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Home > I'm Not a Fan of Whining But Here I Go

I'm Not a Fan of Whining But Here I Go

February 26th, 2007 at 12:16 am


My body just annoys the crap out of me lately. I’m 36 but sometimes I just feel old. I have had some killer headaches over the last five days, two migraines and a regular bad guy, and it just really saps me of the will to do anything. (On the plus side it meads I don’t spend any money.) I plan top start Weight Watchers on Wednesday; a friend of mine is having good luck with it, and clearly I can’t make progress on my own. I know that being somewhat overweight doesn’t cause migraines; it’s just that I feel overall not healthy; I get sick at the drop of a hat and always feel like like I’m getting something over getting over something. I see my doctor regularly, I don’t think I have any wild and crazy undiagnosed illnesses, I just believe that if I can be overall healthy: eat right, sleep well, be physically active, don’t do harmful stuff, that my body will have to be at least somewhat better.

I quit smoking and quit drinking in the month of February, so I suppose having my first Weight Watchers meeting in February matches a pattern. In fact tomorrow will be my eight year sobriety date. I don’t know the exact date I quit smoking, but it was mid-February six years ago.

I know enough about dieting and exercise to know that a person doesn’t need to follow Plan X or Plan Y; I know enough about myself to know that my way isn’t working and that Weight Watchers is definitely not harmful. I know exercise is important, but I also know that I overeat. Maybe it will cost me $40 a month more than I need to pay, but if it instills in me some sense of structure and accountability it will be worth it.

I don’t think I’ve ever gone twelve days without posting before. I think the desire to post varies for me, not in how I’m doing, or how frugal I am, it just varies. It’s funny that I start to feel guilty when not posting, as it’s not a requirement or chore.

12 Responses to “I'm Not a Fan of Whining But Here I Go”

  1. threebeansalad Says:
    1172450021

    The structure and accountability of Weight Watchers is really helpful for a lot of people. I'm sure you know that but it always helps to be reminded- in addition to the simple concept of balancing your calories in with your calories out, make sure to take the time to really reflect on the more complex issues that lead us to medicate with food. I wish you all the best in this journey.

  2. nance Says:
    1172450080

    I used to get migranes a lot. For me it was hormonal, or caffeine most of the time. Good luck with weight watchers. I have friends who really did well with the program.

  3. frugaltexan75 Says:
    1172452395

    Have you checked out sparkpeople.com? It is set up very much like weight watchers (at least the online portion) and the best part about it is that it's totally free. For accountability and structure you can join various sparkteams. Even if you still feel you need the structure of the actual meetings, there are Weight Watcher sparkteams you could join.

    I've done the ww thing - both the meetings and the paid online deals. They helped for a little while, but both became way too costly for me. Your mileage may vary of course.

  4. Bookie Says:
    1172452945

    Here's a 'happy' for tomorrow's anniversary. Mine's March 11th, and I always find myself growing pensive as the days count down (or up).

    Weight Watchers is both a program and a support group. There's no fault in using the tools that have worked for others. You do what works for you, and be glad for the opportunity. I think it's great that you're willing to be proactive in addressing the areas of your life you want changed.

    Good luck and best wishes.

    Smile

  5. lrjohnson Says:
    1172453273

    In addition to the simple concept of balancing your calories in with your calories out, make sure to take the time to really reflect on the more complex issues that lead us to medicate with food.
    Tell it, sister. I can't exactly say I'm looking forward to the journey, but it is work I need to do. I may have to go through some angst, dammit.

    I always find myself growing pensive as the days count down (or up). Part of me is proud, and the other part says "what now?"

  6. traineeinvestor Says:
    1172457952

    I had similar problems getting myself from being overweight and very unfit into reasonably good shape. I made the change by taking things slowly and concentrating on one small thing at a time. As examples:

    1. I made it a point to get into the gym three days a week but an equally strong point not to push myself once I was in there. For the first few months I just peddled slowly on a bike while reading a book. It did little to help my fitness in the short term but it got me into the habit of exercising on a regular basis and avoided any feelings of burn out or discouragement for not hitting goals;

    2. I also did a number of small things to get me going, like getting off the bus one stop too early going to and from work;

    3. I took a one step at a time approach to improving my diet, removing one "bad" things from my diet every 3-4 weeks. To make this tolerable I made a list of "good" (or, at least. "less bad") snacks and allowed myself to eat as much as I wanted of healthy stuff.

    Personally, I would rather spend the money on a gym than a dieting group.

  7. ozzy gurl Says:
    1172462808

    I think WW is good for people who need the structure, but in the long run they usually have people eating too few calories and the wrong foods. I definitely agree with traineeinvestor that taking small steps is the way to go. I wish you good luck on the journey of fitness...it can be difficult, but it is very rewarding!

  8. lrjohnson Says:
    1172466335

    Personally, I would rather spend the money on a gym than a dieting group.
    I would rather, too. It hasn't worked for me; gym, weightlifting class, yoga, water aerobics, I have to face that I have overeating problems. For most people I would rcommend a focus on fitness.

  9. boomeyers Says:
    1172471017

    I am in the same place. In fact 20lbs I need to lose is from 5 years ago when I quit smoking! Let me know how WW goes for you . I don't have the will power to go it alone, but I haven't been able to pull the trigger for WW either.
    Are you caffine free? They sure can be a trigger for headaches. And as someone else mentioned, so does hormones. I get monster headaches the week before the "fun" week for women. Sometimes they are tolerable and sometimes they knock me on my butt. If it is hormonal you can talk to your gyno about things to do.

  10. campfrugal Says:
    1172497454

    Sometimes migranes and such are caused by something that is in your food. I am not familiar with Weight Watchers and don't know what kind of food you have to eat, like their own food line or can you buy your own, but a lot of foods have MSG in them, which can cause migranes. Also, cutting back on smoking and drinking (depending on how much you did before) can cause those migranes due to withdrawal. Hopefully, you will be feeling better soon.

    Anyhow, good luck to you on your venture.

  11. Jane Says:
    1172499309

    An experience with Weight Watchers CAN fit into a frugal life, in my experience. Several years ago (soon after WW went to the points system) I went to WW for several months and lost a good deal of weight. I stopped going due to the cost (thinking I would continue on my own). While my continued efforts since then have been sporadic and the additional loss has not been impressively large (I weigh about 20 lbs. less than I did 10 years ago, after WW. Very slow rate of loss but I only try to lose occasionally and mostly just work on not regaining any I've lost), the information about points counts is pretty much ingrained in my thinking now. When I am "dieting" I don't buy any special food, do anything different in my meal preparation, but am able to control my portions simply by keeping track of my points. This keeps me from, say, eating a second muffin for breakfast, something I habitually do when not trying to lose weight. After that first experience with WW of going to meetings I developed habits that made counting points an easy and automatic (and free!) method of losing weight or maintaining weight loss. Good luck!

  12. mairgrif Says:
    1172541465

    I need to take exception to the comment I read stating that WW has many people eating too few calories and the wrong foods. If Weight Watchers is followed correctly, the minimum number of calories you need to eat is based on your weight and activity level, and you are counselled not to go below that number so you get the proper amt of nutrients for your body. There are also 8 guidelines you need to follow, which includes the amount of dairy, fruits and vegetable, and water you should have each day. While we all know what we should be eating and not eating, and the amts, people often need structure to help them acheive their goals. I have a friend who is recently pregnant, and when her doctor gave her dietary guidelines, her first comment was that it was just like WW, with more calories. If this is what pregnant women are advised to eat, how can it not be healthy?

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