Our last Weight Watchers attempt was at least six or seven years ago. Two things happened; we met our now great friend Jinx (so whether I was supposed to lose weight or not is up for grabs, but I KNOW I was supposed to meet Jinx), and we had Irving Zangwill as our Weight Watchers leader. Irving is funny, irreverent, cordial, and can keep a class moving in the right direction. He is also good at reeling in the complainers and those who drone on without a point, and he and Jinx were the reasons we continued to go every Sunday morning for eight months. Irving is now retired from Weight Watchers, so we are forced to find a new “leader”, hopefully whose class is at a time good for us. Having no clue who any of the current leaders were we picked a Wednesday morning class and signed up.
Enter Maggie. But before I tell you about Maggie, let me just say that celebrity spokespersons and the people you see in Weight Watchers food ads and program commercials are not whom you see in class, even those who have reached their goal weight and have successfully kept it off. The median age is probably 60, in this case mostly 70ish women, with a great deal of folks who are dealing with diabetes and heart disease, most looking to lose 25 to 50 pounds, not just looking to drop a dress size. They’ve battled weight most of their lives as well. And when most hit goal weight they do not look like Jennifer Hudson or Jessica Simpson. As long as everybody keeps their clothes on it’s all good, but years of excess weight and lack of exercise do not turn a 60-something into a slim, toned, wrinkle-free 30-something. We have our issues. Saddle bags, bat wings, turkey neck wattle, and my favorite, the back fat that a bra won’t conceal. At my thinnest that NEVER WENT AWAY. On occasion a young mother trying to lose her baby weight or a 20-something getting married will look like a total babe at goal weight, but most of us will look like, well, us. Only smaller. So back to Maggie. She is one of us. Yes, she is at goal and has been for 8 years. Does she look like Helen Mirren or Susan Sarandon? Not really. She’s probably 5’ 1” or 2”, and had obviously held her weight in her hips and thighs. Does she look like she could still lose a few more pounds? Probably. Irving, too, always looked a bit larger than he should, but he was such a charismatic leader there would have been a revolt if he were axed. So I was looking for charisma, not perfection. Someone interesting, knowledgeable, a bit entertaining, and someone who could handle a class, ‘cause you wouldn’t believe how a bunch of older ladies can get totally out of hand.
Because this WW center is open regular hours (vs. only when meetings are held) Steve and I mused about just going weekly to weigh in, screw the meeting. I just need someone to hold me accountable. But in Maggie’s class she referred to “The Magic Chairs”, as those who attend meetings lose (on average) more weight. Since she was able to hold my interest for the 45 minutes and was knowledgeable as well as funny, we’re going to try the magic chairs for a while.
In order to keep up with trends, be they low carb, vegan, gluten free, caveman, etc., WW continues to modify their program to make it more appealing, easier to follow, and less restrictive so dieters don’t feel deprived and fall off the wagon. I’ve been on plans that were so restrictive that it was inevitable all hell would break loose when I stopped. And since I know portion size is an issue for me I’m able to count points, weigh and measure servings so I know I’m not exceeding my daily food limit. Steve, on the other hand, ain’t trackin’ ain’t weighin’, ain’t measurin’ a blessed thing. So the handy list of “Power Foods” allows him to eat from a list, until he is satisfied, without writing anything down. And he gets to eat A LOT more because he’s a guy. And not only can he eat more, but he’ll lose weight faster (which I know from experience). How the fuck is that fair? So while we’ll celebrate our successes together I’m sure his rapid weight decline will be met with a “bite me” or two from my lips. I have consoled females in couples that have joined WWs together in the past. Even suggested they slip their husbands a little butter and a few carbs when they aren’t looking. Not really. But it is hard to accept that we follow the program to a tee, exercise every day, and eat a lot less than they do and they lose weight at twice the rate.
This week has been relatively easy. We’ve had a glass of wine on most nights, ate delicious vegetable lasagna (using eggplant and zucchini slices instead of noodles), great meals on the grill, and even went out for dinner at a fabulous Boston restaurant, Teatro, before seeing Eddie Izzard at The Wang Center (look him up – he’s worth a few minutes on youtube). I saved up points, did more exercise, and planned carefully so I could enjoy Prosecco, carpaccio, wild mushroom risotto, and lemon sorbet. And one week later I lost 4 pounds.
Eat well!
