Lifetime!!

I can't believe it has been nearly a month since I wrote here. I'm very sorry to all five of my readers ;)

Today was a big deal for me. I made Lifetime status at Weight Watchers!!!!!! If you are not familiar with that term what it means is that I have stayed within two pounds of my goal weight for six weeks. It also means you no longer have to pay to attend meetings as long as you keep maintaining. A lot of us (myself included) look forward to no longer paying to attend meetings, especially if we've been at it a while. But we'd be lying if we didn't also admit that it is a huge accomplishment that not a lot of people achieve or stay at. That doesn't mean Weight Watchers is ineffective at getting people to that point. It just means that it's hard!

A lot of people who come to WW have been there before and gained some or all of their weight back. Some make it to goal but can't maintain it and while they're still Lifetime members, they have to resume paying until they get back on track. I think it's an aptly named designation because WW is not a diet. It's something you do for a Lifetime! It's also something that a lot of people realize they cannot do on their own no matter how well they know the program. A member in the meeting I attended today had just got back to not having to pay again. She mentioned how she believed she could do it without support and without really following the things she'd been taught and the weight began to creep back on.

I think some people just starting out or who are considering joining might not like the idea of always needing to be in the meetings or following the plan. I guess I understand that. I certainly don't love tracking and there are other things I could do with the time I spend in the meetings. But, the truth is, those meetings have helped me so much and the friendships I've made there are invaluable to me and I know myself and I know I won't keep the weight off if I don't have the accountability. I think the majority of people who need WW are food addicts and we have to eat so there is no getting away from it. You wouldn't tell a drug addict or an alcoholic to quit getting support, so getting support for this is not a bad thing and it's something we should look at as a gift to ourselves.