Things That I'm Rubbish At - Weight Watchers Review.

Weight Watchers sent me an enormous hamper while I was laid up recovering from a blood transfusion, after which I was supposed to re-build my strength with lots of food containing iron and get plenty of rest.  The last thing that would have been good for me or my health was to start dieting.  And I'm rubbish at it anyway.

For me, the answer to losing weight has always been exercise, plus for many years I have found it preferable to eat less dairy and wheat than most people do and avoid sugar where possible (turning a blind eye to its sky high content in wine).  But I've been rubbish at that lately as well.

Middle-Age spread has well and truly set in, together with post illness lethargy and lots of cake eating for the first time in my life.  It's rather a revelation - a joy even, but is undoubtedly responsible for my clothes shrinking.

I couldn't quite get to grips with the famous Points System that Weight Watchers use.  Call me old fashioned but I'd rather be counting calories (or not) than calculating points (or not!) - although they do it all for you on a mobile app and their enormously helpful, comprehensive and resourceful website.

They offer fabulous e-mail support and products, many of which are available in supermarkets, neatly among our usual brands. 

The hamper contents. 

Their biscuits are in sealed packets of two within the main sleeve and are smaller than you'd expect, but you get the psychological kick out of having them.  Same with the crisps.  The portion sizes are all smaller than normal - but therein lies the biggest lesson.  You can even find their freshly made sandwiches and wraps in shop fridges - significantly less fattening than those next to them. Didn't like the wine but will use the lemonade in Pimms if / when the Summer comes.  The curry and mediterranean sauces were OK if cooking individually, which, aside from omelettes, is a rare occurrence in this house, but they offer plenty of ideas and more practical recipes for family meals. 

It's not for me, yet they have two million members in the UK and their programme is very successful for many.  It's not their fault I haven't been inclined for one reason or another.  I could say the timing was off, but, let's face it, the truth is, to be honest, I was really rubbish at it.

Disclosure - Weight Watchers sent complementary samples of their products and I was signed up for free.  This was initiated by Liz Jarvis' New Year New Body.

Weight Watcher?

I recently attended the Blogger conference for the charity 'Save the Children' and, while writing up my notes, completely forgot to make myself some dinner and wondered if it was some sort of 'Sign' from the powers that be.

That, or I'm some sort of idiot.

Whatever.  But having been increasingly aware that things aren't what they were physically - Heaven forbid they're not even where they were physically - since having my children and being in my forties co-incided, it seems time to take some action.

At the end of last year the very lovely Liz Jarvis at The Mum Blog wrote a piece called New Year New Body explaining that, in her experience, what works when trying to shift those extra pounds is being part of a group.  She created a Facebook page, loads of people signed up, all eager and enthusiastic -evangelistic even, me included.

Since then Liz has posted almost every week losing 1-21b, which, since the beginning of the year, has totted up to a considerable amount of weight loss.  Most of us have been far less consistent or successful and my posts have been dismal, so when she told us that Weight Watchers would be interested in any Bloggers for it, I thought it might give me the impetus that I so obviously otherwise lack.

There has been a great deal of heartache over the last few years and it's easy for the weight to pile on when you're lonely and sad, up in the nights, distressed and very, very tired (it has been shown that our hormones can play havoc) and there wasn't even a man in my bed to make me at all bothered about it.

But. Huzzah. Now there is someone special for whom I would like to feel more confident about myself again.  Even though he has been around for some months now, the 'good' life of shared bottles of wine and his favourite take away curries have merely served to exacerbated the situation! Intentions shattered, I have joined WW where every excuse I've ever thought of is already covered on their website, where they provide products to help you along and, like Liz, encourage keeping a food diary.

Today, I emptied a sachet of their morning oats into a bowl. Its size was a 'Sign' all right - that eating three or four times its amount and expecting to lose weight is what's really idiotic - and that's without counting adding a rather generous chocolate spread dollop! (You don't get a Klout +1 score for 'influence over Nutella' on Twitter for nothing you know!).

And I fear the adjustment is going to make me so hungry that the chances of me going without my dinner again look pretty slim [- like me, hopefully, within a few months! Ha ha.]

But, then, I think again about those poor malnourished people that 'Save the Children' are endeavouring to help, which is more than enough to put you off your food and realise my chocolate raisin days are almost, probably, finally and thankfully coming to a close.

Disclosure - Weight Watchers have sent me a few samples of their products and signed me up for free.

NEXT - Save the Children - Blogging it for the Babies of Bangladesh.

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