Finding a meeting to join wasn’t hard. I already knew where the closest Weight Watchers was–right upstairs from the Trader Joe’s, and near the Gymboree. I could find the times online, which was convenient.
So, one Saturday AM, I simply told my husband to watch the kids… I’m going!
Entering the location the first time was unsettling. I felt exposed and indignant. But I went to the counter and chose my subscription option. I chose to do the autopay, which means you don’t pay for every meeting individually and can use the online tools. I felt this option was best for me because if I had to pay every time, I’d feel resentful about it, whereas if it was prepaid I’d be “wasting” it if I didn’t go. They also reassured me that it was easy to discontinue it if desired, though I didn’t get to test that.
The first weigh-in was surprisingly matter-of-fact; no shaming, no humiliation. It was a number, nothing more. I received a packet of materials and sat in the meeting room.
I don’t remember the first meeting in particular, but in general they are not salesy, or preachy. The emphasis was on member-supplied strategies around a program-suggested theme. Above all, the environment was respectful.
After the meeting, there was an orientation for new members that explained the whole point thing. For the non-WW crowd, points are the way Weight Watchers measures calories, skewed toward encouraging more fiber and discouraging fat. Two foods could have the same number of calories but different point values if one had more fiber or less fat than the other.
All of a sudden, it made sense-points weren’t just some gimmicky way of counting calories copyright Weight Watchers, but as a mechanism for subtly encouraging different eating behavior. You can pick to eat anything you want, but you’re less likely to be hungry if you pick healthier foods. Let’s say you get 25 points per day. You can eat a large fries for 13 points (500 calories), or a large baked potato for 4 (275 calories). Do you want to burn more than half your points for one serving of fries? Or if you’re dying for the fries, go for the small-at 5 points (230 calories), you’ve got a lot of room left for other food. It’s not just then the amount of calories, but the quality and variety of sources.
The emphasis is not only on the numeric value of the points, but also on what’s called “healthy checks.” You are encouraged to not only check points, but check off servings of vegetables, lean protein, healthy oils, etc.-again to encourage a varied diet. We all know we should be eating more fruits and veggies, but for some reason I was more prone to eat them when I could check off I’d done so.
Armed with lots of literature and way too much information, I launched into my first week.
