Monthly Archives: April 2012

Attitude vs Weight Loss

24 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by in Healthy Attitude Toward Weight Loss

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Everyone needs a cheerleader now and then while on their weight-loss journey.  Last week I heard from fellow travelers giving me good advice.  I learned that I’m not alone; that there are many people in this world going through the same issues I’m going through whether it is the meeting place, the people at the meeting, the leader or the number on the scale.

The past seven weeks at Weight Watchers has flown by.  I only missed one meeting when I was out of town.  I could have found a local meeting, but didn’t make the effort.  I’ve lost a total of 3.6 pounds.  When I was younger I’d most likely beat myself up for not losing more weight in seven weeks, but not so today.

The leader asked us to share ways to change how we think about ourselves, what mantra we us.  I said, “How I think about myself is more important than how much weight I’ve lost.  If I change how I think, then I change my life, and changing my life gives me the power to change the world.”  For a split second there was dead silence and then a few ooooh and awe’s as if others in the class were absorbing the idea that this was possible.

Yes, it is all about taking control of our destiny and putting ourselves first.  One lady said she had always put her husband and children first and then when she was in her thirties when her sons where still young boys she jumped on her riding mower and started cutting the grass on their property.  The boys would chase after her for this or that, and she’d said no, she was too busy cutting the grass.  It was the one place they couldn’t bother her, she said.  And she added she had the shortest grass in the county, to which we all laughed.

It’s nice to laugh about yourself now and then.  It is good for the soul.  So here’s one on me.  Remember my blog last week about sitting alone and no one speaking to me?  Well, I took everyone’s advice and moved to another row sitting on the inside seat.  That row filled up almost immediately and I had conversations with the women to my right and in front and behind me.  And what about the seat that I used to sit at?  Well, a woman sat in the exact spot and no one joined her until right before the meeting started when one other sat at the opposite end of the row.  I made a point of saying hello to her before I left.  It was the seat — not me!

One Pound after Another

18 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by in Taking the first step to a healthy life

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

Last month I joined Weight Watchers to get back to my goal weight.  It has been much harder than I expected.  Not the program, the commitment to stay the course.  There are more days than I like to admit that I just give up.

Because I’m not heavy or even over-weight, I appear in good shape, but I’m not.  I am at the high end of my BMI and therefore very close to being over-weight.  And my body feels it; in my joints, my clothes, in my attitude.

My weight loss has been like a roller coaster going up and down the past five weeks.  The slightest thing can trigger a change; a trip to see the grandchildren, a birthday lunch out at a restaurant, and even the everyday schedules I maintain with my commitments to Girl Scouts, writing deadlines, housework, and taking care of my grandchildren.

The first week of meetings I had a woman actually confront me and say, “You don’t look like you need to lose weight.”  It was disconcerting to say the least, but I explained to her that my attending the meetings was to reach my goal weight and be healthy.  She looked at me with a blank stare.

As the weeks progressed I noticed a pattern at the meetings.  Everyone sits in the same place or close to it.  Some are friends, mother/daughter, and husband/wife.  Many are life-time members and I would venture a guess that of the average twenty-five who attend the meetings on a regular basis, 90% are technically obese and of these members, 75% are my age (62) or older.

I am amazed at their grit and determination to improve their health by committing to the program.  I am proud to sit in that room and listen to their stories, their trials, and tribulations.  They are not unlike me when you take the weight factor out of the problem.  Yet, it is clear, that I’m not one of them.  They don’t see me as a partner in this journey – at least not completely.

I noticed yesterday that no one sits on my row of chairs until the last minute.  I don’t think they are avoiding me on purpose, but it happens week after week.  I thought about sitting in another chair next week to see what happens, but what purpose would that serve?  This is not sixth grade and a popularity contest.  This is my life.

The leader asked me to share a story I told her before the meeting and I noticed the ice crack a little when a few people turned and smiled at me when I shared my story.  I don’t need the other’s approval.  All I need is my own.  I know that what I’m doing is a step in the right direction and I’m going to keep on keeping on, as the saying goes – one pound after another.