First Meeting...

Tonight I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting--something I swore I'd never do....and guess what?  It wasn't so bad!  I went with a couple of friends who have been doing the WW plan for a while so they had told me a lot about it in advance.  I think going with friends and knowing what to expect made it less intimidating.  I'm not sure what I was expecting....did I think they would all point and laugh or something?  Did I think they would announce my weight on a loud speaker?

I had pre-registered online so it was pretty simple.  You just go in and wait in line to weigh in and they record your weight in a little book that you bring with you each week.  No one is able to see your weight and they don't say it out loud, even to you.  The other people at the meeting stand back at a distance so that it is more private for those being weighed.  The hardest part was seeing the number when she wrote it in my book.  :(  I had expected it but it was still hard to SEE it and to know someone else had seen it.  But the woman who weighed me didn't look at me with disgust....she wrote down my weight, calculated my weekly points for me (more about that in a future post), and told me she was glad I was joining them and she'd see me next week.  So far, so good...

The meeting part is after the weigh-in.  You don't have to stay for the meeting if you don't want to but it is obviously encouraged.  There is a group leader who is really energetic and excited (or she's had too much caffeine!) about the plan and there are opportunities for others to talk about whatever they want--recipes or foods they've found, challenges they've faced, questions about the plan, whatever.  And they give out little awards to people for losing 5 lbs, 10 lbs, 5% of weight, etc.  Who doesn't like to be recognized for their accomplishments?

A lot of the people there were clearly not as fat as I....but I didn't feel uncomfortable.  I am hoping that these people will have a lot of information to share as I take this journey.  Who knows....maybe one day I will be one of those annoying people who look like they don't belong there!  Let's hope!