The definition of insanity: rejoining Weight Watchers??

Well, good morning, everyone! Let’s just hop right to it, shall we?

Yes, you read that post title right — I have rejoined Weight Watchers for what I think is the third time in my life!

And yes, I do know the definition of insanity (which my poor, caffeine-deprived fingers keep wanting to type as “instanity”, which maybe should be a word, too, since it kinda combines “instantly” with “insanity” which, as those among you who are repeat dieters know all too well, there is this temptation to want “instant” results, which really IS kinda insane)!

But hear me out! I’ve been kinda curious about the “new” WW ever since I eavesdropped on one of their business meetings via a transcript I edited via the transcription company I work for (oh, and ssh, but if you’re at all interested in picking up a few extra pennies in home transcription, follow this link and let me know when you’ve applied– I’ll put in a good word for you!).

Anyway, back to the meeting! It was very much a business meeting, with talks about profits and losses and whatnot. But it also had some tantalizing information about the new program they were getting ready to roll out. Sort of a combination of the old “Core” plan and their POINTS thingy, as well as improving their app and adding more meditations, a la Noom, if I understood it correctly. Because as we all know, there are no diets any more, just lifestyles!

I had considered trying the Core plan back when it was active, as the idea of having a whole lot of “free” foods sounded like fun. One thing I don’t like about the calorie counting is that a banana or an apple are both around 100 calories, exactly the same as a small bag of barbecued Popchips. Yet I think you’d agree that, overall, the fruit is probably better for you than the Popchips. I mean, nothing wrong with the Popchips,

but it does seem a little unbalanced. Well, that’s what I am liking about the new WW plan (so far) — I can have bananas, apples, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, grapes, etc. and they’re all zero points! AND I can still have the Popchips — if I’m willing to pay 3 Points for them. Which, you know, I am, from time to time.

But I do like that approach, which would seem to encourage people to eat more healthy stuff, like fruits and veggies. Plus, on my “personalized” plan (well, as personalized as you can get in a giant multinational corporation!), I also get canned tuna, oatmeal, sliced turkey, eggs, chicken breast, and Coffee Mate Zero Sugar Liquid Coffee Creamer** for zero points! (**Just one or two tablespoonsful, though! Not just gulping down the entire container!)

The app seems to work really well too, and that’s where you can definitely see where they’ve tweaked the plan to bring in some of the better aspects of competitors like Myfitnesspal and Noom. You get one entire extra points for drinking the obligatory 8 glasses of water per day. And true confession, I’m already cheating on that, counting my unsweetened tea and coffee as water, because technically they are! Technically everything is water, if you come right down to it! Well, water and dust, I guess.

You also get extra points for exercising at least 30 minutes a day, like Myfitnesspal which gives you back your exercise calories (a tactic not universally praised, btw). And Noom-like, there are little meditations and articles and whatnot you can read if you’re of a mind to, but frankly I’d rather read some short stories by Richard Chizmar, co-author, with Stephen King, of the “Gwendy’s Button Box” series, which is an amazingly good series which you should definitely read as soon as humanly possible!!

Okay, sorry, it’s just that I get really happy when I “discover” a new writer (e.g., one I haven’t heard of before but probably everyone else on the planet already knows about)! And speaking of reading, one of my all-time favorite pastimes throughout my life — one which has brought me much joy, and much, much flab — is to sit in a comfy chair with good book and a bowl full of goodies, imbibing deeply from both.

So today I’m filling up that bowl with grapes and blueberries, both zero point foods I can have without having to track the calories! Sweet, huh? But before I get to that, let me just tell you that I absolutely DO NOT work or shill for Weight Watchers or any other giant multinational corporation — at least not intentionally! There are probably things I won’t like about it, once the honeymoon is over, and I’ll very definitely tell you about that in the weeks to come. I’m only doing the three-month membership for now ’cause it’s cheap, and of course they count on you to “forget” about that autorenewal! I won’t, though, ’cause YOU, dear reader, are going to remind me, somewhere around October 1st, to decide whether or not I want to continue with this!

Yeah, you! So there ya go, something I thought I’d never do again, and you might think it conflicts with my stated bias against fat phobia, but actually it doesn’t. I do need to drop off some of the pounds that have accumulated over the past couple of years, and want to do it in as healthy and unstressful a way as possible. But also want it to be kinda fun. Which this is — so far! As for the long term, who knows?