Pushing Past the (Low-Level) Disappointments

Last Weight In: Friday, 23 August 2013
Weight Information -
     Weight: 451.8 lbs
     Weight Change This Week: -1.4 lbs
     Weight Change To Date: -1.4 lbs
     Weight Gauge: Update

Current Goals -
     Number Goal: 430 lbs
     Distance to Goal: 21.8 lbs
     Feel Good Goal: Relax
     Distance to Goal: Pluto is within sight

Post Number: 2

So I am still interested in those initial entry topics, but I had a few things bugging me. I am going to get them out, get past them, move on, and tackle today. At my weight, I'd make a great tackle in (American) football. Problems had better watch out or get squooshed.

So I signed up for Weight Watchers. There were three primary reasons for picking them.

1. The teachers have been through the program.
2. The meetings are groups sessions to encourage support through commiseration, different POV's, and mutual understanding
3. The online tools would make journaling faster and easier leading to more thorough journaling.

Well, I have to admit that the third one was the deciding factor when it came to picking Weight Watchers over other options like TOPS in spite of the drastic price increase (More on TOPS later). Weight Watchers does not have their mobile app for Windows Phone. Which means I don't have the best source for making sure I efficiently enter my food and exercise efforts. After enrolling and then finding out that iPhone and Android were the only options for their app, the registration process says you can always use your phone's web browser. The problem here is that Weight Watcher's web service uses Flash. And Windows Phone 7 doesn't have Flash. Now I am reduced to using the Weight Watchers service only when I am at a computer. This isn't really an improvement because I was already using the one that WebMD provides, which is functional through my phone, free, has an extensive food database, recipe builders, and meal builders. You can see their Food and Fitness Planner here. Or the other option is using Weight Watchers paper journal that, while cleverly laid out, compact and refined from years of experience, still has me determining point values.

Incidently, I contacted Weight Watchers by e-mail on Friday, 16 August 2013 to ask when I could expect the Windows Phone app. They have yet to reply.

So, moving beyond this disappointment with Weight Watchers electronic journaling, I will be doing my best to practice their paper journaling, looking up or calculating points, and seeing how well WebMD's service will work with Weight Watchers by running it simultaneously. If I can get in the habit of journaling in both places, canceling the paper journaling will then make my life easier. We shall see.

In the meantime, I am still looking forward to the training from experienced leaders and mingling with fellow weight-loss adventurers.

There are a few other things bugging me, but they will have to wait.

Thanks for reading,

Eliot

P.S.: If I get tired of blogging but grit my teeth to be able to get an entry done, is that slog-blogging?

Update: Monday, 26 August 2013
Received the following reply:
Dear Eliot,

Thank you for contacting Weight Watchers. My name is Richard, and I am happy to assist you with your account today.

I apologize, but our application is currently only available for Android phones, iOS phones, and the iPad. We do not currently have the mobile application for Windows or Blackberry phones or Android Tablets. We do offer the Points Plus Calculator for Windows phones.

We do not currently have an ETA for when these applications will be available on other platforms.

You can access our mobile site at https://a.weightwatchers.com/mobile for most of your online needs. Our website requires Adobe Flash Player to access all of our tools. If your phone does not have flash player support, then you will need to use a computer in order to access the tracker.

Weight Watchers is committed to your success. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you for contacting Weight Watchers. I wish you the best of luck on your weight loss journey. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Sincerely,
Richard
Customer Service Associate
Weight Watchers International
www.weightwatchers.com


Which leaves me with even less information because, at least before, I had the hopes that they were working on the app. Not having an ETA is not the same as the app being built.

Oh well. It is time to get things done.