I'm just going to say it, I am afraid of change. We learn what works for us and then don't want to let anything else in. When Weight Watchers first introduced propoints I was ready for a change. I'd had success in the past with points but when I came back from travelling it just wasn't working for me. I found in my early 20's I was pretty much able to take the weekend off pointing and if I was 100% on track the rest of the week I would still lose weight. As I got older this didn't work for me and I was finding the points system didn't allow me to enjoy a social life. Propoints is perfect for this - 49 weekly propoints to use how you please gives flexibility for a social life. Since this was working so well for me I never gave Filling & Healthy a try, I was afraid of the freedom of not measuring and weighing. I felt I had put on weight because I couldn't judge portion size and didn't want to risk that again. Of course when I think about it I gained wait because I was eating all the wrong types of food as well as the wrong portion sizes.
So when I heard about the Simple Start plan my first instinct is to hate it and become very protective of my propoints plan. All around the world of social networking this attitude has been echoed by long term weight watchers. The plan feels too restrictive, I won't be able to stop when I'm satisfied, there aren't enough treats.....and every other excuse under the sun. I thought about this all a little bit more and it occurred to me, if I'd had this attitude when they changed to propoints (as many people I know did), I may not be sitting here now almost 4 stone lighter and actually happy with my weight. Weight Watchers has been there for me and got me to goal and I really should put my trust in them.
And in reality what is the worst that happens? I put on a couple of pounds and switch back to propoints to lose it again. There is a lot more to gain here. I have a few pounds to lose to get back to my goal weight (still within my 5lbs but I'd like to get back down under goal again). So with this new attitude in mind I decided to go back to a class for the first time since October to get the full lowdown and literature on Simple Start. My work schedule has changed recently and since we have moved office last week it means I don't have my car with me Monday to Friday and the only day that actually suits me was a Saturday morning class on Abbey Street. I have to say this is a great class, the leader is lovely and there is a good atmosphere in the class. I was also pretty lucky as most of the class had been introduced to simple start last week so the rest of us saw the results this week and my god they were phenomenal! People had huge losses and had great things to say about the program that it was incredibly motivating.
So the program is pretty similar to filling and healthy, but the idea is a kick start to get you out of bad eating habits and into good ones. The propoints can be quite complicated for new members so this gives them a week or two before they have to worry about that. There is a list of filling and healthy foods that you can eat without weighing or measuring and on top of that you get 2 treats per day from another list. This is quite limited but after week one you can choose to swap your 2 treats for the filling & healthy program and have 49 weekly propoints instead. Also you can switch between filling and healthy and propoints on a day to day basis giving you flexibility to make it work for you.
As well as having the list of foods you are allowed the book breaks it down into visual meal builders to help you choose what you want. You also get a little pocket pull out so no matter where you go you can be sure to choose the right things. I woke up this morning all ready to go. After the meeting yesterday I did up a meal plan and did the shopping filling the fridge with filling and healthy foods from the list. I went through all my recipe books to find meals that could be adapted to suit and have different and exciting things to keep my interest this week.
Also decided to get a bit active this weekend and went and rented a bike in the Phoenix Park for the afternoon. If anyone lives anywhere near here I would highly recommend doing this. It only cost €5 so it's a cheap and healthy afternoon. While I didn't get going on Simple Start until today, yesterday got my mind into it and ready to go. No matter what happens this week I am 100% committed to this and will be tracking my progress over the week. This time next week I will know if this is for me or if I am back to propoints.
I challenge everyone else who is skeptical to give it a go, a real chance and come back next week and let me know how you got on!
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