I tried a combination of starvation, diet pills, illegal speed, and the Atkins diet and while it worked, almost too well, I eventually developed heart palpitations and ended up spending two weeks in cardiac intensive care.

Once I started eating normally, all the weight came back plus about 20 extra pounds.

After the birth of my daughter, I wanted to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight so I started researching a more healthy way to lose weight.

I first tried the South Beach diet, but all I could find were cook books which listed a ton of recipes, but no real guidance on how to follow the diet.

Eventually I decided upon the Weight Watchers program after attending an introductory meeting at my place of employment. The program offered at work was quite expensive, so I decided to enroll in the online program, which was only $16.00 per month.

Weight Watchers flex plan was very easy to follow, and I was able to get all the support I needed online from the comfort of my own home. The online program materials are very thorough and I found many good tips and tricks on the online forums.

I did purchase a few of the Weight Watchers cookbooks, but eventually learned how to make over our family recipes so that I could eat the familiar foods I loved without all the fat and calories.

Basically, you are assigned a certain number of points based on your weight, and the points are calculated on each food/drink item by a combination of calories, fat, and fiber. As you lose weight, your daily points allowance is lowered until you reach your goal weight.

You can plan ahead and eat any food you want as long as you stay in your points range. You also get 35 flex points per week to use for a special treat you just have to have or a special dinner out.

As a plus to the Weight Watchers program, you are encouraged to drink water, eat healthy oils, take vitamins, and eat daily dairy servings.

After a while, foods I used to eat all the time, especially McDonalds burgers, tasted horrible and greasy and if I ate a high fat calorie meal it made me physically ill, which was just one more incentive to keep following the Weight Watchers program.

After a week or so into the program, Weight Watchers introduces activity points which can add to your daily points allowance, by doing such things as walking, biking, jogging, strength training, dancing, even housework. You are allowed to use your activity points to add to your daily points allowance.

As I have a back and shoulder injury, I started exercising by walking around our neighborhood and eventually worked out a route that covered three miles. I walked the neighborhood every other day, alternating with an exercise DVD called Walk off the Pounds.

For online members, Weight Watchers sends out all sorts of materials that offer support and recipes to help you through the holidays, and gives many ideas for recipes that are similar to familiar holiday dishes, but reworked into healthy recipes.

I can’t say enough good things about the support the Weight Watchers program offers. The Program recommends you lose no more than two pounds per week, and I reached my goal weight in a little over six months.

The maintenance program is really easy to follow as well. You add back about six points a day and monitor your weight at weekly weigh-ins and stay at that range as long as you don’t gain more than two pounds between weigh ins.

I feel that following the program helped teach me how to prepare healthy foods and eat reasonable portions.

Besides the fact that I look better and feel better about myself, the health benefits have been a real plus. My blood pressure normalized and my cholesterol levels are perfect.

Another plus, as I do all the cooking for the family, my husband also lost 40 pounds simply because he only ate the foods I prepared. Weight Watchers says it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change, and I could eat this way for the rest of my life.