I thought I'd give you all an update on my first 3 weeks on Weight Watchers. I gotta say it's really not so bad! I'm not hungry, I can eat what I want, I've even had *gasp* french fries and fatty Indian food but have also eaten more fruits and veggies than I have in a long time. The first week I spent getting used to the program and probably chose a higher points value for items that I was unsure about. Like pupusas....where the hell are they in the book?!? When in doubt I try to look at nutrition values online for similar foods and guestimate the points value. So the first week I lost a whopping 5 pounds! I hadn't even worked out that week so it was a lovely surprise!

The 2nd week I struggled a bit, I made poor choices which I was totally aware of I just didn't seem to care. My friend made a lovely lunch for us gals which consisted of appetizers, punch, pasta with oil & shrimp, dessert, salad...the list goes on! You think I'd have been full for the day but nope, that evening I chose crazy bread(IE sticks of pizza dough baked and smothered in garlic butter)and beer as my meal! That same week PP and I had reservations for a set menu at a restaurant so I told myself "no bread, a diet pop, eat half the ravioli and a taste of dessert"! Well that didn't happen, as soon as I opened the menu I saw "sextini", ate 2 pieces of bread, my whole ravioli plate and both her and my dessert! Oh yeah, I gained 1.4 lbs that week!

I got back on track this last week, watched what I ate, had a few extras but of course went to the gym regularly, did not go over my points target each day and lost 4.2 pounds!

The most difficult thing I'm finding is learning how to socialize without the food and the booze! My friends and I will often get together for dinner or drinks, it's what we do to relax on the weekend! Just last Friday I had an invite to a bar, two free bottles of booze and a VIP lounge. I declined, told the inviter why and he said "alright"! Not but two hours later I get a "come on, so and so is coming blah blah" so I agreed to meet at his house for a bit beforehand, diet pepsi in hand but still said no to the bar. Next thing you know I'm at his place looking up the points value for vodka and shaking my head. I did make it to the bar, had one drink, danced my ass off and was outta there by 12:30am because I had to weigh in at 8:30am and spin at 9:00am. That's sooooo not like me but I realize that it has to be a lifestyle change, I have to pick and choose what I'm going to use my extra points on, I had already used mine up that week and didn't have any extra to drink away and so I didn't.

I've lost 7.8 pounds in 3 weeks, I like the program because I can have a piece of chocolate or have some fries I just have to count them into my week. It will be a struggle though as I pretty much have to plan ahead and decide what I'm going to use my extra points on.....I can't go for all you can eat Japanese and out drinking in the same week. We went to see a play on Sunday and I knew the theatre only had chocolate covered almonds, cookies and ice cream as snacks so I packed some apple slices and a weight watchers bar into my purse in case I got the munchies. I'm going to Montreal for a weekend in the near future, I'm going to have to work out every day for hours prior to and pack the car with bags of fruit because I know I'm going to be eating out and drinking like a fish! But I'll also be dancing....maybe that will make up for the copious amounts of food and booze I plan to consume!

Ultimately it's my choice, do I get the poutine or the veggie stirfry, eat half of the meal or all of it? I'm in control I just have to make the right choices and I gotta say when I was out on the weekend watching all of the drunkies enjoying themselves...I was too! It was great to dance and laugh with my friends, but it also felt great to stay on track with my goals, go home early, weigh in and spin just as I had planned.