Football and Success

Here is a summary of my Weight Watchers meeting February 1, 2011.

Yes, you survived Super Bowl Sunday. I know there were many tempting parties, but that's alright, the game is over now. Football however has lots of lessons we can learn from. Since we might have missed our meeting due to all that snow and ice, let's talk a little about football and what it teaches us.

We know that you have to...

KNOW the playbook. (Have you read and re-read your materials?)

Learn how to give yourself a pep talk. (Positive self-talk)

You’ve got a coach, support staff, and a team with you for a reason. (Attending meetings is important. We all know that especially with the weather cancellations we have had.)

When you’re in the middle of a play on the field, your moves should come naturally because you’ve done them a dozen times before … in your head. (Mental Rehearsing)
Plan for those Penalties. (There will be set-backs. That's FEEDBACK not failure. )

It gets tiring sometimes, but you've gotta keep going. (Push through the tough times. It shows how badly you want it when you face adversity and push through.)

Never, ever, ever give up. As long as the game's still on, you can still win. (We're in it to win it! What's the alternative?)

The surest way to lose is to quit. (In this case, the game of healthy living goes until you either quit or leave this life). The problem is, too many just give up when they’re behind a little. Who’s seen a great comeback in a sporting event? YOU can be the next great comeback! You might need to re-strategize, or tighten the discipline, or even mentally start over again, but you have everything you need to succeed. As long as you don’t quit!

From Feedback to Success
Article By: Michelle Fowler

We bring the old adage, "there's no failure, only feedback," to life.

It can be pretty easy to cruise through your weight-loss efforts without ever really stopping to consider what works, what doesn't, and why. But now is as good a time as any to take stock of the healthy behaviors that you've adopted that have helped you, and ask whether you would consider any of them habits that you can take with you into the future to help you stay on target.

Perhaps of equal importance, though, is to consider which behaviors and attitudes do not contribute to your success – maybe even throw you off track. Maybe you don't exercise regularly, indulge more on the weekends than you'd care to admit, or lose your resolve during busy, stressful or joyous times. Recognizing the behaviors that hinder your progress and trying to avoid them in the future is a big step in establishing a successful weight-loss plan that will work for you, and that you can work with, too.

It's feedback, not failure
You may be familiar with the phrase, "There's no such thing as failure, only feedback." And it's right on! Accepting this concept will help you realize that none of your actions are failures, but simply feedback on your way to establishing lifelong, healthy habits that you can stick with. Considering why the behaviors that were not helpful to you over the past year did not work can help you figure out behaviors that will work in the future.

If your plans to exercise 4-5 times a week fall through the cracks, maybe it's because you choose activities that you don't enjoy – so find something you do enjoy. If you went way over your weekly PointsPlus™ Allowance last weekend, maybe it was due to lack of planning ahead. So next time around, try to allot for any parties or dinners beforehand. Or maybe trying to deprive yourself of the foods you love blows up and leads you to overeat eventually, so try making room in your life for these favorites.
Wherever your insights lead you, congratulations for having them! Knowing that your setbacks are actually valuable feedback for your future success will lead to a very happy future!