Stressful Times ...

The stress this week in Boston has been unrelenting.  

As I am feeling my own sense of relief today, the suspects both having being "dealt" with, I am thinking about the hundreds of folks who are just embarking on their own long journey of recovery; the families who lost loved ones and the injured, a great many of them devastating, and I realize that every day is precious.  

The question of eating comes up.  I've learned, as I'm sure you have, that we crave "rich" foods when stress begins to play a part.  If you've noticed this week that the peanut butter jar has played a bigger role than normal, you're not alone.  Bread, butter, ice-cream, alcohol, chips, sound familiar?

All well and good, but here we are now standing at a fork in the road; go left to walk away from this healthful journey you've been taking, or follow the right road that brings you back to the path you previously chose.  Which is it going to be?  

I am fully aware that there may be a weight gain when you face the scale and that seeing that feels like salt in the wound, and actually that is what it is!  Coming to a meeting as soon as you can get there and facing that demon is absolutely the best thing you can do for yourself.  How many times have you sat in a meeting and heard a member say (or possibly said yourself) that this meeting is the opportunity to make a new start on a new week?  

One Step At A Time

I suggest making a list of 5 things you'd like to do to manage the transition back to plan.  Then begin with the easiest.  It may look something like this:

(a)  Acknowledge that this was a tough [event] time in your life and that it's perfectly normal to react in the way you did with food, but also acknowledge that medicating with food didn't improve the situation.  Really focus on forgiving yourself for the food inhalation.

(b)  Get to the supermarket and buy some fresh veggies; bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, jicama, sweet pea pods - things you can eat raw.  Then wash and bag the veggies to make "ready to go" bags of snacks for 0PPV!  Make at least 5 or 6 bags at a time, we know the power of making the environment as conducive to supporting your efforts as possible.

(c)  Get rid of the foods that are triggering you.  Take the plunge, pour the peanut butter down the sink - pour soap in the jar before you take another spoonful!

(d)  Track!  Track and Track some more.  Try pre-tracking before you eat the meal or snack, just for a few days to get back into the habit.

(e)  Get to a meeting - sooner, rather than later.  Really!  Don't wait till you've lost the weight you gained, there's no winning that battle - we're here for you, get back immediately!

 --- oh, one more thing, find a hands-on project that can take you away from food.  Exercise, hand work, reading, do your nails, take a bath, yes, I've been there too also!

Most importantly - don't expect too much from yourself.  Remember, this is a journey of perseverance, not perfection :)

BRING a FRIEND - you both get savings!

What could be a sweeter deal than helping friends change their lives with Weight Watchers? Adding big discounts on Weight Watchers products sure can’t hurt.   Bring a friend to a meeting and when the friend joins (by June 1st), you'll both get a coupon book with over $20 in meeting room savings. 

50 Years of Fantastic Recipes

We’re celebrating 50 years of success by packing 280 of our best recipes into one killer cookbook. With our new Weight Watchers 50th Anniversary Cookbook, healthy cooks everywhere now have the opportunity to sample a collection of our many treasured favorites.  Plus, these delicious dishes have been updated to feature fresh ingredients, how-to tips, Weight Watchers lore, nutritional info and PointsPlus® values, so every recipe fits snugly into the Weight Watchers 360˚ lifestyle.

The new cookbook goes on sale April 30th. Find it wherever books are sold or purchase and download it to your eReader.  (This one won't be available in the meeting room).