Posted by Michelle Butler Apr 10 2011, 9:34 pm in Expectations, inspiration, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, motivation, progress
All the peace I was feeling about my recent 3.4 pound gain and determination to see the next weigh in as feedback seemed to disappear when I was told I had just lost .4 of a pound last week. Yes, I was more upset to lose .4 than I had been to gain .4 the week before. This is yet more evidence as to why it is best to have no expectations when you approach the scale.
So, a funk about how I just seem to be treading water in my weight loss efforts for the past year threatened (yes, my brain moved from .4 being about just one week to being about a whole year in mere minutes) when I was given a more serious challenge to my forward progress. My beloved Weight Watchers (WW) leader Melvin announced at the end of the meeting that he was leaving his WW job at the end of the month to be able to see his seven-year-old son’s soccer games instead of just signing him up for them.
This was so big I didn’t even think about it much at first. Yes, it is good that Melvin is doing what is best for his family, but really I was concerned about how this would affect my own journey. I started to worry that this could give me the excuse I was looking for to drop out.
The right WW leader makes such a difference. Who was going to replace him? I’ve seen plenty of WW leaders and meetings that did nothing for me. Would the new leader resonate? There was great community in my regular meeting, but would that all disappear? I didn’t want to waste my time by sitting week after week in a meeting that did not help me. The Wednesday and Thursday leaders had some strengths, but they weren’t as good as Melvin. Should I try one of those meetings if the new Tuesday leader stunk? I also asked if I would continue to go. There are times when I wonder if it is time for a different approach than WW anyway given I’m not really getting much smaller.
Wednesday night, I had dinner with my best WW buddy, and we talked about this. He was a little threatened by the change too. After we talked about how this could be awful for us while acknowledging that it would be best for Melvin, we tried to focus on what was best for our forward progress.
A woman had returned to the Tuesday meeting, and Melvin asked why she was back. She pointed at her middle. I’ve seen her join and drop out at least 3 or 4 times since I started going to this one meeting regularly. One stretch, her mom went with her. Each time she rejoined she had gained back what she had lost in her previous attempt. This is a familiar pattern for many including me. I can’t even say for sure how many times I’ve joined WW. It could very well be in the 20s. Seeing this woman return again could be a look at the future me if I let Melvin leaving give me an excuse to quit.
My favorite WW buddy and I discussed this lady and our own experiences. The past times we had quit Weight Watchers always led to a weight gain. We committed to giving it a good effort to find the right meeting for us if the new Tuesday night leader did not resonate. As the week continued, I tried to think of other ways I could make this commitment stick more for me. Yes, I’ve promised to continue with Weight Watchers until I reach my goal weight, but that may not be as compelling as it once was.
I’ve thought about trying to come up with some kind of challenge that would carry me through the next few months. June 4 is my birthday and seems like a great end date. The meeting topic this past week was the Walk-It Challenge: Why Goals Matter And How to Set the Right Ones for Yourself. (Yes, I am aware how the world sometimes gives me the answer I need at the same time it gives me a potential roadblock. Tuesday’s Biggest Loser had some timely messages for me as well.) The Walk-It Challenge is to train for and participate in a 5K walk on May 22.
Now, I doubt there was ever a time in my life when I couldn’t walk a 5K, but perhaps I could come up with some other kind of goal that would work. I tend to do better with process goals than end goals though, so I’m having a hard time coming up with a good one. I really don’t think saying I’ll run a 5K on May 22 would motivate me. Actually, it might push me out even more as I still dislike running.
I do not do well at all with I’ll lose x amount of weight by such a date. I have thought about setting a goal to be able to wear an outfit on my b-day that is too small to wear now. This is not about appearance, but it is so cool to fit into smaller clothes. I’ve thought about setting a goal to go to at least 3 or 4 classes a week at the gym per week until June 4. I’ve still not come up with the right challenge to help ensure I will still be going to WW meetings regularly a couple months after Melvin leaves.
I realize that I am completely responsible for the success of my health, fitness and weight loss journey, but I can’t overstate how much people go to our Tuesday WW meetings because of Melvin. One of my other buds is on a business trip right now, and I emailed her the news.
