Wordless Wednesday: Make a Change

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Weight Watchers eTools

Here is the Meeting Summary from October 8, 2011.

This week in the meeting room we talked about all of the amazing features that e-tools has to offer. The majority of Weight Watchers members are monthly pass holders, but a lot of them are not taking advantage of e-tools.

One shocking statistic showed that,

“Members who use e-tools Lose 50% more weight than those that don’t!”

eTools comprises several online features that help meetings members track and manage weight, activity and food intake. The site boasts thousands of articles that educate and motivate members when they are outside of the meeting room. It offers more than 3,3200 PointsPlus® value-friendly recipes and a tool to help members renovate their personal recipes, and even share them with the Community. There are fitness videos and workouts, as well as Success Stories and a thriving Community full of Blogs, Groups, Challenges and Message Boards. Even more conveniently, all these tracking options, and more, are available at your fingertips on our mobile apps.

These features were specifically created with the meetings member in mind. There are Topic of the Week articles that are designed to echo the topic being discussed in meeting rooms around the country each week, to further educate and inspire members to succeed. It will also frequently link to articles and features that are discussed in your Weight Watchers Weekly magazine.

Recent research makes the strength of the eTools and meetings connection undeniable. It has been shown that people who attend Weight Watchers meetings and use eTools lose over 50 percent more weight than those who attend weekly meetings alone. eTools gives members a place for helpful weight-loss tools between meetings. Take time to explore the site and think of the time spent as an investment in your weight-loss efforts.

Here is a short list of the “power tools” at your disposal on the Weight Watchers website
P+ tracker – easily look up pointsplus values of foods and track online or from your mobile device

Cheat Sheets – Mexican, Chinese, deli, adult beverages, breakfast foods, coffee shop, pizza, pasta, grilling, etc.

Recipe Genie - You tell it what you’ve got, it comes up with recipes

Videos – exercise and food demos

Targeted Workouts - (flexibility, core, balance, head-to-toe) you can print out the workout and take it with you to the gym!

Meeting topic of the week - if you missed the meeting, you can brush up on what was discussed

Plan manager - custom to your week on the program, gives tips, recommendations for success

Helpful and Informative Articles (Destination Guide: Overcoming Exercise Obstacles, etc.)

Science Center – want to know why the plan works…get the facts behind it

Success Stories – read about other members success on the program to gain a little motivation

Health Conditions - diabetes, asthma, depression, osteoarthritis, etc

Progress Reports – keep up with your weight and earn milestones along the way- your own little trophy case

Recipe Builder - plug in an old family recipe to determine pointsplus values per serving. They even have a lighten it up section that gives you suggestions on how to make your recipe lower in pointsplus values! You can even upload your recipe to the community so that others can use it too. So, that means not only can you get access to official weight watchers recipes on e-tools, but you can also see the thousands of recipes submitted by other members!

Community - similar to Facebook, you can upload a profile picture and connect with members all across the globe that are trying to lose weight too, you can share recipes, tips, questions, and frustrations and struggles

If you are a current monthly pass holder, take some time this next week to really explore e-tools and see all that it has to offer.

Transformation Nation

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Many of us would like to implement better habits -- exercise more, eat better, achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, etc. -- but it can be REALLY hard to find the motivation. Here's a REALLY good reason to give it a go... You could win a million bucks!

A few weeks ago I told you to tune into the Dr. Oz show for a really big announcement. Do you remember? Did you watch the show!? If you did not watch the show I will fill you in on what is taking place.

Dr. Oz's
Transformation Nation: Million Dollar You contest

Dr. Oz, Oprah's doctor partnered up with Weight Watchers, Sharecare, and a team of health professionals. The program identifies seven key steps to weight loss and healthy living: Tell a Friend, Official Weigh-In/Calculate Your BMI, Connect with Your Doctor, Learn Your Family's Health History, Get More Sleep, Assess Your Stress, and Start New Fitness Habits.

Join up, take the Ultimate Health Quiz, and get started! Next spring 2012, the top 200 entrants will be selected, mainly based on weight loss/BMI improvement. Once whittled down to the top 10 finalists, it's up to the people of the world to select the winner by voting online for the most inspirational transformation. WOW. This is some serious business! So if you're up for the challenge, sign up and start changing your life.

Health Fair 2011

Every year the university I work at hosts a Health Fair. They use it as a way to minister to the community, because everything is FREE! I have been to the Health Fair for the last 3 years. I blogged about the health fair last year too! To read more about it click here.

I took pictures while we were at the Health Fair, because I wanted to share them with you. Please forgive the poor quality of the pictures, because I just took them with my phone and the lighting was not very good.

I hate going places by myself, so I invited Jon to come with me. His work schedule is so crazy that I never thought he would be able to come, but I was wrong! Jon stopped by my work Thursday morning so that we could go to the health fair together.

I was so excited to be at the Health Fair!!

Jon and I walked around checking out all of the different tables. Unfortunately, we did not have time to stand in line and receive a massage, but we were really tempted to do it anyway!

Jon was willing to do the fitness test with me! We did several tests and for the most part, we passed with flying colors. We even took a flexibility test which we passed!! I've never had anyone tell me that I was flexible!

The facts about obesity are heart breaking. I am so thankful that God has changed my life. The first year I went to this Health Fair I was overweight, because I had just joined Weight Watchers. The Lord has truly used my weight loss to save my life in more ways than one!

As an added bonus I got some free pens!

I cannot wait for next year's Health Fair! I hope that you all have a great weekend!

400 and counting

I told myself that when I reached 400 followers that I would do a post dedicated to you my readers. Well TODAY is that day!!

