Slow and Steady Wins the Race

The Lose for good week 2 went great!

Here is a summary of my Weight Watchers meeting September 14, 2010.

.2, .4, .6, .8, SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE!

I cannot tell you how many times I overhear that awful word “ONLY” in the meeting room! “I only lost .4 this week ”

Well I am fed up with it! When you think of .2 pounds I want you to think of that as a stick of butter! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to take a stick of butter off of our bodies? Plus if you “ONLY” lost .2 pounds a week, in a year’s time you would have lost 10.4 pounds! That is nothing to scoff at. When you think of .4 pounds, imagine a bar of soap! If you “ONLY” lost .4 pounds each week, after a year you would have lost a total of 20.8 pounds! When you think of .6 pounds imagine a tube of toothpaste gone from your body! After a year of .6 a week, your total would be 31.2 pounds! And imagine .8 as a coffee mug. Overtime that coffee mug gets heavy huh! .8 pounds each week for a year would be 41.6 pounds gone.

How about we find a way to stay positive at the scale. One member suggested that each time you jump on that scale have in your mind your original weight when you joined. That way when you look at the number in your pocket guide you can really appreciate each and every .2 pounds that you’ve lost along the way! What a great concept!

Here are the key steps to SUCCESS:
STAY POSITIVE! Remember that you are coming to weight watchers for a reason. Just think of how big you would be if you weren’t on program. Instead of saying “I did not do good this week” you could say something more specific and positive…such as “I did not track my points this week but I WILL carry my tracker with me and track faithfully starting immediately!”

UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS! We all know that there is not just one factor that goes into weight loss. We also know that just eating right isn’t enough. Just tracking isn’t enough. In order for us to be successful we must realize that there are a many number of components that can reflect on that scale.

CONTINUE TO DO THE BEST YOU CAN! If you mess up, big deal start over. Baby steps are how we will accomplish our goals. We can’t just jump into running a mile. We must first start to walk. You may not be able to run 10 miles but maybe you can get in your Good Healthy Guidelines.

CONCENTRATE ON YOUR STRENGTHS! You may not be a marathon runner but hot dog maybe you are an expert at the good healthy guidelines. Maybe you don’t eat all your veggies but maybe you are an excellent tracker. Keep rewarding yourself for the parts that you are good at and build off of your strengths.

EMBRACE A VISION OF YOURSELF! When you first walked into that meeting room you had an idea of where you wanted to be. Picture it, don’t you look fantastic! What is it going to take in order to get there? Maybe you have already noticed steps in the right direction with feeling better in your clothes or discovering bones you didn’t know you had (ribs, hips, collar bones, cheekbones). Could it be that you can make it around the block a couple of times without getting winded?

SET REALISTIC, SMALL GOALS! Don’t just focus on that big goal. Break it down into smaller goals that are easier to reach. Plus each time you make it to a goal your confidence will boost, giving you more motivation to reach your next one. Focus on 5 pound increments, or 1 mile at a time.

STAY IN THE MEETINGS! You know as well as I do what happens once you start missing the meetings. Remember that on Tuesdays at 6:00 you are in a support group with 60 people going through the exact same things as you. If you are struggling, that room is where you are going to find the knowledge, motivation, and encouragement that you need.

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Just for fun, here are a few pictures from the Lose for Good Campaign Week 1 Meeting