Weight Watchers at age 10

by Caroline
(Indiana)

I've used Weight Watchers twice. It was moderately difficult, because I had to keep track of everything that I ate, which was a challenge when I was 10.

It also made me abnormally conscious of nutrition facts for my age, which sometimes caused teasing from my peers, especially during high school.

I spent most of my time with teenage boys and they can finish an entire pizza and not be full.

I never went hungry and the fact that I could choose my own foods was great. I never bought SmartOnes while I was on it, but I did buy some of their muffins and brownies.

When I ate out in restaurants, I had to be very careful not to eat the food that came out before the entree.

When I went to Applebee's, the entrees with the points printed really helped. Otherwise, I would have to go home and look up how much I had consumed after every trip to the restaurant.

It was a little bit of a hassle, because I often wished that I could just eat a little bit of food and not worry about how many points it was. It didn't drag me down when I ate at special occasions like birthdays because I would get extra exercise points when I was going to eat cake.

It was not terribly easy to stick to, but it made me really look at the food that I was eating.

I would never do it again. I also am very hesitant to recommend it to others as a first choice. If the circumstances are dire, I would consider recommending it.

Note from Dr. Dan

Caroline,

You found one solution to eating in restaurants: "I had to be very careful not to eat the food that came out before the entree."

If you eat a basket of chips with salsa, or a loaf of bread dipped in olive oil, you can add 1000 calories before you eat your main course.

Dr. Dan