How I Weight Watchers: Maria T.

When Maria T., an HR business partner at a university, was pregnant with her second child, she developed gestational diabetes. Soon after giving birth, her postpartum hormonal cascade sent her straight into perimenopause — and then her family moved from Virginia to Pennsylvania. Her life was constant change, and she hardly had a chance to catch her breath. “I didn’t have the energy to be the mom I wanted to be,” she says, which was extra challenging because she “expects to get things right.” 

Emotionally, she was at her lowest, and due to the inflammation and extra weight she was carrying, her body ached whenever she tried to start a new exercise routine, so she’d end up quitting, then beat herself up for it. By Feb. 2024, she was ready to try something new, and joined the Weight Watchers Med+ program. * She medically qualified for Zepbound and began her journey.

“I lost 6 pounds in the first week and felt like things could be different with this,” she says. Through Zepbound, meeting with a Weight Watchers Registered Dietitian, and making lifestyle changes, she’s since lost 55 pounds and is running for the first time in over a decade. Here’s how she makes it work for her, reshaping her body — and her mindset.

My sister and my best friend and I signed up for the Rocky Balboa 5K in Philadelphia and the Disney Princess 5K in Florida. Having something like that to look forward to helps make exercise more fun; I’ll be 46 and jogging in a princess costume! We’re all doing the same run-walk training plan, so three days a week, we send each other screenshots of our workout stats. It keeps me accountable because I’m not just doing it for myself; it feels like a team thing. And I remind myself it doesn’t have to be perfect — if I walk some on race day, that’s fine!

I worked with a Weight Watchers Registered Dietitian — my insurance even covered it — to talk about ways I could get more protein so that I don’t lose muscle as I’m losing fat on a GLP-1. I’ve always loved dessert, and as a mom, the nighttime is my time because the kids are finally asleep. I put on a telenovela and relax with a dessert that’s sweet and also helps me hit my protein goals: a protein pudding cup, protein ice cream, or vanilla yogurt with blueberries.

My 13-year-old and 6-year-old only want to eat pasta al fredo, mac and cheese, or rice for dinner. I don’t want to cook two separate dinners every night. So I will eat some of what they’re eating, then balance my plate by adding protein, like beans or chicken, and fiber, like cauliflower, broccoli, or carrots. If we’re in a rush — some days I’m driving the kids to and from soccer and dance — we have dinner from the drive-thru. I love how the WW app shows me how to make that work so I can still make a good choice. One of my go-tos that’s recommended by Weight Watchers Registered Dietitians is grilled chicken chicken nuggets and a kale salad from Chick-Fil-A.

The last time I did a half marathon, I was 29 years old. That's probably not happening again. But in training for my 5K, I started running, and I can see my progress. When I started, I was at an almost 17-minute mile pace; now I’m down to a 14-minute mile pace, and keeping it up for nearly two miles. Seeing the numbers change on my time and distance — even if my weight is staying the same — is a non-scale victory that makes me super motivated for my next run. Celebrating these moments makes progress feel achievable.

Beans are the rare food that provide both protein and fiber. I'm Central American, so we eat a lot of beans. My favorite are small red beans, so I cook those often and eat them with a little rice, or I’ll make bean soup.

I used to think bread and potatoes were “bad” foods I could never have. That’s why I love the way Weight Watchers makes room for all kinds of foods. Plus the Zepbound has helped quiet the food noise so I can eat a small amount of the foods I had ruled out before and feel in control and satisfied. For years, I didn’t eat bread. Now a breakfast for me could be one slice of sourdough bread, an egg, avocado slices, and salt and pepper — it’s perfection. Same for potatoes; I didn’t eat them for years even though I love them and grew up eating them. Now I make a potato-egg salad with boiled eggs and potatoes, cottage cheese, mustard, and a little mayo. I enjoy it and now I know I can eat bread and potatoes in balance with the rest of my diet.

Weight Watchers taught me how important hydration is on a GLP-1 to prevent constipation. I fill my 30 oz. water bottle first thing in the morning and have finished it by 10am; I try to drink another 1-2 full bottles by the end of the day. I usually drink very cold plain water, but if that gets boring, I add a flavored powder with electrolytes, collagen, or fiber — or sometimes I just add strawberries to spice it up.

Maybe because of my time in the Army, I hold myself to very high standards and I hate to feel like I’m failing. If I went on a cruise and ate a little more indulgently, or I gained a pound, I used to beat myself up and say: "Ugh, I can't believe I did that." A big shift for me has been to tell myself something different instead, like ‘Look how far I've come overall.’ Now if I indulge too much, I can reset myself with self-compassion.