In Memoriam
Trudy Pearlman
August 9, 1945 to October 1, 2011
I hate to say goodbye.
~ Did you see yourself in a photo? Arghhh!
~ Did you decide that romping around with your kids on the floor is too hard; getting down is easy ~ right? Getting up again...?
~ Did your doc say something, or worse --- did your mother?
~ Did a buddy lose weight on the program and when you saw his success, you knew you could do it too?
Take a moment and think about the event, the thought, the observation ~ what was your moment? Sometimes we get bogged down by the process of losing weight and we lose sight of the original motivation. Additionally we may feel cheated or short-changed and forget (or discount) the benefits of losing weight; overlooking the benefits can rob us of our motivation to keep going.
I suspect I am not the only one who has tried to lose weight more than one time - am I? I can't define why this last time was different than other times; except (well, I think of it as) the stars and moon aligned for me. Other members tell me that success this time, for them, came because they were more ready than previous times; to do with psyche, and still other members say that small successes leads to greater success.
Motivation, support, scale success, non-scale victories, inspiration, education and "we're all in it together" are some of the reasons we keep going. Even slow weight loss can feel okay when we have a great plan and a wonderful support network.
Here are some of the "Stick To It" strategies I heard in meeting rooms this week:
• Reminding yourself each day why you’re following the Weight Watchers program
• Setting smaller interim goals - and celebrating achieving them
• Using Weight Watchers Tools For Living such as the "Motivating Strategy" and "Anchoring" - ask me in the meeting if you want more information about these...
• Earning weight-loss milestone awards (5% star, 10% key ring, etc.)
• Listening to Lifetime Members share why they still come to meetings and what helps them maintain their weight loss
• Mantra's, such as "It's all about Perseverance, NOT Perfection"
• Looking at the body's changing shape, clothing sizes energy levels, ease of moving around - especially climbing stairs
• Noticing that eating on plan feels more "freeing" than it ever did in the past.
• Making meetings a MUST!
I was asked to publish my before picture - well here it is. To lose the weight back then; I set myself small, achievable goals. Gosh, as I think about it - at the time if I had thought about losing over 100 lbs, I would have been too daunted to even try, but somehow 6 LBS, 11 Lbs, 8 LBS goals consecutively really felt real. The MOST IMPORTANT achievement for me EVERY WEEK was making it to my meeting - no matter what! Even on those Mondays when I knew that I had gained weight, I went and stepped onto that scale, and those were the weeks that I KNEW I had to stay for the meeting to recommit myself to the process. That's where the forgiveness happened, that's where the motivation happened and more-over that's where the learning happened. Instinctively I knew that on those days, hiding from the scale was just cheating myself!
Every day I battle the demons, called the food we are faced with, and every day I take control of my eating by allowing myself the thrill of making the choices of what to eat. Does that mean I am making the "best" choices every day? Well, the question is – what makes the "best" choices? For me that means on program foods most of the time and allowing myself sufficient indulgences to not feel deprived or "poor me"!
Since losing the weight, I feel fantastic, I have energy, I have a zest for life that I did not possess 6 years ago, Yesterday, I went for a 3 mile walk - hills - and no puffing! I have had a milestone birthday, and yet I feel 15 years younger that I did 6 years ago! I can sit on my haunches on the floor, I can cross my legs like a lady, I can shop in the store with all the other patrons and I have self- esteem. People greet me (and treat me) very differently now, shallow I know - but so true!
In short - I recommend it!
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Enter The 2011 Weight Watchers Inspiring Stories Contest
The deadline is coming up: by Saturday, October 8th
Grand Prize Includes an Exclusive Fashion Consultation with Tim Gunn!
You've reached a healthier weight and thrown out all of their “before” clothing. Now, you need a whole new wardrobe! Wouldn’t it be great to throw caution to the wind on a shopping spree? Well, you can!
The Grand Prize Winner receives a trip for two to New York City; a $5000 shopping spree; and a styling session with Project Runway Fashion Consultant Tim Gunn! In addition, 100 first-prize winners will receive a $100 gift card to a major retailer.
Enter the contest online by going to www.weightwatchers.com/contest
Members do not have to be at goal to enter the contest. Members will be disqualified, however, if they lost weight faster than the recommended average rate of no more than two pounds per week. To enter, you must submit a completed entry form, along with the requested items:
- Essay (400 words or less) explaining why they should be the Weight Watchers Inspiring Stories Contest Winner
- Jpeg attachment of before and after photos; or if mailed in, non-returnable before and after photos taped to a separate 8.5 X 11 sheet of paper labeled with name, address and phone number
- Copies of weight records noting their start weight/date; goal weight/date (if reached); and most current weight/date
Update:
As I am publishing this, I have not completed the math this week, but will do so by the end of the day tomorrow. In the meantime - navigate onto the Lose For Good Tab (at the top of this page), I have published a story that I found on the Weight Watchers Staff Website that is truly wonderful.
Just a reminder - as a group, I have challenged you to lose 2800 pounds in total in 7 weeks - last week was week 4 and the total so far is 1531, beyond half way with 3 weeks left. This week is done - so 2 tremendous weeks of weight loss will get us to the target. Give me your best effort so that we can achieve our goal! Thank-you!
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From the housekeeper:
I just wanted to let you know that we are open on Columbus Day - you can come and weigh in and stay for a meeting on that day, just like you normally can.
If you attend Weight Watchers in a "public" meeting setting with me and you would like to know more about ( or your company is considering offering) a meeting at your work. Please drop me a line wwnina@gmail.com. I will put you in touch with the Corporate Account Manager responsible for your area and they can give you more information about such an offering. In many cases, it costs the company nothing and lowers the overall health benefits costs.
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For those who missed the meeting last week - please try to come this week. Don't hide from the scale and us and don't feel mad or bad. We never ever judge you and I would love it if you can feel it in your heart not to judge yourself - forgive yourself; think about what you would say to your best friend~those are the words you ought to use for yourself too!
Remember losing weight is not about being "perfect" it's absolutely about "perseverance".
Don't forget to take a look at the tabs across the top of the blog - "Insider Trading", "Lose For Good" and "Purchase your Favorites".
I love to receive your comments on my blog - please click on the Post a Comment section if you have something to let us know. Share this blog with whomever you would like to inspire and come back here on Wednesday for the next recipe.
Have a healthy week!
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