About 4 months ago I mentioned on this site that I was going to be joining Weight Watchers with my wife. At the time I really didn’t want to do it as I had a preconceived notion that the Weight Watchers program was mainly helpful for women – a program where women get together at meetings every week and talk about their feelings, and why they struggled to lose weight.
I know that notion wasn’t really a true one, but I think a lot of guys have that idea in their head. Even Weight Watchers corporate has admitted as much in their new set of commercials in which they have several men who have been through the program talk about how they’ve been made fun of for joining what has traditionally been a female focused program, but how they don’t care cause they’re looking better now.
We joined the program at the end of January, and we’ve been attending weekly meetings for about 16 weeks now. In that time I’ve lost an average of 1.7 pounds per week, coming out to a total weight loss so far of 27.2 lbs, see my weight loss graph in the sidebar. (Disclaimer: People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week). At the meetings every week they recognize members who have reached goals that they’ve set. One of the goals you start the program with is losing 5%, then 10% of your starting weight. Since I reached that goal last night, as well as completing 16 weeks of meetings, I got recognized last night with my 10% weight loss keychain and 16 week commitment charm.
Now that I’ve reached that goal I’m setting another goal of another 5% of my starting weight loss – or another 13.5 lbs. My ultimate goal is to weigh in at 200lbs. I know I can do it, but we’ll see how long it takes. If I continue losing at the current rate, it’ll take about 6-7 more months. I think I can handle that. It took years to build it up, to lose it in less than a year is a good thing.
How Did I Lose Weight (So Far)?
So how have I lose the 27.2 lbs that I’ve lost so far?
- Portion control: I’ve cut back my portion sizes to more manageable healthier sized meals. I’ve become more aware of what a good portion size is, and let me tell you, it’s a lot smaller than you think. We’ve been conditioned by the food industry and restaurants to think a healthy meal size is mega – when in reality you could probably share an average meal with 2-3 people.
- Healthier eating: While I still struggle with this one to a degree ( I like my sweets!), I’m more apt to eat an apple or banana, or eat a salad than I was before. I’m making better eating decisions.
- Being more active: I’ve been more active over the past few months, especially using my Xbox Kinect and the fitness video games that I’ve bought.
- More portion control: Ok, I’m mentioning this one twice because this has been the biggest piece of the puzzle for me. Before I would sit down and eat the whole bag of chips. Now I’ll measure out a healthy portion size and eat that instead. I’m still finding that I’m satisfied, but I’m eating a lot less, and actually losing.
Ok, so losing weight truly isn’t rocket science. It really comes down to eating healthier (smaller portions, healthier foods), and getting some activity worked into your daily plan. That’s it. The progress isn’t always super fast, but if you do those things you will lose weight.
I for one have become a Weight Watchers convert having seen how it can work in my own life. It’s not just for the ladies, guys!
So now it’s onwards and upwards to my next goal – 15% of my body weight loss!
Are you trying to lose weight currently – and if so, how are you doing it? Tell us about your progress as well!
Read my review of the Weight Watchers program
Disclaimer: This site is an advertising partner with Weight Watchers. I will receive compensation if a new member signs up through one of the links above. Please know that this review does discuss my true feelings of the program and how it has worked for me.
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