I have to brag on myself for a minute. As of yesterday's weigh-in, I have lost 45.2 pounds since January. Yay me! I just love Weight Watchers. What I like about it most is that you learn to live in the real world with real food choices. No foods are off limits. You can eat what you want, but you have to balance the less healthy foods with other lighter options.

When I was doing Body for LIFE a few years ago, I lost 26 pounds. I was really proud of myself because I was more in-shape than I had ever been in my life. I was working out 6 days a week (3 cardio days and 3 weight training days). I was fortunate enough to have a fitness center where I worked and it only cost me $7.00 a month to use it. For anyone who isn't familiar with BFL, it is a 12 week program. After the 12 weeks, you can take a week long break and then start over or just keep going. I opted to take the break and never went back to working out consistently.

Over the next few years I gained the 26 pounds that I had lost plus about 14 more. I also took a new job that did not have the benefit of a fitness center. As my kids got older and life became demanding, I found (find) it hard to get all of the required things done without even attempting to throw in going to a gym to work out. The weight crept back on slowly and I watched all my hard work and progress go down the tube.

Back in January, a coworker decided she wanted to try WW. Shopping for clothes for our company Christmas party had been a wake up call for her. I wasn't all that thrilled to go because I know my tendency to not stick with things, but I started going to meetings with her. I lost 13 pounds in the first month. The best thing is that it wasn't really that difficult. By the end of the second month, I had lost 23 pounds. I couldn't believe it. What it all came down to was educating myself on nutritional information. If I have 3 pieces of pizza for lunch, it's probably not a good idea to have a slice of chocolate cake after dinner.

Cutting down portion sizes at first was really difficult. I was eating double portions most of the time. I can remember going to the Indian buffet for the first time after starting WW. Before WW, I'd visit the buffet line twice and then go back for a bowl of rice pudding. On my first "Post - WW" visit to the restaurant, I didn't fill my plate up, but I still went back for a second serving of one of my favorites (and the bowl of rice pudding). I paid for it the rest of the day. I was sick as a dog - not exactly what you want after eating Indian food. The flavors and smells are so strong. Lesson learned. I limit myself to one plate only.

I love Weight Watchers because you don't have to buy any special foods or drink nasty shakes or anything like that. I read every label and watch portion sizes. I think WW teaches you the things that you must learn in order to be successful in maintaining a healthy weight. Any program will work if you DO THE PROGRAM. Personally, I need something that I can maintain. BFL was just too hard for me to keep up with - no fault of the program, I'm just not at a point in my life where I can't invest the time that is necessary to succeed with that particular program.

Anyway, I guess that's enough of me singing the praises of WW. If anyone is interested, I keep track of my points on a spreadsheet. You just have to alter your points allowance at the top of the columns.