Confusion Sets-In

Yesterday (Tuesday, Feb 15th) I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting. I wasn't sure what to expect...I had certain thoughts as to what I thought it would be like, but really I wasn't sure. The first person to greet me was the leader. I was instantly reminded me of a character on the tv show Wil and Grace - Karen Walker (Megan Mullally); which made me laugh. I was impressed with the amount of people there and with their openness. The discussion for the night was about "making over your kitchen." At first it seemed like no one really wanted to talk, but once she got a few people going then everyone joined in. They brought up a lot of good ideas and pointers which I found very helpful. I can see why people are successful on this program.
The people there were from all age groups. There were mothers and their teenage daughters, elderly couples, young married couples, single people, sisters, but mostly it was middle aged women. Everyone was very nice, so I went ahead and signed up. All the newcomers (there were about 10 of us) stayed after the 30 minute meeting to go over the plan. The leader briefly covered the guidelines, and then asked if we had any questions (um, yea, lots, but not sure where to start). I have to say that I was completely overwhelmed and a little put-off that I'd just spent $39.95 to be handed a bunch of books and sent on my way.
I got a chance to talk to my sister today and she said it was the same for her at first too. She believes they do that because WW is about making small changes that will last a lifetime. They don't want to send you home with meal plans and structured guides because you won't be able to follow it. OH! I see. Makes sense.
So today I logged onto the e-tools for WW and started tracking. Boy is my eating off track right now. The whole using points instead of calories thing is a bit confusing, but after entering a few items I'm starting to understand. A bonus is I get extra daily points because I'm breastfeeding - sweet! But, of course, I ate all of them and then some of my bonus ones today. After studying some of the pamphlets they gave me I'm starting to get an idea of how this works. It's a lot like what I was doing before only instead of saying I'll have three 400 meals and two 200 calorie snacks today, I say I'll have so many points for each. I like that you can eat as much fruit and a lot of vegetables and not have to count them!
When Chris got home from work today I took Vinson on a 30 minute walk (I gained 2 activity points for that!) then I went to the grocery store and bought $120 worth of fruits, vegetables, and WW approved foods/snacks. I found that my biggest fault today was eating out of "boredom." I wouldn't say that I'm "bored" with two kids, but I'm not sure what other term to use. I'm sitting around the house watching Denver sleep and playing with Katelynn and I have this urge to just eat. I'm hoping that a lot of the "snacks" I bought today will keep me from eating Nutella sandwiches! I even went as far as to have Chris help me cut up celery and carrots so that I can just reach in the fridge and grab them when I "feel" hungry.
So the good news is I think I'm going to like weight watchers, the not so good news my weight is 201.8 lbs. They set up goals for you and the first one is to lose 5%. For me that would be getting down to 191 lbs. The leader said an interesting thing yesterday and I keep thinking about it. She was talking about WW and how it's about the small things and you don't want to be losing more then 2 lbs per week (one of the members lost 8 lbs, but it was her first week on the program and she said that happens sometimes, but it worries her because she thinks they are making too big of changes). She said just think if you are losing 1 to 2 lbs per week where you'll be at St. Patrick's day and the 4th of July. I smiled. I might actually feel good about myself again by Stew's wedding in May! Definitely not swimsuit good, but still good. It gave me some hope and reinforced that yes, I can do this!
Reminder to self - I just had a baby 3 weeks ago, it will take time but I can do this and I will do this. Just imagine how great I'm going to look by my birthday!!! :)