Three Things

Okay, I went to Weight Watchers a couple of weeks ago and the leader for that particular group is some kind of Weight Watchers Rockstar or something. She's a total pistol and I can completely relate to her 'frugal' perspective on everything. Anyway, she had a really good tip that I'm totally up for doing this week.

Here's the tip:

Make a List of Three Things

So, if you're a list maker who (like me) makes a list of things to do, then gets totally demotivated by the looming number of unfinished things on the list, make a list of ONLY three items to complete. My list for today is:

1. Take down all of the Halloween decorations and put them away.
   
2. Clean the three bathrooms.
3. Take Grey to the park (temps in the 30's make me feel less and less like going outside lately).

That's it. I know that I have lots of other things to do, but I will definitely complete these items. The list could be for a week, or a day, or home projects that never seem to get done. I'll be back to mark them off as I go.

*Edited to add - finished everything on the list today. It really helped writing down the bathrooms because with three boys, cleaning toilets is something I try to put off as much as I can.

So...Weight Watchers

A rare picture of me...with Double G

Okay, I started this blog to get serious about my health/body issues. I was hovering at 10 lbs. above my personal ideal weight. I managed to lose a pound or two, then I managed to find them, plus an additional 5.6 since February. To be honest, I've been feeling increasingly demotivated since the holidays. Don't know if it was the weather, economy, personal issues or most likely a combination that made it impossible to get energy or enjoyment from almost anything. I stopped going to WW last year because I was obsessing over the weigh-ins, feeling like I couldn't figure out how to go to the meetings (which I personally needed) without feeling like I didn't belong there, or feeling like I was being asked by the leader for my opinion on every question. I just wanted to be anonymous (invisible), and the WW leader wasn't letting me. Instead of addressing that - I quit.

So, almost a year and a half later, I finally decided to go back. At 5.6 pounds above my WW goal weight. And even though I know some people would think that was an OK weight, I was still embarrassed to go back. My leader congratulated me on coming back - I wish I came back sooner. I lost 3.2 lbs. the first week and 1 lb. this week. Now that I'm withing 2 lbs. of my goal weight, meetings are free again.

What brought me back: Diabetes and obesity. In my family, if you don't have one, or the other, or both; you're heading there. I know plenty of folks can eat sugar/simple refined carbs with no effects. That is not me. Not only does it make me feel crappy when I have it, but it starts a cycle of sugar craving that literally lasts for weeks. I really think that it's pretty selfish of me to consciously engage in a behavior that's almost guaranteed to result in chronic disease. So, If I take a few steps down another path, maybe I'll be able to go a bit longer without the disease or doctors and medication.

This week I'm focusing on: tracking what I'm eating. That's it. I'm not into counting points and all of that. I prefer Weight Watchers CORE plan (now called Simply Filling or SiFi for WW nerds), it focuses on less processed foods and eating mindfully. I've also been doing 30 minutes of yoga most days for the last month or so - the difference in my flexibility is really noticeable. I've never been able to sit comfortably in full lotus, but in the last couple of weeks I've been able to sit comfortably for increasingly longer periods of time. This was my motivation for increasing my yoga practice.

So, do you have any advice for sticking with the program, or in making changes in general? Anyone else feel crappy about 'falling off the wagon' with diet and exercise?

Going back to Weight Watchers

I know that there are so many people who can't stand Weight Watcher's, but it's what's kept 40 lbs (officially) off of my body for almost two years. Why I'm going back? I need to get rid of the 10 lbs that keeps me from my ideal weight, and the weekly meeting makes me more able to do that. Does it mean that I'm going to have to sit through someone feeling sorry for themselves for gaining .5 lbs? Yes, and it also means that I get to listen to people raving about making baked goods from a mountain of artificial sweetener :P The meetings are also a place where every week, someone is doing something inspirational to make their lives more healthy, satisfying, and rewarding.

The things I take away from a WW meeting?

• On Plan (or Perfectly On Plan), we have infinity ways to make weightloss work for us.
• The leader/members give me food for thought in some aspect of my weightloss journey that I'm not necessarily thinking about.
  
• I get an hour to focus on my priority of being healthy.
• Time "alone" (without husband or kids, and outside of the house!).
  
• After meeting grocery run (without kids or husband).

As sad as it sounds, because of my husband's industry there is no way of knowing what his schedule is going to be in a given week, except that it will be 50 hours minimum; the last three on the list are pretty important to me. Aside from the time it takes to get my haircut every six weeks, I do not get to leave the house alone - ever. When I have a WW meeting to go to, somehow my husband is able to get it together enough almost every week to meet me at the center at 7pm. The time that I get at the meeting helps me really refocus on what my goals for the week are going to be. Also, grocery shopping right after a meeting ensures fresh produce at least once per week, and I get through the store so much more quickly when I'm going solo.

So, I'll weigh myself tomorrow to see where I am, and hopefully I'll be going to a meeting this week. I know that they'll be bringing in any new changes on Dec 7th, so I'd like to go back to see what the changes are anyway.