fix what’s in your head.

And then, in March 2015...

My weight was creeping up into a range I’d never seen before, and my health was suffering.  My doctor said I could undo some of the damage if I lost weight.  The surgeon suggested I consider weight loss surgery, he recommended his favorite bariatric procedure, the “gastric sleeve”.

Scary proposition, wasn’t it?

Then another doctor suggested I lose some weight in anticipation of the surgery.

So I did what I had done before:  I joined Weight Watchers.

And I was successful at losing weight.

And then, six months later ... meltdown.

Weight Watchers has an interesting business model.  They revamp the program every two years.  Sometimes the changes are subtle.  Sometimes they completely redesign the program.    Two years ago the company introduced a brand-new version of the program called “Smart Points”.  And at the same time, they redesigned the website and apps.  So we all found ourselves trying to learn new technology — which kept crashing — along with the new program.

The frustration with the software, that I could manage.

The new program?  Not so much. I found it totally unworkable, far too restrictive.

When I was sitting in a meeting in tears, and the leader had nothing useful to say ...

I felt angry.  Betrayed.  I’d been a Weight Watchers member, on and off, for decades.  And what had always worked for me was no longer reliable.

I quit Weight Watchers, and continued to lose weight on my own.

Well, it’s two years later, and I’m floundering a bit.  I’ve gained back a few pounds. I am not happy.  I need to refocus.

And, like clockwork, Weight Watchers is making changes again.

They rolled out the new version in the UK this week.  The US version will be released December 3.

The articles I saw online describe the changes, and I am intrigued.  The modifications seem to address all the problems that made the plan unworkable.

And to tell the truth, I miss going to the meetings.  Online support groups are a pale imitation of the real deal.

I think I will be rejoining Weight Watchers.