I have to give a warning: this turned out a bit "rant-y". Dang it.
Like many of you, this "is not my first rodeo" (thank YOU Kim!). I have been on and off Weight Watchers numerous times in my 27 years of life. When I was a sophomore/junior in college, I lost 49.5 pounds. I had 3 roommates at that time who were EXTREMELY supportive. They didn't judge me. They didn't tempt me with treats - they simply supported me and let me do my thing. No criticisms, no "two-sense" - just support in a way that made me feel completely comfortable with them knowing my journey (thank you Aggie, Jen, Brittany & Marlin!). At times they would even participate in exercise with me, which made the whole thing that much better! I was very lucky.
Still, those were the only people I shared my journey with in intimate detail. Most other times I've been on WW, including today, I choose not to tell others. However, there have been those occasions where people have discovered I am on WW, because it's become obvious that I'm losing weight, and when those instances have occurred, the reaction is not typically favorable. What am I talking about here?
Let's take the Super Skinny Girl encounter. "Oh Hilary, I can tell you've lost weight. What are you doing?" After sharing my story with SSG, she proceeds to interrogate me as to every minute detail of the Program and how can she "quickly" lose X number of pounds if she does the Program. Do skinny people not realize how this makes fat people feel? I mean, SSG is probably no more than 130 lbs and roughly 5'5"/5'6", and you're crying to me about how YOU need to lose weight?! I don't want to waste my time with you! I am 250+ pounds. I have a legit problem on my hands - I'm not trying to provide comfort/pity to YOU when I have real reasons as to why I need to lose weight.
Then there are the Haters. "Oh, WW isn't healthy." "WW encourages eating processed foods." "WW didn't work for me and it probably won't for you either." "Counting Points+ isn't nearly as accurate/effective as counting calories." "Jenny Craig/Atkins/Vegan/
Then, my personal favorite, the Wannabe's. "Hilary, how many Points+ is this chicken breast I'm eating? How many Points+ is my entire meal? 10 Points+? Is that bad? I'm sorry but chicken is extremely healthy and I don't agree with this Points+ value." And, please, help me understand, you don't pay for WW. You don't even follow the Program officially. So why exactly do you need to know the Points+ values of your food, if, in fact, you don't really care? What added value does that provide for you?
I haven't had a lot of favorable reactions from people when sharing my journey with them, obviously. Still, I cannot help but wonder the benefits of being more vocal about it - especially to those who care about me.
Have you ever encountered these types of people??
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Posted by: Tukiyooo
Part 1: How I Approach WW in the Public Updated at :
6:13 PM
Thursday, November 10, 2011
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