Nana didn’t want to pay Weight Watchers, but I am…. I’ve put it off for long enough. I finally gave in last two weeks ago and Joined Weight Watchers. I am a Life Member but have had 13 pounds to lose so I have to pay each week until I reach my goal weight again. I bought the monthly pass so it comes to a little over $9 a week for 4 weeks, then my credit card will be charged again…unless I cancel before then.

How’d I do the first week?  I counted my points, but I didn’t exercise more than once for 30 minutes which eauals 1 point. My weigh-in was on Wednesday evening, without eating before hand, I lost .4 lbs. I wore the same pant suit that I wore the week before. My son, who has only a few pounds to lose in preparation for his wedding, which isn’t until next May, lost 3.8 lbs. He claims it is because he didn’t wear his sweat shirt this time. I don’t think it weighs that much…I think he was being kind to me. (We were also weighed on different digital scales.)  (See below for 2nd week’s results.)

Except, a young woman and her husband weighed in before we did. She got my attention because she was saying how she had followed everything and lost only half a pound but her husband lost almost 3 pounds and probably didn’t follow the rules. I told her “It is a guy thing. They just have to think about it, and they lose weight.” The overweight men are men who haven’t thought about losing weight – yet.

My daughter, who did join Weight Watchers 1011 weeks ago, has lost over 20 pounds and looks great! She’s almost back to her pre-baby weight of 3 years ago.  Weight Watchers does work, but not without some work and thought, especially the planning….combined with exercise.

The exercise kick-starts your metabolism and keeps it running even after you have stopped, until the next day. So while you are resting, your body is burning fat. There is a lot of benefit in just a small amount of exertion. Physical trainers recommend that exercise routines include interval training. An example would be to walk on the treadmill for say 10 minutes and then speed it up to a jog for a few minutes, then back to walking…repeating the pattern throughout your workout. The speed and length of time depends on your level of fitness.  If you can’t exercise at that level, I’ve posted some balance/strength training exercises that can be done instead.

Of course, now that I’m in the mood to exercise, I came down with a head cold which has drained all my energy. I missed a day of school – the day I was to meet with the principal for my yearly review – great timing, way to go! Hopefully, the warmer weather will appear soon in NJ and I’ll get out and walk around the neighborhood.

So, if you can…let me know if you are following Weight Watchers, too. I’d love to have some Nana’s Corner friends to share our progress and recipes with.  I will be posting some yummy, low point recipes I find along the way. Happy Dieting…

5/7/08 Weight Watchers weigh-in: I lost 2.4 pounds this past week!  My son lost almost 5…he did dress lighter this week, so maybe he lost 3 pounds.   As far as my school’s Biggest Loser contest goes, I don’t know about the others, but I’ve lost a total of 8 pounds since we started!!!