A Little Help from my Friends

Remember the old Beatles tune, "I'll get by with a little help from my friends..." That's how I've been feeling lately about trying to maintain healthy weight and fitness levels. For a long time I was stuck in the 136-ish range. That wasn't my ideal weight, but it was livable. My clothes weren't too tight, and I felt pretty good most of the time.

Then we went on a long road trip this summer, and I got out of my exercise and healthy-eating habits. There wasn't a big change right away, but over the weeks, the pounds have been creeping back on, while the motivation to be healthy and fit has continued to slip-slide away.

Gah. Yesterday morning I weighed 141 pounds. I've regained half the weight I lost last year. I knew I had to do something.

Yesterday afternoon I got an email from one of the administrators at the high school where I teach. It was time to start up the staff Weight Watchers group again. We have a sweet deal with our health insurance that pays for the cost of the WW meetings, as long as we attend 10 meetings in a 13-week period.

I could have joined last year, but you know what? Last year I was a weight-loss snob. Let those other folks check in at the weekly WW meeting. I certainly didn't need that. I had lost 20 pounds, and I was maintaining just fine, thank you. (Not.) I'm writing today as a sadder-but-wiser girl. Because you know...I could use a little help when it comes to losing weight.

So I went to the Weight Watchers meeting and signed up this afternoon. I might learn some new information about healthy eating or exercising. I might find some great new recipes to fill me up without making me fat. I might finally stop sliding into too-much-junk-food-when-I-don't-need-it snacking habits.

Maybe.

I suspect that most meetings will simply remind me to follow the healthy principles that I already know. The ones I used successfully here on The Skinny to get down to a healthy weight a year ago. It's not like I don't know about healthy eating and exercise and the importance of being fit. So what do I hope that Weight Watchers will give me that I can't do on my own?

Friends. Not some random people I only say "hello" to at a Weight Watchers meeting, but people I know and interact with every day. Colleagues who are also trying to get back on a healthier life-style track. Folks who will smile at me in the hall as we pass--they won't say, "Oh, have you lost any weight today?" but I'll know that their smiles are giving me extra encouragement. Not to mention the weekly weigh-ins. Oh yes, accountability is a very good thing for me.

I'm not planning to make my Skinny posts into Weight Watchers testimonials, but I'll keep you posted from time to time.

Have you used Weight Watchers before? Any tips or hints for me? What is your motivation to live healthy, fit, skinny lives?