Weight Watchers

Did you know that there are Whale Watchers, Weather Watchers even a group in Texas called the Watt Watchers.  I have no idea why anything that has Watchers at the end of it is required to also have a word that starts with a W before it.  But Whatever…

Here is a totally useless and little known fact about me.  I broke my back in 1997.  Most people know that.  Barefoot waterskiing.  Changed the landscape of my life.  PRIOR to this accident, I was in the best physical shape of my life.  I was teaching aerobics (stop laughing) 5 times a week, personal training and on my own fitness regimen.  It is after all, what I went to school for.  It required A LOT of discipline.  Something I seem to have misplaced many years ago, but anyway, the little known fact that few people know is that since that happened I have not looked at a scale.  You know…the kind where you weigh yourself?  I know what I weighed before the accident.  It was a year before I could tie my own shoe again, so after the accident when I couldn’t teach or personal train anymore, I had no use for the scale.  Mostly because I knew which direction it would be going in.  To this day, I have STILL not looked at the scale.  If I go to the doctor or E.R. whatever, I tell them that I will close my eyes and I don’t want them to say it out loud.  For 11 years I have had no clue what that number is.

When I was a Personal Trainer many people asked me how I felt about Weight Watchers.  I thought the premise was great, and for some people, it was going to work great.  The thing I hated was the having to weigh in.  Because even BEFORE I was in the best shape of my life, I hated that freaking scale.  I have never been a “small person” and I was okay with that.  I probably fluctuated between athletic and husky my whole life, but being in the fitness industry I was surrounded by the obsession to be thin and it drove me insane.  I was not your average aerobics instructor, didn’t even look like one.   And honest to God I think that is why my classes were always full.  I didn’t present the petite little imp who bounced around with her ponytail and a giant smile on her face.  (I think I just stereotyped, ugghhh)  Anyway, when it hurt I screamed with them…I made them sing…it was fun, because losing weight is not fun and because you really don’t want to lose it, because that means you could potentially find it again.  Bottom line, I hated the scale, still hate the scale.  I am probably currently in the worst shape of my life, but I refuse to look at the scale.  Stupid, stupid scale.

Sister joined Weight Watchers in 2006 or 2007, she can’t remember.  Either way, I remember telling her she was stupid, she didn’t need to lose weight.  But decided when she did it, I would do it with her.  What the hell.  I knew I didn’t eat poorly, my biggest problem was activity…and WW primarily focuses on food…how bad can this be?  I quit after my first sandwich.  Really, I did.  I had never been so angry in my life and I will tell you why.  Jared, the Subway guy?  Lost a catrabillion pounds just eating Subway twice a day?  Well day one of my Weight Watchers stint, I got a Subway sandwich.  The Club to be exact.  With lettuce, tomato, WHITE CHEESE (less calories), light mayo and spicy mustard.  While eating it Sister informed me that I had eaten ¾ of my points for the day.  FOR THE DAY.  Are you nuts?  Are you on crack?  It’s 11:30 in the morning and I have how many points left?  Stupid points anyway…I couldn’t put it together, Jarod losing all this weight, but Weight Watchers basically telling me you could eat one sandwich a day and that was all. So, I did the only thing I knew how to do.  I quit.  By God I cannot live on a sandwich a day.  I love food too much.  Kudos to Sister who went on to lose 50#...just like exercise it took discipline.  Of which I have none…there is no point in trying to pretend I do. 

Sister recently started back up again, God Love Her, and I entertained the idea of doing it with her this time AGAIN, until she told me I had to step on a scale and I had to see what I weighed, because you get a little card that you carry with you to the meetings for weigh ins…ummmm, no thanks. 

Kudos to those of you who have done it and had it work.  It probably has saved some lives.  The therapy bill I will require though having to look at the scale is not worth losing weight.  Am I happy with my weight, no.   But I am happy.  And once I start moving again I won’t have any problem getting the weight off and I will never have to look at a scale.

I have teeter-tottered with this WW idea for a long time, until today.  My final decision to NEVER join was reached today.  I went to open up our fridge at work to get my water bottle and there are at least a dozen open bottles of random beverages.  All sorts.  Water, juice, flavored water, etc.  Sister comes down the hall with two bottles in her hand and I say, “why do you have so many half drank bottles of beverages in the fridge, it is ree-dick.”  And she said, “duh, have you ever looked at the serving size on these things, there is like 3 servings in one bottle.  So you shouldn’t drink all of it at once.”

I am sorry, but the day I drink a half a bottle of flavored water because I reached my serving size for the day, is the day I may as well stop breathing.  Life is too short for that.  I promise, at the end, when I am asked what regrets I have, I WILL NOT SAY THAT I REGRET EXCEEDING MY SERVING SIZE where liquid is concerned. 

To be totally honest, if I could be thinner without it causing a lot of pain and anxiety in my life, I would be. But today the reality is that enjoying an entire beverage is more important to me than my weight, and thank God for that.