Thorns

A quite good essay about the "When I'm thin everything will be better" thinking of a lot of dieters: The fantasy of being thin.

I must admit, I have pretty much literally thought "How dare they take my hope away?!" when reading fat acceptance blogs and their message that diets don't work. Because if that's true, then that sinks the only (fairly slim) chance I have of getting rid of my reflux, which is something I'm not ready to come to terms with. But if it's true then it's true, it's like debunking ineffective cancer cures etc. And as she says in the post, if you spend all your time pinning your hopes for bettering your life (in whatever way) on losing weight, and it never happens, then that's a waste of all the time and energy you could have spent pursuing those goals in other more effective ways.

I still think Weight watchers has been good for Cam and I even if we end up as fat at the end as we were at the start, since it's gotten us exercising and eating healthier. (I've seen one or two blogs which even argue against that, but them I don't take so seriously)

EDIT: the other thing I find annoying about fat acceptance blogs, which is totally not their fault, is all this talk about "eating whatever you want" when if I did that I would be seriously sick. Stupid allergies for all the foods I really like :(

So, since me and my buddies tend to be of the geeky persuasion, a reasonable proportion of you guys are heavier than they would like. Now obviously how you deal with that is up to you, but if any of you have considered Weight Watchers but the idea of going alone is a bit too scary (the state Cam was in for quite a while), well you're welcome to tag along with us.

It's 7pm every Tuesday night at the Bassendean Senior Citizens Hall (50 Old Perth Road Bassendean) and goes till about 8:30 (the woman who leads it is very nice but always running a bit late :)) It costs $18 per meeting(*) plus the $33 registration fee, but I think I have a "Free registration for a friend" coupon around somewhere, and they have a "New members who come with a friend get their first meeting free" promotion until February.

If Bassendean is too far it might be worth finding someone else in your area who'd be interested in going, it really is a lot easier and more enjoyable if you have someone to go along with you (especially if they live with you, then you have an ally to help you be strong enough to stop buying peanut butter etc :))

Anyway, just a thought. I'm certainly not saying Weight Watchers is for everyone (and it is pretty expensive) but it can be useful if what you need is structure and support (and someone to point out that two ferrero rochers has roughly the same calorie content as a large healthy meal).

(*)Unless you get a bulk deal. Also if you miss more than one meeting every four weeks or so you have to pay double the first week you come back.