Explain Weigh****chers

I am 49 years old, am an alcoholic and have struggled with maintaining
sobriety when I decided I needed to deal with my alcoholism. It was not
until this year that I committed to the basic principals of AA that I have
now maintained sobriety. After many relapses, I now have a window that I
can now count in months instead of days.

My doctor told me that when I stopped drinking I would likely gain weight
replacing calories from alcohol with food. And, I have... not to mention I
was already overweight.

I am now in the mood to start tackling weight management. I am curious
about experiences with weigh****chers. Good and bad.

I am not interested in acknowledgement that it is a great or bad program.
Rather more interested in why you believe that. Also, talk about how it
works, as you use it. Another comments would be appreciated.

Fred

First congratulations !!!! I've dealt with addiction myself and know how
hard it is to finaly make the big step toward being sober/straight for
good.. keep at it and remember that you're giving yourself the gift of
life.. and to those around you the gift of love... This is Awesome !

Weight watchers is good in my opinion because it helps you deal with the
whole package... food being only a small part of it (and important part.. of
course.. but only a part).. you learn to be healthy.. and to replace the bad
habits by good ones instead of just cutting yourself off of the things you
love..you learn to deal with the emotions that surrounds food.. I'd say..
you learn to learn about yourself.. you have to pick it up from there ;o)

That's on the "individual" part of WW... Weight watchers is also a LOT about
support... the meetings are a great source of support.. the internet, be it
on here (I love this place) or on www.weigh****chers.com the idea is that
you don't have to do this alone.. there are tons and tons of people out
there that deal with the same difficulties you do.. and who know how you
feel and understand where you are coming from.. Weight watchers is a
platform that will help you connect with them... I joined WW a few months
after moving to California from Quebec.. new language.. new culture.. didn't
know anyone.. now I know people from San Jose to Windsor going by San
Francisco, Oakland etc... I've made hundreds of friends...

Finaly what I like about weight watchers, is that it gives you the tools you
need... and then you get to do the work... discovering oneself is a
wonderfull quest... I'm finding things that bugs me about myself.. but
instead of being shamed... I'm boosted to change them... but more
importantly I've found things that I LOVE about myself.. who would have
thought ??????????

Weight watchers taught me to be me... a healthy me.. but completely and
totally me... and I love it

And THAT is my opinion about Weight watchers..

--
Will~

The problem with this world is stupidity, now I'm not saying there should
be capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the
safety labels off everything and let the problem solve itself?


"Bob" wrote in message
news:3WaZc.94601$Fg5.15332@attbi_s53...
I am 49 years old, am an alcoholic and have struggled with maintaining
sobriety when I decided I needed to deal with my alcoholism. It was not
until this year that I committed to the basic principals of AA that I have
now maintained sobriety. After many relapses, I now have a window that I
can now count in months instead of days.

My doctor told me that when I stopped drinking I would likely gain weight
replacing calories from alcohol with food. And, I have... not to mention
I
was already overweight.

I am now in the mood to start tackling weight management. I am curious
about experiences with weigh****chers. Good and bad.

I am not interested in acknowledgement that it is a great or bad program.
Rather more interested in why you believe that. Also, talk about how it
works, as you use it. Another comments would be appreciated.

Fred

First congratulations !!!! I've dealt with addiction myself and know how
hard it is to finaly make the big step toward being sober/straight for
good.. keep at it and remember that you're giving yourself the gift of
life.. and to those around you the gift of love... This is Awesome !

Weight watchers is good in my opinion because it helps you deal with the
whole package... food being only a small part of it (and important part.. of
course.. but only a part).. you learn to be healthy.. and to replace the bad
habits by good ones instead of just cutting yourself off of the things you
love..you learn to deal with the emotions that surrounds food.. I'd say..
you learn to learn about yourself.. you have to pick it up from there ;o)

That's on the "individual" part of WW... Weight watchers is also a LOT about
support... the meetings are a great source of support.. the internet, be it
on here (I love this place) or on www.weigh****chers.com the idea is that
you don't have to do this alone.. there are tons and tons of people out
there that deal with the same difficulties you do.. and who know how you
feel and understand where you are coming from.. Weight watchers is a
platform that will help you connect with them... I joined WW a few months
after moving to California from Quebec.. new language.. new culture.. didn't
know anyone.. now I know people from San Jose to Windsor going by San
Francisco, Oakland etc... I've made hundreds of friends...

