Looking Back

I have a friend who is doing the Weight Watchers at work program.  She, along with most of the people in her group, is kicking butt.  She started less than a year ago, and she's already lost close to 40 pounds.  There are ladies at her meeting who have lost 60 or more pounds.  I am so very proud of her, my dear friend.  It was the first time she joined WW, after hearing me talk about it for so many years.  And now I feel like a fraud.

It made me realize that I'm not investing enough time or energy into the program.  I haven't tracked in months, and although I've been getting on the treadmill every day lately, it has been so very inconsistent that it seems pointless.  I know with January looming, we will have the annual influx of new members at the meetings.  Trust me, I know.  The first time I joined WW was in 1993, and for most of those years, I was always a chronic "reoffender" as my leader calls it.  In other words, I would go for awhile, then drop out, then start coming again.  And it's true.

All except for this time.  Once I started going back to WW last year after I stopped working, I haven't "quit".  But, like my exercise routine, my dedication to WW has been spotty.  And so are the results.  I decided to document the truth:

• I rejoined WW at the end of April of last year.   
• My weight was 219.6 pounds.   
• Since that time, there have been 84 weekly meetings.
• I have attended only 46 meetings. 
• My current weight is 208.2 pounds.

Of course some of those weeks we were on vacation or gone for holidays, but the sad reality is that I am only half-assing the program.  And so my results are just as pitiful as my attendance.  At one point earlier this year, I was down to 194.8 and was working on my 25# award.  Back in October, after skipping meetings for almost 6 weeks (and going on a cruise), I came back with a gigantic 15 pound gain that I am now, during the holidays, struggling to overcome.  Having said that, I am not dismissing the 11 pounds that I've lost.  If you told me I would shed 11 pounds every year, I would be ecstatic.  It may not be much, but think of the alternative- gaining 11 pounds every year!!  I am trying to continue to stay positive and not beat myself up for just having a "small" loss over the last year and a half.

But I'm optimistic after the past few weeks- coming back from our Florida vacation with a loss, and surviving Thanksgiving with another loss.  If I can do that, I can get through the Christmas madness and start January off on the right foot.  That is, until we leave on January 17th for our 15 day cruise.  That will be another challenge unlike any I've ever faced.  Plenty of opportunity to get tons of exercise but also to overindulge.  I will just have to make the right decisions every day.  More time in the gym, less time on the balcony reading.  More water, less cappuccino.  And number one for me- stay out of the bread basket that accompanies every meal!

One change that has been for the better, is getting the Fitbit.  I'm still very satisfied with it, and I'm glad that I got it.  I know the new ActiveLink is out, and yes it tracks all this new stuff.  But the reason I love the Fitbit is that James decided to get one too, to help him stay on track with his exercise program.  And so now it's something we can share.  James doesn't follow WW, so the ActiveLink was of no interest to him.  The Fitbit has given us a common tool. We send each other challenges, or notes as motivation.  His syncs to his iPhone, and mine to my iPad, so we can sit down and compare our stats.  He has set daily goals for himself and makes himself meet those goals.  He's very competitive and I'm finding that keeping up with him- and his newly found enthusiasm- can only boost my own weight loss.

SANDY

No Regrets

The Thanksgiving holiday is officially over for me today.  It started last Thursday morning when we got up at 5am in order to get on the road to start our travels.  It ended today when my parents left to go back home to Florida.  Although there are a few leftovers still in the fridge, I can say I survived the "first" holiday this year.  I am ecstatic that I only gained ONE pound!  Yay!  I can't believe it, because we ate out all our meals for four straight days.

I stuck with my strategy at the Thanksgiving dinner table in Knoxville.  No seconds, even though I didn't get to try everything.  I picked out 3-4 favorites and had just a spoon of each.  I did have pie, and with six to choose from, it was tough to only have one piece but I did it!  I was worried that having such an early meal I would continue to stuff myself throughout the day, but James and I decided not to take any leftovers back to the hotel room with us.  Although we did go out and about to partake in the Brown Thursday shopping later that night, we found a nice restaurant that was open where I could get a salad for dinner.  

The next day was a bit of a bust for me.  The family ate at an Italian restaurant that I've wanted to try for many years.  One of those "family-owned since the 1950's" type places.  I ordered a mini pizza and frankly it was SO bad, I barely touched it.  I think I ate what little bit I did, just because I was embarrassed to push it away after the first bite.  We got back on the road a few hours later, headed over to Nashville for a few days of luxury at the Opryland Hotel (photo below) and a football game.  The hotel was so crowded because of all their winter shows and activities, that we couldn't get into any of the restaurants there.  We ended up getting a late night burger that was yet another disgusting meal that I barely touched.  Cold stale bun and meat with absolutely NO seasoning or flavor.  And if you know me, then you know pizza and burgers are my two absolute favorite foods, so for me to say both were horrible and I didn't eat them, well then you know they were bad!  I told James, I could have sat there at both meals and eaten every bite, to be polite or to not be wasteful, but I would rather leave half an uneaten yucky burger on my plate and NOT consume calories "just because" the food is there.

Saturday we did a ton of walking.  The hotel is so gigantic to begin with, they have big fold-out maps of the place to help you navigate.  I got almost 13,000 steps on that day walking around the property and nearby attractions, and walking at the football game.  Because we both had a good (and late) breakfast, we didn't eat lunch.  I had a snack at the game, then we came back to the hotel for dinner.  That was probably the best meal out on the trip and I ate every bite of that!  The next day we got on the road for home and although we stopped to eat lunch at a big Greek restaurant, I shared my side dishes and made myself stop halfway through the entree and ask for a box.

I feel as though I learned lessons over this holiday weekend.  I learned I can still enjoy a family dinner without busting the zipper on my pants- we were all talking and enjoying the day, and no one paid attention to what was (or wasn't) on my plate.  And I learned that it's not worth eating bleh food at a restaurant just because it's sitting there in front of me or because we "paid" for it.  And I won't feel guilty for choosing not to eat something.  Today I'll get back on my regular eating routine and get back on the treadmill.  I anticipate that I won't have any problems dropping that one extra pound.  No reason to skip Weight Watchers this week!!

SANDY