Weigh In Thursday: Adventures in Weight Watchering

So this was officially the end of my third week on Weight Watchers.  How do I like it?

I love it.

No, I'm not going to be all fangirl about it, but I am going to admit that I love it.  I think it is the perfect program for someone like me, someone who has very good, very sincere intentions but lacks the discipline and the self control to do this on their own.

In case you aren't aware of how Weight Watchers operates, here's the very condensed Jenny version (and keep in mind this may not be totally accurate because I am not a good listener and really never read directions or fine print):

You're given a daily allotment of points.  The number of points you get depends upon your weight, age, etc.  And then, every single food on the planet has been given a certain number of points.  They figure out points by taking the carbohydrates, the fat, the protein and the fiber amounts in food and doing some little math thing with it (told you I don't read directions...explains a lot, doesn't it??).

Veggies and fruits are FREE.  Like, zero points.  So I guess you could say they're "unlimited" but my guess is, if you ate like 2 pineapples a day that might not help with the weight loss.  Oh, and of course potatoes, corn and avocados are not free.  Which breaks this fat Irish girl's enlarged heart..did you know in Ireland they consider potatoes The Other White Meat?  Or maybe that's just me.

Oh, and there are activity points you can earn throughout the week, too.  For instance, I've been very good about being ACTIVE, and taking my lover dog Walter for almost-daily walks of about 4 miles.  We walk at a brisk pace (around 3.9 mph) for a little over an hour, and that gives me about 6 or 7 activity points (I'm sure Danielle will correct me on this, she's the Rainman when it comes to figuring out points.  I'm the optimistic rounder-upper).  You collect activity points throughout the week, and from what I've read on the WW forums, people are about 50/50 as far as eating the activity points/letting them go is concerned.

But wait, there's more!  There are also 49 extra weekly points you get.  These are like bonus points, I believe, and so far I've only used about 5 of these bonus points.  That was after a very unfortunate late night tryst I had with a box of Lean Cuisine spring rolls.  It was after trivia one night, after I had consumed two of my new go-to drinks (raspberry vodka with club soda and lime wedges, four points each) and then, unfortunately had a couple Diet Cokes.  Which meant I was wired at 12:30 a.m., which is never a good thing.  I had a movie to watch, so I decided to go ahead and fire it up.  And then, of course, I got to thinking, "Well, I have a few extra points left...why don't I go see what there is for me to binge on?".  I decided to try the Lean Cuisine spring rolls I had in the freezer.  And then I tried the second serving (you'd think people who make diet food would know better than to put two servings into a single box.  Have they never been inside the head of a fat lady?).  All together it was only 10 points, but I think the guilt and self-loathing added another 15.

But..the good news is, I had those extra points.  That's what they're for.

One other thing:  Weight Watchers is known for their meetings.  I am definitely NOT a meeting-type of gal, but I've been to two of them now and I have to say they're ok.  It's nice to be in a room with other people who count points all the live long day, and they have little "Bravo" celebrations at the end where we all clap and cheer for people who have hit milestones (like 5 pounds, 10, 50, whatever).  Yes, I do get teary eyed when they cheer, thank you for asking. Especially when they cheer for *moi*.  See the bottom of this post for my weekly progress report..I'm happy. 

So last week I weighed in on the cast of Modern Family having a little fit over their salaries.  Today I'm going to briefly weigh in on the whole Chik Fil A / gays and gay marriage thing.  Don't worry, I'm not going to be all preachy or angry.  I don't judge, really.

I have never eaten at one of these restaurants, and probably never will.  The reasons for that have been because 1:  I'm not a huge fan of fast food (haha!  ok, not a huge fan of fast food chicken) and 2: I don't think they have any here in Minnesota...but I could be wrong.  There aren't any in the little bubble I live in, though, so there.

Here's the deal:  I see that a lot of the pro-Chik Fil A people are using The Bible in their arguments over why gay people shouldn't marry.  It's an abomination, according to them.

I'm a Christian.  I'm not a very vocal one, but I do believe in God.  I believe the story about Jesus, and I do believe that he died and rose again and is now chilling in Heaven with God.  I know a lot of people don't believe in that, and THAT'S FINE.  Variety is the spice of life, and in my opinion, religion is like politics.  I think one way, you think another way, and that's just a tiny, microscopic piece of what makes me Jenny and what makes you, well..you.  Who knows, maybe we'll all meet up at the end and be delighted and surprised to find out that we were all wrong and there's something completely different waiting for us on The Other Side.

But here's where I have to disagree with the people saying that gays shouldn't get married (actually that gays shouldn't be gay, but whatever) because "The Bible tells me so".

Do you know what the Bible says about divorced women?

It says we're abominations.

In Matthew 5:32 it says:

But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

So, basically, because my husband was a cheating tool, I'm now an adulteress, and whoever decides to tie the knot with me in the future will be committing adultery.  Oh, and my kids are unclean.  I could insert a joke here about smelly feet, pee on walls and body odor, but I'm trying to be serious. 

I didn't want to be divorced, but my husband and his girlfriend made it really hard for me to stay married.  I didn't wake up one day and decide to be divorced.  It happened to me, though.  Does that make you like me any less?  Does me being divorced mean that I'm a bad person?  Is that a good reason for someone to judge me?  I don't think it is.


That is why I don't take everything the Bible says literally.  I'm not an abomination.  My kids aren't abominations because their mother is divorced.  

Just like, in my humble opinion, gay people aren't abominations because they happen to be gay.  A few of them may be gay because I made out with them at a formative time in their lives (the first two boys I kissed are now gay, which I think is awesome and also kind of ironic).  I have friends who are gay, my kids go to school with kids who have gay parents, blah blah blah....  I think God loves everyone he created, regardless of what kind of people they happen to want to be with. 

But who knows?  Maybe all the Chik Fil A people are right, and all of the gays will go to hell.  Along with all of the divorced chicks.

Sounds like a party to me, let's hope someone remembers to bring diet tonic and raspberry vodka.

One other thing:  my friend Sarah will be saying goodbye to her boy James tomorrow.  Some of my Cul De Sac friends will be there to support her.  I wish more than anything I could be there with her, too.  But I'll be thinking of her and sending as much love as I can muster.  Here is a nice article about James, please read it and if you are so inclined to do so, please send Sarah some love tomorrow.

Read the article here.



WEIGH IN THURSDAY PROGRESS REPORT:

Week 1:  4 lbs.
Week 2:  3.8 lbs.
Week 3:  3.2 lbs.  YEAH BABY!!!  And this was with full-on PMS bloat.  I'm a moody, proud woman.

I am 11 pounds lighter, people.  I think that means I've lost about 4 lbs. from each breast and the remaining 3 lbs. was one of my chins.  It's a start!



And that's it for me.  Time for some trivia...have to brush up on Dicks, Ducks, Docs and Ellen DeGeneres.  Should be interesting.