Finaly what I like about weight watchers, is that it gives you the tools you
need... and then you get to do the work... discovering oneself is a
wonderfull quest... I'm finding things that bugs me about myself.. but
instead of being shamed... I'm boosted to change them... but more
importantly I've found things that I LOVE about myself.. who would have
thought ??????????

Weight watchers taught me to be me... a healthy me.. but completely and
totally me... and I love it

And THAT is my opinion about Weight watchers..

--
Will~

The problem with this world is stupidity, now I'm not saying there should
be capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the
safety labels off everything and let the problem solve itself?


"Bob" wrote in message
news:3WaZc.94601$Fg5.15332@attbi_s53...
I am 49 years old, am an alcoholic and have struggled with maintaining
sobriety when I decided I needed to deal with my alcoholism. It was not
until this year that I committed to the basic principals of AA that I have
now maintained sobriety. After many relapses, I now have a window that I
can now count in months instead of days.

My doctor told me that when I stopped drinking I would likely gain weight
replacing calories from alcohol with food. And, I have... not to mention
I
was already overweight.

I am now in the mood to start tackling weight management. I am curious
about experiences with weigh****chers. Good and bad.

I am not interested in acknowledgement that it is a great or bad program.
Rather more interested in why you believe that. Also, talk about how it
works, as you use it. Another comments would be appreciated.

Fred

It works for me because I can to easily convince myself eating other than
healthy is ok, if I pay for the meetings then someone else will know if I
gain. the structure of our meetings are comfortable and others have been
down the road so they understand the different issues. I also think it
works for me because I have learned how blessed I am to not have some
issues, like binging to deal with. HTH, Lee, impressed you took the
sobering steps
Bob wrote in message
news:3WaZc.94601$Fg5.15332@attbi_s53...
I am 49 years old, am an alcoholic and have struggled with maintaining
sobriety when I decided I needed to deal with my alcoholism. It was not
until this year that I committed to the basic principals of AA that I have
now maintained sobriety. After many relapses, I now have a window that I
can now count in months instead of days.

My doctor told me that when I stopped drinking I would likely gain weight
replacing calories from alcohol with food. And, I have... not to mention
I
was already overweight.

I am now in the mood to start tackling weight management. I am curious
about experiences with weigh****chers. Good and bad.

I am not interested in acknowledgement that it is a great or bad program.
Rather more interested in why you believe that. Also, talk about how it
works, as you use it. Another comments would be appreciated.

Fred

It works for me because I can to easily convince myself eating other than
healthy is ok, if I pay for the meetings then someone else will know if I
gain. the structure of our meetings are comfortable and others have been
down the road so they understand the different issues. I also think it
works for me because I have learned how blessed I am to not have some
issues, like binging to deal with. HTH, Lee, impressed you took the
sobering steps
Bob wrote in message
news:3WaZc.94601$Fg5.15332@attbi_s53...
I am 49 years old, am an alcoholic and have struggled with maintaining
sobriety when I decided I needed to deal with my alcoholism. It was not
until this year that I committed to the basic principals of AA that I have
now maintained sobriety. After many relapses, I now have a window that I
can now count in months instead of days.

My doctor told me that when I stopped drinking I would likely gain weight
replacing calories from alcohol with food. And, I have... not to mention
I
was already overweight.

I am now in the mood to start tackling weight management. I am curious
about experiences with weigh****chers. Good and bad.

I am not interested in acknowledgement that it is a great or bad program.
Rather more interested in why you believe that. Also, talk about how it
works, as you use it. Another comments would be appreciated.

Fred

"Bob" wrote in message
news:3WaZc.94601$Fg5.15332@attbi_s53...
I am 49 years old, am an alcoholic and have struggled with maintaining
sobriety when I decided I needed to deal with my alcoholism. It was not
until this year that I committed to the basic principals of AA that I have
now maintained sobriety. After many relapses, I now have a window that I
can now count in months instead of days.

My doctor told me that when I stopped drinking I would likely gain weight
replacing calories from alcohol with food. And, I have... not to mention
I
was already overweight.

I am now in the mood to start tackling weight management. I am curious
about experiences with weigh****chers. Good and bad.

I am not interested in acknowledgement that it is a great or bad program.
Rather more interested in why you believe that. Also, talk about how it
works, as you use it. Another comments would be appreciated.

