OK so I’ve recently re-joined Weight Watchers on a digital only plan for 6 months (with 3 months free), as I can no longer accept my post pandemic body.
I know everyone’s in the same boat and are also probably struggling the same way as me, but knowing myself I would feel too attached to the biscuit tin without some help.
Being at home for the past year and not doing anything much beyond walking from my bed to the sofa to the kitchen and back again has left me heavier than I'm comfortable with.
I don't look good with this extra weight on me, but I knew i needed guidance on portion control and healthier eating. So it was with this in mind that I downloaded the WW app and signed up for a digital only plan.
Seeing The Truth
I could see that my body had got out of control when I first took up Couch to 5K. For a few weeks I didn’t overly focus on it but towards the end I really did, despite running up to 3 times a week!
I was trying my best to be confident and not let my figure bother me but I couldn’t shift the voices in my head which told me I was fat and had to lose weight.
Also my clothes weren’t fitting me as well as they had previously – in fact I’d done a massive de-clutter and given three full bags to charity! I didn’t want it in my wardrobe if I couldn’t wear it and I wasn’t going to keep anything in the hopes I’d slim down to fit in them again!
I’m not saying that being bigger is a bad thing, quite the opposite in fact, but extra weight doesn’t look good on me and I just know that I look better slimmer – I’ve got slim hips and broad shoulders and any extra weight goes onto my middle, which just doesn’t look good on me.
As a general rule, I don’t ever really weigh myself so it was hard for me to step on the scales and see just how big I’d become.
Also, because I don’t weigh myself, I have no idea what weight I’ve been previously, so have no idea when I put on the weight but once that was out of the way, I could begin my journey.
Before I go any further, I want to stress that I am a diet culture dropout and believe that we should all love ourselves just as we are and not give in to society’s demands of us. If you’re happy at whatever size you are, then carry on! You do you!
Choosing Weight Watchers
I’ve always been a Weight Watchers girl – I chose them when I first joined a few years ago when my sister asked me if I’d go with her.
Back then I definitely needed to lose weight as I was bigger than I am now! But I managed to lose a stone before joining because of my job – in a previous life I was a dog walker/pet-sitter – all of the walking I was doing was definitely paying off!
I liked the idea of tracking my food and having a limited amount of points for the day – it kept me honest and within a calorie deficit which worked very well for me.
Me being a foodie, I was still able to eat whatever I wanted but I definitely kept within the realms of ‘good foods’ rather than the bad ones! Except on weigh in day of course!
I remember towards the end (as I was getting closer to my goal weight) I didn’t drink wine or eat cheese/fish & chips/chocolate/crisps as they were ‘bad foods’ and I wanted to get to my goal weight! You can bet your bottom dollar though that on that final weigh in I brought fish and chips home for tea!
It was hard being at home and seeing my parents enjoy the foods & drink I had temporarily given up. Knowing how many points they contained helped keep me on track until I could eat/drink them again!
Choosing Confidence
This time around, I’m choosing confidence and self-love. My weight loss journey is because I love my body and want to be as healthy as I can be to see myself through life.
I’m still running after completing the Couch to 5K and really enjoying it as well as walking at least 15,000 steps a day so my exercise is good – although I know I could do more!
As always, it’s the food where I struggle! I’m still a massive foodie despite going vegan in 2019, but I was definitely a junk food vegan and was leaning on it a lot through lockdown so I knew this would be the one area where I would have to have some restriction.
I also have a subscription to Craft Gin Club and enjoy a tipple each month – thankfully Gin is a relatively low point alcohol and if I have a low calorie tonic with it, then I can still enjoy my favourite tipple after work!
I don’t believe in restriction in any sense of the word really, but I do believe in everything in moderation except moderation itself! (Oscar Wilde). If I allow myself to have a little of what I fancy, then I’ll not crave it nor binge it because I’ve told myself I can’t have it!
I’m allowing myself to enjoy life, to show my truest and most honest self to the world whilst I navigate this new chapter of my life. I’m buying clothes that I want to wear, ones that are comfortable, that show off my figure, clothes which I wouldn’t necessarily have chosen previously. I just want to have fun!
As a side note to all of this, almost as soon as I chose to re-join Weight Watchers the voices in my head went away and in their place they left my lots of happy ones!
Ones which tell me how fabulous I am and how I shouldn’t hide my figure in clothes that are too baggy or don’t fit.
I don’t feel like I’m being sucked into diet culture anymore because I’m not going to meetings and am generally staying away from too much ‘diet chat’ - despite joining groups on Facebook & Instagram!
I’m in charge now and I can always unfollow, mute and ignore if I feel it’s all getting too much for me! I feel like I’m in such a better place mentally with everything now – I can see it all so clearly now and it feels so much better.
I’m not striving after having a flat stomach anymore and seeing that as the pinnacle of success!
We are so much more than that and I refuse to give into diet culture again this time around!
Have you chosen confidence recently? I’d love to hear any tales you have!
Sarah xoxo
