a losing lecture

at the start of the new year, i knew that i had to make a few changes for the year to come. together, gary and i decided we would quit smoking. additionally, i knew i needed to make even more positive lifestyle choices so i joined weight watchers.

i'm not one that can attend the weekly meetings, so i chose their online method for tracking my food and exercise. i was very eager to start this change on january 1. i planned out my menus, chose healthy items at the grocery, and purchased an exercise ball for workouts at home.

the reason i chose weight watchers is because it's not like a traditional diet where you must eat certain foods, sacrifice foods you love, or heat up portions sent to your home. basically, within reason, i can eat what i want. foods are assigned point values and you have a limit of points for each day. weekly "bonus" points are also there for those days you want to splurge a little!

i have done quite well using weight watchers. i have lost each week. week one, i recorded my biggest loss of 10lbs. granted, much of it was water weight, but i was happy to shed that baggage. in total, as of february 5, i have lost 23.4 lbs. i've received two '5lb' stars on my weight tacker and am a good poop near my first goal.

but, what was most interesting after recording this week's loss of 2.6lbs was the following message from weight watchers:

WELL DONE! You've recorded a loss this week. That's great news!

However, we notice that you've lost more than an average of 2 pounds per week over three or more weeks. This rate is too rapid — it may be unsafe or unhealthy.

While we're proud of your achievements and pleased you're making changes in your life, we need you to concentrate on one more thing: You should slow the pace of your weight loss to no more than 2 pounds per week.

Have a great week!

sure i know that it's important to lose weight healthy, but c'mon! i haven't lost a significant amount of weight except for that first week! and let's face it - i have the extra pounds to lose! so, i shall disregard this memo from weight watchers, because i have 9lbs to lose by the time my ship sails on march 1 for the mexican riviera!