Fred


It works for me, because you can eat anything you want - just not all at
once! So I can have the odd bit of cake, that nice meal out, and so forth.
Banning things always makes them more attractive in my eyes - this stops
that from happening. It also teaches you a new healthier way of living -
opens your eyes as to precisely how "bad" some of the things you eat are, so
that you can at least make educated choices. I have problems explaining to
people when they realise I'm "still on WW". I am - but only in the
dictionary definition of "diet" being what you eat to live, rather than to
lose weight, which is what most people associate with the word. I will
probably always be on WW - it's not a diet, it's a new healthy way of
living. It's not just a diet to make you lose weight - and then abandon
you. Hey - if you go back to eating like you did - as many people do after
diets - then you'll also go back to weighing what you did - and probably
then some!

I believe its a great program because it works both when it comes to losing
the weight initially and also because it educates you and enables you to
carry on in a more healthy fashion and maintain after that.

--
krys

UK 157/127.4/126
Started March 1st 2001
GOAL August 16th 2001 and July 22nd 2004
....undoing the holiday damage...

"Bob" wrote in message news:3WaZc.94601$Fg5.15332@attbi_s53...
I am 49 years old, am an alcoholic and have struggled with maintaining
sobriety when I decided I needed to deal with my alcoholism. It was not
until this year that I committed to the basic principals of AA that I have
now maintained sobriety. After many relapses, I now have a window that I
can now count in months instead of days.

My doctor told me that when I stopped drinking I would likely gain weight
replacing calories from alcohol with food. And, I have... not to mention I
was already overweight.

I am now in the mood to start tackling weight management. I am curious
about experiences with weigh****chers. Good and bad.

I am not interested in acknowledgement that it is a great or bad program.
Rather more interested in why you believe that. Also, talk about how it
works, as you use it. Another comments would be appreciated.

Fred

I like it because it is sane and not gimmicky. It teaches you how to
eat whole foods--all foods--and how to eat out, see some of your
emotional patterns, track your exercise, etc. If you do the meetings,
you get weighed each week and the leaders are mostly knowledgable and
inspirational. If you like interaction, you can also talk to others
there. I've gotten some of my favorite recipes of all time there from
WW leaders or other members.

They keep it interesting by focusing on new topics to consider each
week, and they always incorporate the latest science into the program.
Even when I put weight on, I've stuck to some of the program elements
so I didn't gain nearly as much as I would have otherwise. And even
small changes mean a lot later in life as our metabolism slows down.

I liked their older program (pre-points) best, and now they have both
the points, for those who prefer that, and they've brought back an
updated version of the more traditional program, too.

If you're not interested in attending meetings, they have the online
program now. They also have meetings in many locations, so if you
travel, you can usually find one to attend. And if you feel
out-of-control, you can attend more than one meeting, of course, so
you can get extra support and the perspectives of different leaders
and members.

Congratulations on your sobriety! That's a great accomplishment.

--pc

Hi Bob,

I'm only a new member to weight watchers after a lengthy absence. WW works
because it lets you hvae those things that you like...NO RABBIT FOOD! I can
still have my chockies or tarts without feeling deprived...everything in
moderation.

On another note, CONGRATULATIONS! I wish all the best in winning your battle
with the bottle. My ex-partner is an alcoholic and after years of trying to
get him to sober up I realised he had to want to do it, no amount on pushing
on my part was going to help. (Needless to say he wasn't willing and thats
why he's my EX!)

Your on the right track kicking the booze, I'm sure you can do just as well
getting control of your waist line.

Melissa


"Bob" wrote in message
news:3WaZc.94601$Fg5.15332@attbi_s53...
I am 49 years old, am an alcoholic and have struggled with maintaining
sobriety when I decided I needed to deal with my alcoholism. It was not
until this year that I committed to the basic principals of AA that I have
now maintained sobriety. After many relapses, I now have a window that I
can now count in months instead of days.

My doctor told me that when I stopped drinking I would likely gain weight
replacing calories from alcohol with food. And, I have... not to mention
I
was already overweight.

I am now in the mood to start tackling weight management. I am curious
about experiences with weigh****chers. Good and bad.

I am not interested in acknowledgement that it is a great or bad program.
Rather more interested in why you believe that. Also, talk about how it
works, as you use it. Another comments would be appreciated.

Fred

Bob wrote:
I am 49 years old, am an alcoholic and have struggled with maintaining
sobriety when I decided I needed to deal with my alcoholism. It was not
until this year that I committed to the basic principals of AA that I have
now maintained sobriety. After many relapses, I now have a window that I
can now count in months instead of days.

