My apologies to the marketing folks at Weight Watchers, who have worked hard to rebrand the organization as "WW," presumably to take the emphasis away from weight and present a more holistic approach to health.
It's just that I had to say "Weight Watchers" in the headline because only people who are members know what "WW" means.
I am one of those members. I started "doing Weight Watchers," as people say, way back in 1995 after Terry had been following the plan for a while. She was shedding some post-Elissa baby weight. I was simply trying to get back to some semblance of the slim sprinter I had been less than a decade earlier.
And it worked. It always works, or at least it does for me whenever I make up my mind to be more conscientious about my diet and overall health.
It's just that, for long periods in the intervening quarter-century, I've thrown caution to the wind, eaten whatever I wanted, and gained weight accordingly. And then I've gone back to Weight Watchers and lost it. It's the classic yo-yo cycle.
As my sister Debbie and I have often discussed, our genes are such that we will always have to be mindful of our weight. We're not naturally skinny people, but that doesn't mean we can't be healthy people.
Nowadays I attend the 8 a.m. WW meeting in Mentor every Saturday, and not surprisingly, I'm steadily creeping back toward my goal weight. I dropped 15 pounds in the first two months and am already feeling much better, thank you.
For what it's worth, here are four lessons that WW has taught me, at least one of which might benefit you:
(1) Chill out: This has been the hardest thing for me to learn over the years. I used to live and die by that Saturday morning weigh-in. And now, for whatever reason (the wisdom of years?), I simply don't. Some weeks I lose, some weeks I gain, and some weeks I stay the same. If I do the right things, my weight will eventually take care of itself. I enjoy "calm Scott" much more than "scale-obsessed Scott."
(2) Control what you can control: You hear athletes say this all the time. You can only concern yourself with the things you can influence. There are many things you can't influence. You simply can't control them, but you can control how you plan for and react to them. For example, this is graduation party season. We are invited to several of them. Grad parties aren't traditionally havens of healthy eating, but if I budget a certain amount of WW points before we go, make good choices while I'm there, and eat slowly while enjoying my food, it's really no problem. I can control that outcome.
(3) There is value in community and accountability: I tried doing WW online during the pandemic and the results weren't great. I need that Saturday morning meeting not only to be accountable for my choices over the past week, but also to hear from others who have similar struggles. Putting the time in to go to meetings, even when I would rather stay home, always pays off.
(4) You are more than your health, but that health is still pretty darn important: There are people in your life who want you to be around a long, long time. Even if you don't do it for yourself, consider making healthy choices in gratitude to those who care for you. We all have an expiration date, but we also have within us the power to live a vibrant, energetic, full (and fulfilling) life in the days we've been allotted. Exercise that power.
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