Stop Saying You Can't Eat That

I'm so tired of listening to people have conversations about food.

"I can't have that."

"If I have that I won't be able to eat for a week."

"I'm starting my diet tomorrow."

"I'll have to work out every day after I eat that piece of cake."

Of course I have been guilty of this over the years. I don't know how many times I have been through Weight Watchers in the last 10 years only to finally recently UNDERSTAND it.

These women who think deprivation and laxatives and exercising to the point of injury and bingeing and purging are the way to go roll their eyes when I say Weight Watchers. It's just another diet to them.

They are so clueless ... and so was I.

photo courtesy of pixabay.com

Here are some things I've learned:

• Eating cabbage soup all day and tossing in cranberry juice is a diet. Gave me a headache.

• Breastfeeding only works for losing weight if you don't sit on the couch also eating entire bags of Hershey kisses.

• The scale is just a number, like age. I am 44 on the outside but much younger on the inside. I choose to act NOT my age and want to keep active and fun for my husband, kids, friends and family. The scale's number does not define whether I am a worthy person or not. Sometimes I feel like I walked a lot in a week and ate well and my number goes up. I get disappointed for a minute, sure, but then I keep going. After all, quitting only means definite failure.

• You can have anything you like to eat on the Weight Watchers plan. You have so much freedom. You have a set number of "points" you should eat in a day. EAT ALL OF THEM or you will fail the plan. You also have 49 extra points for the entire week. Save them all up for that dessert you know you want badly on a holiday or for your birthday meal. Use them or don't. Then you also have activity points you can use on food or not. I call that a lot of cool choices, a lot of freedom, a lot of independence.

So, people, my message to you today is stop saying you are not able to eat something. Make smart choices. Do you enjoy having your knees hurt when you walk down the stairs or your back hurt all the time? I didn't enjoy those things and knew I wanted to be more active for my kids. I also know that when I eat better and care for myself my moods are more stable and my brain function is more focused. With the kind of chaotic life I choose to live, I have to be in top form.

I am telling you Weight Watchers is not a diet. It is a lifestyle. It is not something you do for a few months and get to goal weight and abandon. If you have food issues, you need to stay on this plan for life .... don't worry, once you hit Lifetime goal and hit your goal weight you can start weighing in and going to meetings for FREE! 

That's where I am hoping to find myself in my later years of life ... hitting the Weight Watchers meetings with my old fogey friends and then going out for a walk or a smoothie after the meeting before going home to fool around with my husband and then pick up the grandkids for a fun day out at the pool or the zoo. So many more life possibilities when you are fit and taking care of yourself!

You might also like to read: 

Losing weight when traveling (just had to deal with that this past weekend during Fourth of July) and your weight loss environment/where to hide your food.