My doctor told me that when I stopped drinking I would likely gain weight
replacing calories from alcohol with food. And, I have... not to mention I
was already overweight.

I am now in the mood to start tackling weight management. I am curious
about experiences with weigh****chers. Good and bad.

I am not interested in acknowledgement that it is a great or bad program.
Rather more interested in why you believe that. Also, talk about how it
works, as you use it. Another comments would be appreciated.

Fred


Congratulations on making that window of months, and welcome to the group.

I have been fat for years. I used to be thin. I thought nothing would
ever get me motivated to lose the weight, but it did (a photo of me at a
friend's wedding did the trick!). I could never be bothered with
'diets' - way too interested in other things, and I like food too much!
WW works for me: I've lost 40 of the 70 I need to get back into the
healthy BMI range. It's teaching me to exercise control. what proper
portion size should be, and how to get through mad munchies days...

It lets me eat real food: no faddy menus, just slimmer, leaner versions
of favourites. I can eat chocolate if I want to (but I want it less
than I used to!), and because nothing is forbidden, I tend not to crave
things.

There are some foods I find difficult to eat since having gall bladder
disease: anything fatty had unfortunate consequences! This helps keep
me on the straight and narrow. The WW plan also suits my type 1
diabetic husband, and my growing 10 YO son. I just fill them up on more
potatoes and rice and pasta than I have!

The joy of the plan is that you can adapt it to suit most religious and
medical dietary requirements. Some things are more difficult to cope
with than others, but any weight loss plan is going to be a little
harder if you also have other restrictions imposed on you by outside
agencies or internal malfunctions. You may find that long term alcohol
abuse has affected your metabolism, and some things may be more
difficult to do, but just persevere and we will try to help you find a
way through the maze.

WW works: but it is a way of life, just as choosing to be alcohol free
is a way of life. Once you reach your goal weight, you have to stay on
the program to maintain it.

Wishing you the very best of luck in both these endevours!



--
Kate XXXXXX (Who has a friend who is trying to control both alcohol and
smoking! Not an easy call... )
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Bob wrote:
I am 49 years old, am an alcoholic and have struggled with maintaining
sobriety when I decided I needed to deal with my alcoholism. It was not
until this year that I committed to the basic principals of AA that I have
now maintained sobriety. After many relapses, I now have a window that I
can now count in months instead of days.

My doctor told me that when I stopped drinking I would likely gain weight
replacing calories from alcohol with food. And, I have... not to mention I
was already overweight.

I am now in the mood to start tackling weight management. I am curious
about experiences with weigh****chers. Good and bad.

I am not interested in acknowledgement that it is a great or bad program.
Rather more interested in why you believe that. Also, talk about how it
works, as you use it. Another comments would be appreciated.

Fred


Congratulations on making that window of months, and welcome to the group.

I have been fat for years. I used to be thin. I thought nothing would
ever get me motivated to lose the weight, but it did (a photo of me at a
friend's wedding did the trick!). I could never be bothered with
'diets' - way too interested in other things, and I like food too much!
WW works for me: I've lost 40 of the 70 I need to get back into the
healthy BMI range. It's teaching me to exercise control. what proper
portion size should be, and how to get through mad munchies days...

It lets me eat real food: no faddy menus, just slimmer, leaner versions
of favourites. I can eat chocolate if I want to (but I want it less
than I used to!), and because nothing is forbidden, I tend not to crave
things.

There are some foods I find difficult to eat since having gall bladder
disease: anything fatty had unfortunate consequences! This helps keep
me on the straight and narrow. The WW plan also suits my type 1
diabetic husband, and my growing 10 YO son. I just fill them up on more
potatoes and rice and pasta than I have!

The joy of the plan is that you can adapt it to suit most religious and
medical dietary requirements. Some things are more difficult to cope
with than others, but any weight loss plan is going to be a little
harder if you also have other restrictions imposed on you by outside
agencies or internal malfunctions. You may find that long term alcohol
abuse has affected your metabolism, and some things may be more
difficult to do, but just persevere and we will try to help you find a
way through the maze.

WW works: but it is a way of life, just as choosing to be alcohol free
is a way of life. Once you reach your goal weight, you have to stay on
the program to maintain it.

Wishing you the very best of luck in both these endevours!



--
Kate XXXXXX (Who has a friend who is trying to control both alcohol and
smoking! Not an easy call... )
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!