Back To Basics with Weight Watchers Simple Start
Remember my beauty resolution to be more diligent in my Weight Watchers tracking? Yeah, well, I was doing great up until the cruise. I even dropped a few pounds. Then, after a week of throwing caution to the wind, food-wise, a righteous bout of Norovirus and a week of being happy to actually eat again, it’s time to get serious, people!
But, as anyone who has ever begun a healthy eating plan knows, getting started is the hardest part. You keep saying “I’ll start tomorrow,” when you don’t feel like cooking and end up in line at Chipotle or your friend calls and wants to catch up over dinner at your favorite Indian restaurant. We’ve all been there. Well, today is really my tomorrow and I’m doing it with the new Weight Watchers Simple Start program.
Simple Start is a two week, point counting-free, intro course into the world of Weight Watchers. Even though I’ve been a paying member for over over 2 years, and know point values like the back of my hand, when the people at Weight Watchers asked me to give Simple Start a try, I couldn’t say no. I truly believe in their philosophy as it has helped me achieve and maintain weight loss in the past.
Simple Start is based on the Simply Filling technique which focuses on Power Foods that fill you up without weighing you down. There’s no tracking or portion sizes to worry about. You just eat until you feel full. The idea is that their “power foods” are so filling and healthy, you won’t overeat. Plus, you get daily indulgences for things like wine, chocolate, cheese and popcorn (you know, the four basic food groups). I mean, this popcorn junkie can’t go cold turkey.
So, for the next two weeks I’ll be trying the Simple Start plan and documenting my progress on Instagram and Twitter with a final wrap-up here on the blog. I hope you’ll follow along with encouragement and maybe my journey will inspire you to make healthier choices.
How many of you have been, or currently are, Weight Watchers members? What methods do you use to eat healthy?
Disclosure: Weight Watchers provided me with an online membership and smartphone for use with the program. All opinions are my own. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
I’ve done WW a couple of times. And then life always got in my way (stress eating is not my friend). I look forward to hearing how Simple Start goes for you and maybe I’ll get inspired to try again.
Thanks Sara! I was so good until last summer. I let my emotions get in the way. It’s so much more mental than anything. Being the right frame of mind is key.
I had so much success on it the first time I did it (pre-kids) that I thought it would be a snap the second time. I forgot that adding kids to the mix makes EVERYTHING harder. Sigh. But I’m back on it. I need to get back to the gym, too. Year of Strong Sara, yo.
I was on WW, back in the day. I no longer put any stock in it.
Every woman in my family has been on the program. Each one lost weight. Great, right? Well, every one of them gained it back and more, because the concept of ‘portioning’ is flawed.
A few months after hitting goal, all of us put our measuring cups and scales away. Slowly, our portions got bigger. We stopped tracking, because god, that’s no way to live. Weight came back. They tout it as a ‘lifestyle change’, but really, it’s not sustainable.
Hi Katie! I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with you. I think putting your measuring cups and scales away was the problem. Just because you hit goal doesn’t mean you can stop and go back to your old way of eating. I consider WW a lifestyle change, not a short term plan. Even though I weigh/measure my food, for the most part, being on WW has taught me to recognize what a portion should look like so when I am eating out, I know when to stop. You either have to fully commit to it or not. If you can’t manage your portions on your own, you need to find a way to do it. For me, I have no issue tracking points for the rest of my life. There is a TON of flexibility in WW and there are no hard limits, like eliminating entire food groups. For me, that makes the most sense of any plan I’ve come across. I know plenty of people who have lost with WW and kept it off long term.
That’s the thing, it’s such a miserable way to live for a lot of people. I did calorie-counting on MyFitnessPal, not WW; it definitely helped big time, but I started becoming obsessive about the numbers, and I felt myself drifting towards an eating disorder. When I tried going without it and eating “mindfully”, I found myself getting anxious and even using MyFitnessPal time to time just to sooth myself, like a security blanket. It was crazy. I had NO issues with eating until I started dieting, but I had to for health reasons.
It puts you in a tough situation. You don’t want to obsessively track everything you eat for the rest of your life, but you feel yourself slipping as soon as you stop. But what else can you do? You can’t afford to gain back the weight. There lies the rub.
