USA Today carried the story yesterday of the passing of Jean Nidetch, the founder of Weight Watchers. She weighed 214 pounds in 1962. After trying many fad diets, she decided to try a diet program run by the New York City Board of Health in Manhattan. She lost 20 pounds in 10 weeks. Then she decided to invite some overweight friends to her apartment to tell them about the diet. "I am a sharer," she said. "When you give of yourself, you get back. I had to share it, so I called all my overweight friends. I only had overweight friends."
The article had so many wonderful quotes and stories of weight loss victories.
In The Jean Nidetch Story: An Autobiography, Nidetch wrote, "At that first gathering ... I told my story, and the beautiful thing was that people really listened. And then they began talking and contributing one at a time.
"One woman stood up and said, 'I'm a schoolteacher and I've been teaching for years. I have to say this. Seven years ago, I watched one of my students throw away half a doughnut into a wastebasket. It happened at school at the end of our noon recess period, and from noon until three that afternoon, I couldn't stop thinking about that half doughnut. After I dismissed the class at three o'clock, I immediately closed the door and reached down into the wastebasket, pulled out the doughnut, and ate it. ... It's troubled me for years. ... And I've never been able to tell anyone about eating that doughnut until now.'
"At that moment, all of us in that room became her allies," Nidetch said.
I became acquainted with Weight Watchers in the 70s when Mom started attending meetings. Through the years the program has changed, but when I joined in 1998 the fundamentals of support and knowledge were still there, stronger than ever. Weight Watchers is the only diet I have ever tried and I know it works! It works because you can eat real food. You are taught portion sizes, decision making, tradeoffs, and so much more.
I lost 30 pounds, twice, because I didn't learn enough the first time around. I stopped attending meetings as soon as I hit my lifetime status in 1998 and the pounds slowly crept back on. The second time around I kept right on going to my meetings. I always tell people we know we need to pray and read our Bibles, but we still need to go to church. Weight Watchers members know how to eat and count points, but that accountability and check-in with others is a huge difference maker.
Nidetch said weight loss is often a matter of putting food into perspective. "Food is not your remedy for problems. Food is not going to change your life. If you are lonely, food is not going to be your company. If you are sad, food is not going to give you solace."
Hats off to a woman who took what she learned and willingly shared it with anyone who was willing to listen!
Question to my readers: Are you a current or former WW member? Tell me your experience!
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