She had known for a month but had been sworn to secrecy. This had given her more time to process this and start to see the silver lining. She adored Melvin, but she has been going to the Tuesday night meetings as long or even longer than me. This had given her the opportunity to hear a lot of Melvin’s thoughts on weight loss. Hearing another person’s perspective may give her the jump start she needed to move forward again on her weight loss efforts.
I was so impressed by her optimism. I had challenged myself at least once to see Melvin’s replacement as something that could be better for me as opposed to a complete disaster, but I have miles to go before I reach her ability to see the silver lining. I’m already really working hard to make sure I give myself the chance to travel those miles though. A jump start would be so welcome right now.
Have there been times when you’ve been able to change a roadblock into a jump start? Do you have any thoughts on what would be a good goal for me to set to achieve by June 4?
Posted by Michelle Butler Apr 3 2011, 9:45 pm in eating healthy, Emotional Eating, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, motivation, stress, weight loss
In the past 3 weeks, my Weight Watchers weigh in results have been +2, +1 and +.4. That adds up to a gain of 3.4 pounds, exactly one half of the 6.8 pounds I’d lost in the prior 5 weeks, so I’ve really taken 2 steps forward, 1 step back in the past 2 months. [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Mar 27 2011, 7:51 pm in Emotional Eating, Expectations, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, motivation, process, stress, weight loss
I’m not sure if gaining weight two weeks in a row after a good, five-week stretch means I’ve been a yo-yo dieter this month, but I do think it was serendipitous that last week’s Weight Watchers meeting topic was yo-yo dieting. The guest group leader was in full pep rally mood, and his motivational talk [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Mar 13 2011, 8:20 pm in Emotional Eating, exercise, food, food diary, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, motivation, portion control, stress
The February 1, 2011, Weight Watchers meeting was all about motivation. For some people, the new year’s resolution boost was over, and the group leader was trying to encourage them to dig deeper and find a way to keep going. Halfway through the meeting, he asked, “Does anyone need a pep talk?” After several seconds, [...]
Posted by Trish Milburn Mar 1 2011, 12:01 am in calories, exercise, food diary, goals, inspiration, motivation, Trish Milburn, weight loss
There is little more exciting than seeing visible progress being made toward goals. For 17 days out of the 28 in February, I stepped onto the scale and saw a weight loss from the day before. Yes, that means there were 11 days where the number went up, but I tried not to let that [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Nov 15 2010, 1:29 am in Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, motivation, non-scale victories, progress, Writing
I’ve been chugging away on my journey to become and stay a healthy writer for nearly two years now. There have actually been stretches of time when it’s felt easy and joyous and full of rewards. It’s not hard to keep going then. In fact, just try to stop me. The easy times have been [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Sep 27 2010, 2:05 am in inspiration, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, motivation, Writing
Saturday was the first Washington Romance Writer (WRW) meeting for the 2010-2011 season. My local RWA chapter takes July and August off, so it has been a few months since we’ve all met to learn more about the writing life and socialize. I love these September meetings. I miss my “tribe” over the summer, even [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Sep 12 2010, 8:52 pm in Emotional Eating, inspiration, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, motivation
One week last month, I was in a foul mood. I alternated between freaking out and being in a complete funk. I was entirely stressed out about something that was not under my control but can really impact my life in a negative way. The only times I felt good that week were when I [...]
Posted by Trish Milburn Sep 8 2010, 12:01 am in exercise, motivation, Trish Milburn
Chances are most of us have decided to live a healthier lifestyle with the goal of losing weight. But we also all know that watching what we eat and getting regular exercise offer a lot of other benefits. This was reinforced when I recently read an article on several of these benefits. According to the [...]
Posted by Rachel Graves Sep 3 2010, 5:20 am in confidence, exercise, inspiration, motivation, positive thinking, Rachel Graves
In the months leading up to my wedding my future mother in law planned an elaborate bridal shower for me. Scheduled to coincide with a large family event it would welcome me into her social circle, introducing me to cousins, aunts, and wise women. My mother was thrilled with the idea. My fiancee was excited. [...]
