The greatest weight-loss tip ever

You already know about my habit of exercising with Mr. Darcy--that is, watching "Masterpiece Theater" DVDs, 20 and 25 minutes at a time, while elliptical training in my basement. The desire to know what happens next in the movie gets me back down the basement again the next day. (I'm currently watching "The Grand," set in a posh hotel in England in 1920.)

My other strategy is Weight Watchers online. I no longer chart my food, but I do chart my weight every Thursday. It keeps me honest. And once you chart it, you can't change it. If you happen to weigh a little less on Friday and want to chart that number, instead, it won't let you. (I've tried.) The website tells you, politely, "You have already charted your weight for this week." It is unfailingly polite, but firm.

Last Thursday I had gained a pound. I was cranky and careless when I typed in my weight. After hitting "enter," I realized that I had somehow missed the "1" key and now the website thought that I weighed only 34 pounds.

This generated a rather alarmed warning from the Weight Watchers site: "YOUR WEIGHT IS DANGEROUSLY LOW," it said. "YOU HAVE LOST 99 POUNDS THIS WEEK." (And then, politely, "Is this what you expected?")

The fever chart that tracked my weight plunged off the screen.

There was nothing to be done except wait a week to rectify this. Today I called up the site, charted my weight, and braced myself; it is not pleasant to be told that I have gained 100 pounds, even when it's in error.

The Website, of course, was very polite about pointing this out. "You seem to have gained a little!" it said cheerily, and then, under that, "YOU HAVE GAINED 100 POUNDS THIS WEEK. (Is this what you expected?)"

The fever line shot straight up.

So now it's accurate and I'm on track and will chart again after vacation, when I expect an uptick but perhaps not as extreme an uptick as today.

Oh, and the best part of all this? The Weight Watchers site generates little stars to reward me for my progress: a yellow star for the first five pounds, a pink star for the next five pounds, a blue star for 25 pounds. Today I noticed a new one: a bright happy gold star, celebrating my remarkable milestone of losing 100 pounds.