Weight Watchers is one of the most successful and respected weight loss programs in the world. Their simple "points" tracking system and focus on "filling foods" (basically, anything that only has one ingredient: apple, turkey, tomato) and support network have helped millions of people lose unwanted pounds and keep it off. It is also my program of choice. This brings me to my question. Why do so many people EAT during the Weight Watchers meeting? Saturday after saturday I see people step off the scale then proceed to unpack their meal of choice. You cannot imagine what comes out of those New York City tote bags. You know those bags we all carry with our wallet, water bottle, latest InStyle magazine, book of the week, lip balm and apparantly, food for weight watchers meetings. Is it a form of rebellion? The evil scale sits behind the desk, watching slowly as the line shuffles forward. Once their turn to face the beast, they climb on and hold their breath. Will it be Victory? Or Defeat? no matter how many times our fearless leader tells us "it's not about the scale, its about how you live" we all know that it IS about the scale and our day can crash in an instant if the evil scale belches out a higher number then it did the week before. Once they have conquered the scale, for better or worse, the assume their seat for the meeting. then the unpacking begins: fruit, yogurt, egg sandwich, hard boiled egg - needing to be peeled-and cans of tunafish. I almost expect a tablecloth and silverwear to join the plastic containers on display. Are they saying, "ha ha! i made it through the week, I starved myself all day on friday, and now that I have faced the beast at 9:30 Saturday morning - I can eat!" Or is it defiance - "Yes I need to lose weight, I know that. But I also have the self confidence to pull out an egg sandwich and eat it for the world to see." Or maybe they feel that the WW meeting is a safe place, where they can feel comfortable eating in public because everyone is there for the same reason and there is no judgement. I have to admit, I am proud of those people and just a little jealous that they are comfortable enough to plow through a bagel and container of fruit during the 45minute meeting. i personally don't like to eat in public, except in a restaurant. I feel like people are watching me eat my sandwhich and wondering why I am eating the sandwich, since I obviously don't need to. So die hard Weight Watcher meeting eaters - rejoice in your self confidence, just please don't let your egg shell land in my lap again.