Grassa

Statistically, those who lose weight will gain it all back within 5 years' time. Well, your blogger has become part of the statistic, regaining 30 of the 42 pounds I lost through Weight Watchers'. Things really aren't fitting me, and I don't like it, so I am back on the wagon again.

I dropped out of WW in the fall of 2009, because that debit from my checking account every month was relentless and became a problem. With the economy like it is, every little bit helps, and, between John and myself, "that little bit" was $85 a month. Just too much for us right now. But we would be OK. We knew we could handle ourselves properly now, having been trained in healthy eating, portion control and willpower.

Wrong.

Turns out that willpower was intimately tied to stepping on a scale week after week with someone else recording the number. Initially, one of us became the someone else for the other. But we're too forgiving of each other, and that gradually fell away. Then came the hectic time of my mom's final illnesses, eating hospital foods and treating ourselves to Starbuck's treats "because things are stressful." After that, 8 weeks on the sofa recovering my feet, and, WALLAH! 30 pounds back on, lickety splicket.

Not really. It took a little over a year of extra bites, licks and tastes to bring myself back almost to where I was. I suspect it'll take about that long to get back down there. I would have liked to have lost a chunk before we go to Europe, because I have a feeling I'll lose some ground in the lands of gelato, schnitzel and ale. John and I joined a local TOPS group recently, which has helped take off about 5 pounds. But it's slow going.

TOPS, for those not aware, is a weight-loss support program that meets all over the world, helping people lose weight sensibly. We have a place to go again where someone else writes down that report from the scale, and other people having the same love/hate relationship we have with food and exercise. The only drawback to TOPS seems to be what drew us to it; it's cheap. $26 per year for membership in the system, plus $1 week for membership in our local chapter, plus 10cents per tenth of a pound when we gain. So far, neither of us has gained, and John was even paid once for being the "biggest loser." So it's cheap. But that may explain why there are members of our chapter who have been members for 20 years and are still obese. No, I am not judging them, I am just saying that TOPS may not "hurt" enough to be beneficial. We shall see.

TOPS does not endorse any specific weight loss plan. Although they don't encourage binge dieting, and do offer (free) an exchange diet plan for you to use, there is no food to buy and the general idea is, "Get the weight off. Just get it off." Appeals to me, and to John.

So I'll be letting you know, from time to time, how things are going. If I can just keep my mouth shut and quit engaging in recreational baking.....