WW Update and All the Fixin's

When your parents give you money for Christmas, they usually want you to buy something you desperately want. The money from my parents landed in my hands last month and instantly I knew I wanted these bad boys from TOMS:

These shoes embody my personal style and meet my requirements for longevity. I know I could wear them every day and they would last for awhile. When I saw them in the TOMS catalog, I pretty much swooned. Swooned, I tell you, swoooooooned.

But those shoes weren't what I desperately wanted.

I took my money from my parents and headed to weightwatchers.com. I set up my account for three months, then sat back and realized that I had done something good for myself.

As you can see from my screenshot, I am on my second week; I still get a lot of daily points, which means that I have had flexibility that I have never before enjoyed on a "diet" before. I have lost four pounds so far. And that's been tough for me.

My previous diet of choice before Weight Watchers was the Fat Smash Diet—it involves a largely vegetarian way of eating and allows little leeway for splurges. Because the diet is so strict, the weight loss is immense. When I lost over 40 pounds in 2009/2010, I used the Fat Smash Diet to great success. I can't speak to the maintenance of that weight loss (thanks, pregnancy!), but I felt healthy and strong while I ate that way.

The circumstances of my life now make it difficult to eat so cleanly, so I needed a solution that could help me focus on the things I can control. Portion size, sodium intake, changing my mindset—these are all aspects of weight loss with which Weight Watchers has helped millions of people.

I am hoping that this slow weight loss is indicative of long-term success. It would be such a waste of swoon-worthy shoes if I don't make the most of this Weight Watchers journey.

Have you used Weight Watchers before?

Or when you lose weight, are you into the latest, trendy diets?