I’m a Weight Watchers Freestyle fatty.

What does that actually mean? It means I didn’t do well my first month on Weight Watchers Freestyle program. In fact, I gained SEVEN pounds.

This was the first month that I actually gained while following the program. While I’m not very happy about this gain, I took the time to figure it out WHY. It was eye opening.

Weight Watchers Freestyle

Let’s start with the changes that Weight Watchers has made to their smart point program.

1. There are 200 foods that are now ZERO POINTS. So they had points, and now they don’t. Wait, what? Yup, FREE FOR ALL! That’s how I saw it at least. Mistake #1.
2. No longer required to track zero point foods because they are zero points. Wait, what? NO TRACKING???? Mistake #2.
3. Reduced daily points to accommodate for the zero point foods. I went from 30 smart points a day to 23. Huh? Mistake #3.
4. The program still promotes activity and balance. All good. I’ve got this part mastered.

Month One on Freestyle

It’s always exciting when Weight Watchers launches something new. The program is smart and based in science. When they introduced Smart Points I was extremely excited. Adding sugar to the calculations of points made sense. And encouraging exercise through “Beyond the Scale” made sense – food and exercise go hand in hand.

• When Freestyle was introduced, I didn’t understand the science. Still don’t actually. How can high (natural) sugar foods like corn go from high point values to no points? Chicken, eggs, fish, legumes… all zero points. Sounds amazing, but here is the challenge:
• I am a picky eater, so the only change this meant was more eggs, chicken and veggies high in sugar. FREE FOR ALL!
• I went the entire day until dinner eating zero points. Eggs, chicken, veggies… more eggs and chicken.
• Most days I’d have between 19-23 points remaining by dinner so I’d eat what I wanted. Maybe add a glass of wine. Why not? I’ve got the points!
• By bed I’d have a few points left.

I didn’t track the zero point foods. Thought I was doing well. Until I weighed in. Mistake.

What was I doing wrong? I was following the program. But was I?

What I Figured Out

What I applied some of my own science and logic to what I was doing – ok, let’s be clear, Nunzio helped me here – I realized that I was eating way more of the zero point foods and the calories were adding up. FAST!

Before freestyle I’d eat two egg whites a day. On Freestyle I was eating 4 full eggs a day. I went from 5oz of chicken to 8-10oz a day. No corn to a cup of corn. I was increasing my calorie intake by a million percent. Yah, that’s right, a MILLION! And I wasn’t tracking these foods – but I was following the program.

Mistake.

I gained SEVEN pounds following the program. But was I actually following it? I’d say I was. I could blame Weight Watchers for not saying: don’t be stupid, you can’t just keep eating zero point foods without consequence. So I own my mistakes. And I’m sure I’m not the only one that made the same mistakes on Freestyle.

Doing Freestyle Differently

I don’t want to be a freestyle fatty. So I’m using Nunzio’s logic and began implementing changes as of last Sunday.

• I’m tracking everything – even zero point foods
• Portion sizes are reasonable again – regardless of the point value
• Increasing my veggies – but not high sugar veggies
• Using points at every meal, not just at dinner
• Most importantly, I’m using logic and my experience

Freestyle Fatty No More

Having been on Weight Watchers for almost a year and a half I know what I need to do. Applying what I have learned won’t be hard. But it will take some work. I’ve been eating a lot more than I used to so I need to manage my hunger as I reduce my portions.

What this means is that I need to be all in. And I am – I’m all in! I have been successful on Weight Watchers. I have enjoyed and found a great respect in their program so I need to keep going.

I made mistakes. Realized them. And I’m moving forward. I WAS a freestyle fatty. But that’s over. I’m smarter than the mistakes I’ve made. I believe and love myself too much to stop now.

Re-take! Let’s do this! #Freestyle

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