Putting points where my mouth is

Today is the day.

I'm joining Weight Watchers.

It's something I've looked into more times than I can count, something that I've avoided doing just as many times. Except this time. This time I feel like it's something I need to do, and that my goal is a manageable one. When I had 50 pounds to lose, it felt like an insurmountable task and therefore why bother starting something I had no hope of accomplishing? That was my thinking then. Terrible, I know, but true.

Now I have between 10 and 25 pounds to lose depending on which healthy weight range guide you subscribe to. Personally, my goal is more a size/fitness goal, but tracking weight will help me get there. I would agree that a 10-pound weight loss puts me at a healthy weight, so we'll start there.

Every other time I've considered joining WW, I've been going it alone. I could have named maybe one person I knew on the program. But this time, not only do I know two or three people who have had great success, I've got three friends who are tackling WW right now. My amazing midwife is one of them - she and I are nearly the same height and weight (she's now about 5 pounds lighter thanks to her last few weeks with WW) - and we've both committed to May half marathons. She's also a major details stickler and shopping with her at Costco yesterday was like having my very own WW fairy listing off the points value of everything I picked up. While it'll be tough to run with her regularly (being a midwife, she's on call a lot), we're already sharing recipes and getting out for some running.

Then there's my newest mummy buddy, Manatee Momma, who has been doing WW online for a few weeks to no success. But she's done WW before with great success. What's different this time? A new city, a 10 month old underfoot and a real winter to contend with (their last home didn't have one to speak of). Manatee and I are very similar - we have similar workout loves and hates, have babies, are nursing and are generally uber hyper, loud, ridiculous and love to snack. Between the two of us, we should be able to motivate each other to move and move away from the binge eating over coffee. Um, right.

Then there's the pioneer for me - Jennifer P - who no longer blogs and lives far away and that makes me sad, but at least we can talk. She's a WW veteran, both pre and post baby, and a triathlete to boot. She's got tonnes of tips and offers me a very real reality kick in the pants when I need one; as in, it's not easy but it works. I do need the meetings, I think, and Jen P would agree. And heck, it gets me out of the house one more day a week, and that's a good thing.

Today is the day. Weigh-in is at noon. I won't be posting my weight for a whole host of reasons, but I will be posting progress. My greatest hope is not so much for pounds lost, but for a real incentive to keep moving. The more I move the more I get to eat, and, well, I really like to eat.

Yours in point counting, Ms. Wumpus.