It turns out anyway the best thing to control my portions and keep me from gorging on junk food is the immediate physical consequences of doing said things. Fear of pain and discomfort is a more effective incentive than fear of gaining weight, lol.
WW is a magnificent program. I’ve done it on and off and have kept my weight off. Love the fact that they teach you about portions! Visiting from SITS.
I agree with Michelle. Being on a diet is not something that you can give up. It has to be a permanent life change. If you change your thinking, to 1lb loss a week is brilliant, I don’t care how long this is going to take, I am actually going to manage it this time around. My WW friend, told me, ‘I find it easy to say no now’.
Ah man, that WAS your cruise! When I heard of that cruise liner problem on t.v. I hoped it wasn’t YOUR cruise. Well, sorry that happened to you. Glad you are well and back at ‘normal’ life, whatever that means! I will look into Weight Watchers as I could use some help there. Thanks, Michelle!
Oh no, it wasn’t our cruise. It was the one after ours. We brought it home from the ship though. Either way, not fun.
Hi Michelle… I love your website! It is my go to site for polish. I have been on WW for a little over a year. I did the tracking and have yet to try the Simple Start. I lost over 45lbs and have had no problem keeping it off. It is a life style, not a quick fix. I saw early in the program that my issue was with portion size. I too know the point values of just about everything. I love the program. Good luck and I look foward to your updates.
Hi Kathleen! Congrats on the loss. It’s not easy but it’s definitely worth it.
Chipotle can actually be great while dieting. I recommend calorie counting. I did ww for a bit but was way more successful once I was in my own. I have lost 92 pounds by going to the gym and counting calories.
First, congratulations on the weight loss. That is a significant amount to lose and I’m so in awe of your dedication. And, of course, you can make smart choices at a lot of fast casual or fast food restaurants. I was just using Chipotle as an example since it’s really the only fast food place I go to anymore.
Thanks Michelle! I think they key to sustainable weight loss is figuring out how to tweak your favorite foods into your plan. Weight Watchers is really good at helping kickThat off.
Oh my gosh, were you on one of the cruises with the norovirus outbreak?! I hope you got to enjoy most of your trip before getting sick. How awful! Glad you are feeling better!
I can’t imagine tracking points, so I have never tried WW. But the Simple Start program sounds interesting. I will be following your progress.
We weren’t on that ship but our ship had outbreaks both weeks before us and the week after us so we brought it home. No fun! But at least we enjoyed the cruise.
Tracking points becomes second nature and the app makes it so easy. Though, to be honest, I mostly eat power foods anyway so Simple Start isn’t that different. Just no counting involved.
Michelle, your post could not be more timely. I have been a paying WW member for 2 years and then last summer, a few vacations and normal life stress hit. I admit I am a coward when it comes to the scale but yesterdays Doctor (hanging head in shame) visit pushed me back over the edge. I will go back and try the Simple Start (new beginnings, Spring and all that). Good luck to both of us.
Don’t hang your head in shame, Susan. The fact that you’re facing it at all is something to be proud of. Good luck to you and let me know how it goes.
not to be a total hater, but saw your VM post today with all that junk food and couldn’t help but wonder how your WW journey is going. I’ve never done WW, but I’ve had a lot of success with SparkPeople.com. are you sticking to it? your polish reviews are the bomb diggity, i hope your WW review will be just as good.
Hi Amy! It would only make you a hater if you asked, hoping I had failed. I went a little crazy buying candy because they were $1 a piece and I didn’t know what everyone would like. Half the boxes are in my cupboard unopened. The beauty of WW is that you can have anything, in moderation. That’s the hardest lesson for me to learn and it’s what tracking points gives me. I appreciate you checking in on me and I have an update in the works.
Can’t wait to see your update! Love your blog as always.
I initially tried weight watchers because I wanted to quit smoking and knew I would gain weight in the process. I did WW + the Lady Soma Detox – the combination of both – and I lost 30 pounds and went from a size 16 to a size 10. I quit smoking. The WW + Lady Soma Detox is the easiest program to follow !!