When most people hear “Weight Watchers,” they just think of a bunch of people trying to lose weight. To me it’s more than that — it’s memories, it’s family, it’s a lifestyle. Growing up with a parent on Weight Watchers has had a major impact on my life in both positive and negative ways.
Weight Watchers (WW) uses a points system in which each food is given a points value depending on its nutrition. The lower the points, the healthier it is and the more you can eat of it. Each Weight Watchers member is allotted a certain number of points each day, according to things like their heigh, weight, age and level of activity. As you can imagine, this system results in the precise calculation and scrupulous tracking of these “points.”
As tiresome as it may be seeing points at every meal, I believe I have learned some valuable lessons from the system. I learned that anything is OK in moderation. It’s easy to get caught up in cutting out fats and sugars, but I learned it’s OK to slip up once in a while. Weight Watcher’s point system allows you to eat anything as long as it fits within your daily goal. This allows for the occasional treat as long as it isn’t over the top.
This principle not only relates to food but also to life. Don’t feel guilty to indulge sometimes and have a good time, while still sticking to your healthy lifestyle, but also don’t forget to get those 0 point veggies in.
Weight Watchers has a slew of memorable quotes to keep their members motivated along their weight loss journey. From attending WW meetings as a child with my mother, I’ve become very familiar with a number of these quotes over the years.
I was known to bring up these quotes as a kid — I was probably the only 8-year-old boy out there with a full WW quote vocabulary (my family sure got a kick out of it). Next time you’re about to down that piece of cake, remember: “A minute on the lips, a lifetime of the hips.” Their words, not mine.
One of the less positive memories of the WW days is the lack of exciting food as a child. My mom began WW when I was in elementary school, so a lot of my childhood food memories are tainted by cabbage soup and whole wheat pasta. It’s not to say that I never got “the good stuff,” we still ate out, and I wasn’t deprived of having a little junk food around the house. However, the sweets were kept to a minimum and we certainly ate boring meals most of the time.
I also hear stories from my older siblings about the days before WW when no one was concerned about nutrition. It sounds great, but in retrospect, I’m probably a healthier person and more knowledgeable about food because of WW. And now that I know how to cook myself, I’ve perfected the art of balance in my diet.
Weight Watchers has had an immeasurable impact on my family for the best. We are all healthier people because of our understanding of nutrition. I may not have had the tastiest (or must fun) foods growing up, but I’m glad to have had Weight Watchers in my life.