WeightWatchers has it right

As previously stated, last November I began using the WeightWatchers Points system. The system is based on a person receiving a daily allowance of points in order to keep your food consumption to a defined level. In addition to the daily points, you also have "flex" points that can be used throughout the week so that you can splurge a time or two (and yet still maintain a reasonable intake of calories). Extra points can also be earned through exercise. In case you're wondering, p=(c/50)+(f/12)-(r/5) is the formula to determine how many points a given food choice is (where p=points, c=calories, f=fat, and r=fiber). I'm not a math wizard, but the system appears to attempt to place a greater emphasis on lower calorie, lower fat foods. In other words, apples are lower in Points value than Alfredo sauce.

The reason the system works, in my opinion, is twofold. First, it gets you to eat what you're supposed to eat without making you feel trapped. I hate to say that I'm on a diet. Saying you're on a diet implies that you're not making a permanent change. It's saying to the world "I'm not going to eat as much as I want because I’m trying to drop some weight. However, as soon as I lose the weight I'm going to quit dieting and will resume my normal eating habits." This is a temporary solution to an established problem. If a person is eating properly they won’t be overweight to begin with. If they aren’t eating properly, then they need to change their behavior and eat right for the rest of their lives. Otherwise, all you’re doing is continuing a cycle of weight loss and weight gain. This is as much of an issue as being constantly overweight. The Points system changes your behavior. You can eat whatever you want, as long as you stay within the assigned Points range. In order to consume the foods that are typically unhealthy, you need to eat less of them. If you want to eat more food, you have to make better choices. It’s quite simple really. To give you an example, I get somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 points per day. Most fruits are a point each and vegetables are generally no points. A McDonald’s Big Mac is 13 points. Thus, I could eat 13 apples or one Big Mac. The choice is mine, but if I’m looking for quantity then I have to choose healthier options. I’ve found that I’m much happier eating a few pieces of fruit than one little burger. My behavior has changed.

The other reason is works is that it’s easy. Humans, as I see it, are a lazy species. I’m not talking in the physical sense (although that may be true too), but in a mental sense. I would attribute it to the number of things that we focus on each day and not necessarily say it’s a bad thing. Our minds can comprehend a limited amount of information daily. We can spend our mental resources calculating calories and nutritional information or we can do something entertaining. In most cases, entertainment wins. That’s why people fail when they try to focus on keeping track of too many numbers. Sure, there are people that do it. I’d say there are a lot of fitness nuts that keep track of everything that goes into their mouth. Good for them. For people like me, I just don’t have that kind of attention span. I need something quick. I need something that I don’t have to figure out. I need something that can help me make a split second decision when I’m hungry and I want to eat. The Points system does that. Using the WeightWatchers website (which you pay a monthly fee for), an official calculator (which you can buy if you’re a member), or one of the unauthorized counters on the Internet (Google it) allows you to quickly ascertain the value of any food item. Once you’re on the plan for awhile, you start to get a sense of what is a good number and what isn’t. There’s not a lot more to it. You start changing your behavior and making better choices.

I’m not currently a member on the WeightWatchers site. I cancelled my membership a few months back (after I bought myself the Points calculator). I’m also not religiously keeping track of my daily points. I know that my breakfast is 8 points, my lunch is 8 points, and dinner just has to be reasonable. I like to snack on fruit, cheese, and pickled eggs. I try to only eat 100% whole grains. It’s not rocket science. But the key is that I needed to use the WeightWatchers system (where I did religiously keep track of my points) long enough to change my behavior.

P.S. The WeightWatchers Points formula came from Wired magazine (July 2009 issue). I was going to link to the article, but it doesn’t appear to be online. Hopefully they don’t sue me for plagiarism.    

What are the numbers?

I figure that I can't do a weight loss blog unless I keep track of my weight. I need a starting point. Now I know some people argue against using weight loss as the goal. The theory as I understand it is that weight isn't a strong enough motivator. In order to make real change, you have to alter your behavior and strive for more than just dropping pounds. In other words, you should exercise and eat right to be healthier, live longer, increase the quality of your life, etc. I can go with that. But ultimately, I'm a numbers guy. I need to crunch the data and see where it comes out. Thus, I'll be tracking my weight. Sure, I want to be healthy and all that, but what I want to do right now is get down in weight. Plain and simple. I'll worry about living longer next year. Right now it's all about the numbers.

About a year ago I was at 230 pounds. As far as I can tell, that was the heaviest I've ever been. According to the BMI chart, that puts me in the "Obese" category. That can't be good. My physician confirmed it: that's not good at all. Last November I started on the Weight Watchers points system. It worked. It really worked. I was down to 208 at the end of March. But guess what? I got lazy and stopped paying attention. Since that time I've come back up to 216. That's where I'm at today. My goal is 175ish. I'll figure out the exact weight when I get there, but I'm thinking that 175 should put me where I need to be.

So what's the plan, you say? Simple: eat right and exercise. The exercise part is just a matter of doing it. I've been doing light weightlifting for a couple weeks, and this week I'll start really going at it. It'll all be done at home so I can fully utilize the weight set I have. It's about time I use it for something other than hanging blankets on to dry. The eating right is the hard part. Usually I don't have issues with it, but when I slip it's hard to get back on the wagon. Weekends are the worst, as I have a lot of free time and more temptations than during the week. So, it's going to be a challenge, but I'm fully committed to doing this right.

In the beginning...

My weight has been a challenge since my junior year of high school. That was the year I quit playing sports and started to let myself go. I've never been extremely obese, but my weight has gone up considerably since the 10th grade. Over the 13 years since then, I've put on roughly 55 pounds. Luckily I have a six foot frame to put it on, but it's still not in my best interest to keep it there.

There have been brief periods when I slimmed down a bit, but it was never long term. There were a couple weeks in college when I decided to work out. That lasted until I had to choose between video games and the gym. I always was a sucker for electronics. Then there was the year I lived in an apartment complex that gave you a free membership to the Powerhouse gym across the street. It worked out well for a few months, but then I went and bought a house. I can't forget the year I wanted nothing but gift certificates to Dunham's so I could buy a weight set. I bought the set (it was a nice one too) and it was the most expensive clothes hanger I ever had. There have been years of this type of up and down, always losing a little weight in the beginning but then slipping into old habits and a higher weight rebound.

Now we come to the present. Time for another challenge to my expanding waistline. But now I'm going to do something different. I'm going to blog about it. Why? I think it's time to get serious and really keep track of what I'm doing. No more slacking. No more excuses. I'm going to lay it all out there and see what happens. If I fail, it's no longer my own private fail. It's out in cyberspace and everyone will know that I couldn't do it.

So here's my plan: six months to see what I can make of myself. Six months of working towards a goal and letting others follow my progress. I'm not going to lie to you, this isn't going to be pretty. I'm choosing to do this at a horrible time. Football season is mere weeks away. That means 17 straight weeks of weekend debauchery in the form of deep fried goodness and beer guzzling. But my thought is that if I can succeed during football season, I can succeed during anything.

Here goes nothing... I'll be back soon to get things rolling.