Weight Watchers Needs a New Monster

Weight Watchers has the Hungry monster. They rolled him out last year with the Momentum program. He’s cute. A little too cute perhaps. He reminds me of the monster in old Bugs Bunny cartoons. The thing is, for most of us trying to lose weight or maintain a weight loss, hunger is hardly the problem.

Weight Watchers addresses this with the Hungry monster. They suggest we evaluate why we are eating. Hungry? Bored? Stressed? Angry? You get the drill. And for an emotional eater like me, any of those are possible triggers that could lead me to a box of cookies.

Since the holidays though, for me, having control over my eating, or should I say not having control,  has been more about mindfulness. I’m wondering if Weight Watchers should change the name of the Hungry monster to the Mindless Eating monster. Cause let’s face it, for those of us who have food issues, mindlessness is much more likely to trip up our diets than hunger.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Weight Watchers. The tools actually helped me to become mindful about my food intake. I tracked, I planned my meals, I only brought into the house or to work with me the foods I “planned” to eat. Notice I said “planned.”

For much of December and January, I haven’t been planning the way I had been. I hadn’t been tracking. And little by little, the wrong foods have snuck back in. Veggies, fruit and lean protein became less of a priority. Cookies became more of a priority, even if it has been in 100-calorie packs.

I haven’t done too much damage yet, but I do recognize that as I pay less attention to what goes into my mouth, more goes in. And the weight is not coming off. Those 4 extra holiday pounds are sticking around like nobody’s business.

I’ve been scratching my head as to why, when I know why. A handful of this, a taste of that, a spoonful of something else…. it all adds up even if it doesn’t feel like it from a hunger perspective.

As a grazer, I could eat all day and still be hungry. I’m back to mindfulness: planning, tracking, shopping for the right foods and keeping the trigger foods out of the house. I have gone back and forth with this so many times. And mindlessness has always won. Not this time.

While they are at it, Weight Watchers should add a new monster to their marketing campaign too. We can call him the Lazy Monster!

While my food intake has been on the rise, my exercise efforts have been less than stellar. I love to exercise too. I love how it makes me feel. It’s not always easy getting started, but once I’m going, I’m all about a good workout. Getting started though has been a struggle. I think it’s the Lazy monster who’s been making me wake up too late or convincing me to trade my weekend workouts for diner breakfasts (oh yes, I did this Sunday).

This week I’m banning the Mindlessness (Hungry) monster and Lazy monster from my life. I’ve got races to get ready for. Vacation is over. It’s time to make to make good health the priority again, before there is too much damage.

Tags: diet, Exercise, healthy eating, hungry monster, mindful eating, weight watchers