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One of the first things I do everyday is check my blogs. They are like my children in many respects and I feel the need to make sure that they are okay. About a week ago I noticed that I had 399 followers. Everyday since I have been wondering if this would be the day that pushes me over the edge to 400 followers. I am happy to say that the day I have been waiting for is finally here!!

First and foremost, I am thankful to the Lord! Ever since I began this blog it has been my desire that God would be gloried through my blog posts. I try to keep God in the forefront of my mind as I write blog posts, so that He will be the focus...not me. I hope that I have done a good job of this and that I will continue to honor the Lord through my blogging.

Next, I want to thank you my readers!! I want you to know how thankful I am to you that you read and follow my blog. You give me great ideas, inspiration, and encouragement that help me to continue to be motivated to blog. You allow me to be honest and open with you about my struggles and for that I am so thankful!

I look forward to writing many more blog posts for Living a Changed Life!!

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Keep Your Motivation Going Strong

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Here is the Meeting Summary from Saturday, October 1st, 2011.

In the meeting room last week I opened with a very important question for everyone to ask themselves, "Why Am I Doing This?". I passed out straws and asked my members to think and share about their last straw moment. This is the moment where they knew that they had to make a change.

When starting a new project, most of us vow to attack it full throttle, with the goal of seeing our project through to the end. Indeed, desire and motivation are a dynamite duo. The former gets us going, the latter keeps us on track.

Yet after the initial excitement, motivation can wane. This is especially true when difficult times throw you off track or roadblocks appear.

No matter what the task, there's usually some obstacle or temptation to keep us from our goal. That's why it's so important to stay positive.

Top 10 attitude enhancers
Keep your mind focused on your goals. Here's how:

1. Celebrate the here and now
As long as you're committed to your plan today, you're succeeding because you're taking charge of your life. Focusing on goals that are far in the future can sap motivation.

2. Change your language
Scratch negative phrases from your vocabulary. Instead of saying "No," "I can't" or "I'll try," substitute the positive. Say: "Yes!" "I can" and "I will." For example, instead of saying "I won't overeat" or "I mustn't have chocolate," say "I will track my food and stay within my budget."

3. Create visual inspiration
Find a photo of yourself before you started your weight-loss plan. Tack it on the refrigerator, a bedroom or bathroom mirror or inside the food cupboard. As you reach new goals, take new pictures, visually marking your progress.

4. Weigh in
Weigh in at your weekly meeting, and track your results. Look at your overall progress and visualize that chart whenever you're tempted by less-than-healthy choices.

5. Partner up
Exercising with friends is always more enjoyable. Schedule days to meet with your partner, and if one of you tries to bow out, act as the other's conscience. Or participate in a Community fitness Challenge if you're looking for virtual buddies.

6. Steer clear of sabotage
Avoid people who put you down for trying to lose weight, or who encourage you to eat too much. Often these folks feel threatened by your weight loss.

7. Set mini goals
Start with aiming to lose 5 percent of your body weight. Or make your goal markers every 5 pounds. By setting realistic goals, you're more likely to reach them, feel successful and move on from there.

8. Reward yourself
When you've reached a goal (and remember to keep them small), you deserve a treat. Buy new clothes, a book or CD, or take yourself to a movie or sporting event.

9. Keep reminders in plain sight
Treadmills, bicycles, weights, even sneakers and exercise outfits should be left where you can see them. Don't store your exercise gear under the bed or in the basement. That will only hide the fact that you need to exercise.

10. Read Success Stories
Motivation often comes from reading about the way others have found success. Just think: "One day the story is going to be mine!"

We also talked about creating a victory box of your success. Inside your box include:
- Your last straw- right down the event that was the turning point for you to join weight watchers
- Pictures of you before to motivate you to be smaller, or those pictures that you never want to look like again. Both of these can boost motivation.
- Warm and Fuzzies- all of those non scale victories that make you feel warm and fuzzy inside…right those moments down (when you realize you can bend down and tie your shoes, when a coworker says that she sure can tell you have been losing weight, etc). Write each down and who said it.
- As you get into smaller sizes, save the tags and put them in your box to remind you of how far you have come.
- Milestones and accomplishments as you encounter them. Dates you reach your 5% and 10% targets.
- Anything else you can think of that will help encourage you. Because let’s face it, we are all going to have down days. And on those days opening up a box of your accomplishments can really help get you back on track.

Try some of these things this week and see if they help give you the motivation that you need to keep going!

Doing More Than Dreaming

In case you have not noticed, I am a talker. I enjoy talking because it helps me to process what I am thinking and feeling.

The truth is that I have always been a talker. Even as a child I would bring home report cards that told my parents about how I talked too much! However, my Mom was never worried about it. Mom said that if talking too much was the worst thing that they had to say about me than I was going to be alright.

Recently, God has been teaching me about my lack of follow through. You see I am happy to talk about an idea and dream about the future, but I rarely take action to make my dreams a reality.

Would you like an example?

Ever since I reached my goal weight in 2009, I have talked about how much I want to run a marathon! I am so jealous of those around me who get to participate in marathons. However, the truth is that I have not been running in over a year! How am I ever going to run in a marathon if I do not do something about it?

That is just one of many examples that I could share with you.

I want to be a doer, not just a talker. I want to be the kind of woman who pursues her passions and dreams! I don’t want to spend the rest of my life dreaming about how good it could be. I want to be able to make those dreams a reality right now!

So, you want to know I did yesterday? I went running! I went on a run for the first time in over a year! It hurt and my muscles sore, but they are just a reminder to me that I did it! I laced up my running shoes and suddenly I wasn’t just a talker, but I was finally making my dreams a reality!

Yesterday, I became a runner again! I cannot wait to see how else God is going to work in my life as I put my words into action!