How I Weight Watchers: Sarah B.

Like so many others, Weight Watchers member Sarah B. hit a real low point during Covid. While she cared for her baby and small child at home, her husband worked on the front lines as paramedic. She felt isolated, scared, and stuck. Turning to food for comfort, she gained 40 pounds. Then, one day, the metaphorical lightbulb went off in her head. She realized that by putting herself last all the time, she wasn’t being the kind of mom her children needed or living the life she deserved. 

“I couldn’t just keep sitting on the sidelines of my life, I wanted to be an active participant,” she says. Since that time, she’s done a 180 and has lost 40 pounds — all the weight she put on during Covid. More importantly, she feels strong and happy. Here’s how this Weight Watchers Core+ member prioritizes Workshops, hits her macros goals, and feels at home in her body, flaws and all.

I had joined Weight Watchers before when I was younger, but I always had a very black-and-white approach to things. It was all chicken and broccoli and no fun. I was so focused on the number on the scale that I didn’t take time to actually enjoy my life. So this time around, I knew that if I was going to commit to a healthier lifestyle, it had to be sustainable. And for me, that means I eat nutella almost every day. I also don’t beat myself up if the scale doesn’t move much. I keep it all in perspective and track my fat and lean mass percentage — I do it through the AI Body Scanner in the app and on my scale, which measures both fat and muscle. I love learning more about my body and the progress I’ve made (and where I still need to improve).

When I started working out, I did it to lose weight and get healthy. But then I ended up falling in love with fitness — especially strength training and kickboxing — and regret not being more active during the first 30+ years of my life. I just love the feel of adrenaline and having strong muscles. Weight Watchers Coach Emily, who I met through Workshops, taught me that I needed to put myself on my priority list. My goal? I want to be an independent woman in my 70s and 80s and not rely on anybody else. A fun side effect has been that now, in my 40s, I love my body for the first time of my life. I even wore my first bikini recently! I have stretch marks and cellulite and not what most people would call a “beach body,” but that doesn’t matter to me at all.

I wanted to be a runner my entire adult life, but I’d injure myself or give up or decide it was too hard. At some point, I realized I had birthed two humans — my 6- and 9-year-old sons — and so what couldn’t I do? So, I started running for fun to see how it felt and the next thing I knew, I signed up for a half-marathon. I had no idea how to train, so I read books and listened to podcasts about it and when I crossed the finish line, I bawled. I was 40 and never imagined I’d conquer something like that.

I love Coach Chloe’s workouts on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They are 30 minutes of cardio and strength and she trains to all different levels. I put them in my work calendar so people don’t schedule meetings with me during those times. Even if I don’t feel like doing the workout beforehand, my motto is to just hit play. I’ve never once regretted it.

My husband and I both work full time and we have two kids, so getting quality time together is hard. I never thought I’d be the kind of person who is into working out together, but we do sometimes and it’s sexier than anything! I find it so attractive when he lifts weights or crosses a 5k finish line.

I love the flexibility of working out at home, so we made the commitment a few years ago to turn the basement into my dream gym. It has a treadmill, free weights, TRX bands, a bosu ball, a stationary bike…everything! That way I can work out during my lunch hour and then eat my lunch while working afterwards.

I also am a numbers person and love tracking the macros through the app. The points in the Points Program are important, but getting enough protein and fiber is actually more important to me. One way I make sure I get enough is that I make a huge smoothie packed with nutrients every day. It has frozen mango and banana, hemp hearts, flax seed, chia seeds, unsweetened almond milk, and protein powder. I sip on it for hours and I love knowing I’m getting so much protein and fiber at the start of my day.

I used to choose fat-free, sugar-free everything, but those products can sometimes have a lot of artificial sweeteners and processed ingredients in them. It was upsetting my gut and causing bloating — I felt like garbage. So now I try to eat more “real” foods and have noticed a big difference. I look at ingredient lists and try to avoid ingredients I don’t know, including all artificial sweeteners.

My family and I eat dinner together and there is joy in making veggies taste good enough that my kids love them. So I do a lot of air frying — Brussels sprouts, asparagus, zucchini, you name it. I toss them with some olive oil and ranch seasoning and they eat it! I joke that I wish I had an oven-sized air fryer in my kitchen.

My tracking streak has been going on for more than a year now! In the past I used to think that I eat mostly the same foods every day so I don't need to track, but then I would find myself finishing my kids meals or having other little bites and snacks throughout the day and thinking they don’t matter. Like if the app doesn’t know about them, they don’t count. But they do! I’m so glad that WW has a Vacation Mode now because I’m going away with my mom in a few weeks and I can take a short break without losing my streak!

I try to attend a handful of Workshops a week and can’t believe how much I now care for people I’ve met on the internet. Coach Emily has been with me for so long. When I didn’t have any confidence in the beginning, she helped me develop it. She has really been instrumental in my life and I don’t have the words to describe how much she means to me. And there are some women I’ve met in the Workshops who I text with every day. People who don’t struggle with their weight don’t get the day-to-day struggles, so these friends help me stay accountable to myself. The Workshops remind me that I’m not alone.