I wish you Well
Sep 25, 2018
A quick google search reveals all you could want to know about the rebranding to WW. I wanted to take just a second to give you my thoughts on the press release many of you have seen or heard.
Weight Watchers changed my life. At the time I lost my weight I fully believed that. I gave credit to my leader, the meeting room, the Smart Points program, Connect and my Wingmen. I credited so many of the other tools that I used properly to lose weight. I lost 91 pounds. Got to GOAL, made lifetime and joined the team as an employee.
I reached a Healthy BMI. I was warned “you’re too skinny” but I ignored it. I pressed on because I loved the result I was getting from the scale. The scale controlled me and I tamed it down to 173lbs.
I began to rely on the foods that I “knew worked”. There were days that I would eat a protein bar for breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner AND dessert because I felt that food was “safe” and I was unwilling to deviate from “foods that worked”
I would run 7-8 miles, for no other reason than to see a lower number on the scale the next morning. I did enjoy it, but the sole reason I laced up was for a scale reward.
Thankfully, I recognized I was heading down a dangerous path. I had a healthy BMI but I wasn’t mentally healthy with my relationship with food or exercise. I started making changes out of necessity. I decreased my running distance and focused on my speed. I would burn a lot less calories, but I felt so much better, more accomplished.
I gave up protein bars and powders as a meal, and managed to figure out a new balance as freestyle was rolled out. I overate healthier food, and re-introduced some of my favorite foods and that’s when something magical happened.
I started actually “Feeling better”... not just physically, but mentally as well. It’s hard to describe because I actually did feel good when I reached goal at 173lbs.
During this transition, I increased my strength training, because I enjoyed the results I was getting from weekly exercise. The health benefit was muscularly visible and motivated me to want more. I set small goals along the way. I hit them. I modified others.
I set Goals that were not related directly to the scale and although I still weigh myself daily, it’s a single number in a complex formula called Wellness. I continue to eat healthier, run faster and strength train on MY terms.
During this transition I’ve witnessed so many other people get to goal. Perhaps lower than they need to in order to satisfy a scale. I’ve seen people get 100000 daily steps simply to declare a victory.
I started to resent a program I once loved. I felt enslaved to the individual data points. The dangers I recognized in myself, I started seeing in others. I contemplated more than once resigning as a “leader” - but I loved helping people and knew of a solution.
I started focusing on my health. The industry taught me a term called “wellness” and I loved it. I felt healthy, even if the scale says 207. I loved every bit of my new life, the one I created with the help of so many tools. Some I still use, some I’ve packed away in working order should I need them again.
When I sat through my “WW Rebranding” meeting, I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to say - “That’s it - I cant buy into this anymore, I quit” instead what I heard and what you’ve read excited me. It’s an opportunity for WW to meet me, where I am now in my journey and I can’t wait for you to see what’s “in-studio” for us all!
It is about being healthier, and you’re the one that gets to determine what that means for your specific journey. So as we wait for the formal rollout, beyond the press release. I simply say, I wish you well!
🍏❤️
FatDag