Goodness Gracious

Just so I wouldn't be left out of the loop in my chat and message boards of my favorite site I rejoined Weight Watchers to see what the new program is all about.

Very interesting... FINALLY WW acknowledges that not all calories are created equal. In all fairness, that has been something that was said during meetings and in reading material, but the push toward 100 calorie snack packs, bars, and other foods really led the member in a different direction. You can still have all this junk but the points are so high on these things now that at least people might think twice before having them. Unfortunately the points are also higher for the GOOD carbs - whole grains in particular. I made a wheatberry salad on Saturday, November 27th that calculated to 6 points, and on Sunday, November 28th it calculated to 9 points. The WWer's income (points allowance) has gone up for most people, but so has the cost of living (points values)!

Anyway, that being said, I have found that because I was eating very healthfully in the first place ("core-like" "South Beach-like" etc.) not much changed for me. However, in an effort to really be part of the wave, I started weighing and measuring and journaling (three things that I swore I would never do again... but here I am). I found that doing so reined in the portion sizes. Not a bad thing.

Because I was a WWer for years (to the point of obsession which is why I stopped) I find that this program is a bit difficult for two reasons:

1) I was a member when WW changed from New Freedom to the Points program. Over the years there were a few changes, but basically Points values stayed the same for most foods. As a result, unless it was a food that I had never eaten or bore no resemblance to something that I had eaten, I knew the points. I even knew the points - 100% accurately - when I read the Nutritional Information on a label or recipe. As such, this new formulation is really going against the tide of information already in my head.

2) It's not the 29 daily points that is a stretch (at last effort I had 24) it's the 49 weekly allowance. The first week I did the Points Plus program I found that after I had met my daily allowance and wanted something else, I didn't bother to weigh, measure or track. My mind said - "Oh, I have 49 points ... that will cover anything." As a result I stayed the same at my first WI, even though all my "classmates" had shown losses. But that's okay. I realized the error of my ways and started another week.

I'm nothing if not open-minded. I am going to continue to eat the way I always have (very few, if any processed foods). But, I will "follow" the tenets of Weight Watchers for now. I really don't feel like a hypocrite (which was why I was really loathe to start the program again) because (1) with the extra points I don't have to obsess over each one; (2) I respect WW for moving toward the newer research in nutritional science; and (3) I'm not the same person I was several years ago when I decided that the program was not for me.

I leave open the door, though, to the possibility that as I evolve and change some more, I might find that this still isn't the program for me. We shall see. Some people are offended by people who flip-flop. I am offended by people who do NOT flip-flop. What was true on Tuesday which made us behave in an "X" way, may not be the same on Thursday, which means the "X" way is no longer THE way.

Fourth Verse of the Tao:

The Tao is empty but inexhaustible, bottomless, the ancestor of it all.
Within it, the sharp edges become smooth; the twisted knots loosen; the sun is softened by a cloud; the dust settles into place. It is hidden, but always present....

This phrase invites me to think about the endless possibilities (flip-flopping included!) within myself and all that is out there. It invites me to take who I am, and change and flow and reinvent my actions and ideas, and trust my feelings - they may be hidden, and I might not know why I am doing something... but they are there and present, and are to be respected... When we say "The possibilities are endless" do we realize we are speaking the Tao?