‘I Have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome And Did Weight Watchers To Help My Joints\u2014And I Lost 61 Pounds’

My name is Blair Driscoll (@blairdriscoll), and I am 37. I live in Tampa, Florida, and work as a medical administrator. I started Weight Watchers and walking for weight loss and lost over 60 pounds.

My weight was an issue for as long as I could remember. I tried all the crazy fad diets in my teenage years, and that continued into my adult life.

I have hEDS, or hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which is a disorder that impacts your connective tissues. In my case, this causes frequent joint dislocations, which makes being active more difficult. The extra weight was putting more pressure on my joints, which were already fragile due to EDS. At my heaviest weight, in January 2020, I weighed 240 pounds.

I was just tired all the time. Sluggish. I’m a very competitive, hard-working person, but my weight and eating habits had made me feel like sludge. In January 2020, my husband and I made a list of things we wanted to accomplish that year. “Have more energy” and “be healthier” were the top two things on my list.

I knew it was time to do something about my weight. In mid-February 2020, I started WW.

I knew WW (formerly Weight Watchers) could help me lose weight for good. There were no weird pills, shakes, or frozen meals you had to eat. It involves using a points system to help you track what you eat, but you can eat real-world food, and you can make it work with your lifestyle. It truly is a lifestyle.

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I also knew that in order for me to be successful, I had to accept that “celebrations” were okay: a cocktail on a Friday night, pizza with friends, a donut every now and then. WW really does work if you are honest about what you’re eating and you track everything—the good, bad, and ugly! It holds you accountable, and my results prove that it works.

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Here’s what I typically eat in a day.

• Breakfast: Cold brew coffee with two tablespoons of half and half or an iced latte with oat milk (coffee always!), Dannon Light & Fit yogurt with berries, or reduced-sugar oatmeal with berries.
• Lunch: During the workweek, I’m diligent about packing my meals. I usually do lunch meat “rollups” with thinly sliced cheese, carrots with a half tablespoon of ranch, and about 12 baked Cheetos or Lay’s Poppables. If I make a sandwich instead of the rollups, I’ll omit the chips.
• Snacks: Honeycrisp apples, bananas, Alyssa’s healthy oatmeal bite cookies, Mighty Spark chicken sticks in honey and jalapeño, Reduced-fat Cheez-Its, or lightly salted roasted almonds.
• Dinner: During the week I try to stick to protein and veggies, with something fun thrown in. Some days we do lentil pasta, or breakfast for dinner with protein pancakes!
• Dessert: I usually skip dessert on most days; I’m more of a savory lover myself. But if I really want something sweet, I’ll have reduced-calorie hot chocolate, Oreo Thins, mini ice cream cones from Trader Joe’s, or Enlightened ice cream.

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When the pandemic and subsequent quarantine hit a few weeks after I started WW, my husband and I started going for walks for something to do.

I did not intend to start working out right away. I was much more focused on losing the weight. But our walks got longer and longer over time, and one day, we decided to start clocking our time and pushing ourselves to go farther, faster.

We’ve now been consistently walking for nearly a year, and we do a few 5K’s a week! I also do some lower-body strength training to keep my joints strong, which is necessary with EDS.

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These four changes made the biggest difference in my weight-loss results.

• I replaced most of my drinks with (lemon) water. Besides coffee, all I drink is water. I add in fresh lemons for taste, and it also aids my digestion. I drink at least 100 ounces of water per day. You never realize how much sugar and bad stuff is in even “diet” drinks. Water keeps me full, hydrated, and allows me to eat my points instead of drinking them.

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• I set an end time for eating. I try not to eat after 7 p.m. I get home from the office around 5:30, and am usually eating dinner by 6. If I’m having an evening snack or treat, I have it before 7. I go to bed around 10. It’s okay to go to bed hungry after you’ve eaten good food throughout the day.

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• I treated myself. I knew when I started WW that I still needed to feel like I could enjoy the yummy food I craved. Now I genuinely crave healthy foods, but sometimes, you just need a glass of wine or a burger. I work that into my week. I am flexible with myself and understand that I can still have success while also enjoying what I eat.

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• I found what truly motivated me. Everyone has a goal when they start a weight-loss journey. For me, it was fashion! I wanted to love the way I looked, and I wanted to be able to wear what I wanted, confidently. Whatever your motivation is, keep your eye on it, and the big picture will be easier to see.

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I’ve lost 61 pounds, and I would like to lose about five more.

I was finally ready to make this change. And I got more excited about the results than scared or upset about the process. And weight loss is just that: a process. There will be weeks you don’t see anything happening, weeks you eat more indulgent foods (hello, holidays!), and weeks where everything seems to be clicking into place with little effort.

My biggest piece of advice is don’t do a diet you don’t think you can make work within your actual life. Choose the most practical way for you. WW is something I’ll follow for life, even after I meet my goal because that’s what works best for me.

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