and so it begins

my fellow blogscapeitarians, the time has come. the pants have spoken; the mirror doth not lie; the lens of the camera is as wide as it is wise. yes, it is time...TO DIET.

because I don't like the food nazi I became when I was last on WW, I have decided not to go that route again. I've done alot of thinking on the subject, and this is what I've come up with.

here's the thing about weight watchers, and this is no slight to the people who have or still are losing alot of weight via that program (or any other.) in the end, it's a business. businesses are interested in one thing - making money. the goal of many a marketer is to encourage repeat business, and in the diet industry, that means making people dependent on your product so that as they get thinner and feel the need to diet less, they still look to you to maintain their weight loss, and that they equate your product and service with their success. I do feel like WW is infinitely better than, say, jenny craig or LA weight loss in that they don't require you to buy special foods. but still, the idea exists that you can't do it alone, that you need the meetings and the points counters and the motivation of being in a group. and alot of that is totally true. in fact, all of it is. however, I feel like I don't need to get those things for $12/week from WW when I have a group of peers that would gladly keep me motivated, I have eyes and can read the nutrition facts, and I'm NOT alone in it if I choose to share it with others. (there is the fact that spending money on weight loss is a tremendous incentive to do well, but that doesn't fit in with my argument here, so I am just going to not mention it. forget you read that fact.)

that, of course, is my personal opinion and since millions of people use WW (including some of my dearest friends, and ME - I am a lifetime member) it has to be good. but I have decided that I am going to try what I feel like is the common sense way. I am not going to count points - I am going to make smart decisions about food. I am not going to eat more than one portion of the foods I do decide to eat. I am going to weigh myself regularly and post the results here. I am going to help sean do the same, as he helps me to make better choices. I am not going to deny myself foods I enjoy eating, but I am going to make better choices about how many times I am going to eat cheeseburgers as opposed to veggie burgers. and I am going to exercise, and this is where I really deviate from WW - I am not going to allow myself "extra food" as long as I exercise, I'm just going to do it and eat normally. food (or extra points, as WW does) is not going to be my reward for jogging. (ha! gotcha! like I'd ever jog.)

WW did teach me alot about nutrition. and I am grateful. and now I'm going to use that knowledge and apply it in a way that fits my exact lifestyle and eating habits. and hopefully I will lose weight. I'll let you know.

and I will totally eat crow (which is high in fat, I'm told) if it doesn't work and I haul my fat ass back to the local WW center. sean and I are giving ourselves 3 months to do it on our own. wish us luck.