Skip to main content

Roll out the barrel


It seems appropriate, in a strange-only in my head-sort of way, and keeping with my theme recently of rolling, that the song playing in my head lately is 
"Roll out the barrel . . ."

As I've been rolling lately instead of walking, I seem to have added to my girth and it has landed, like a big ole roll around my mid-section. It's happened gradually over the last year and I attempted to:
1)   Deny and/or;
2)   Cover and/or;
3)   Exercise and/or;
4)   Change my diet.

Well, the "And/Or Plan" wasn't working because my waist kept expanding and with that expansion my motivation (which is minimal on a good day!) was dwindling.

So, with a roll around my midsection and "Roll out the barrel" playing in my head, I rolled into Weight Watchers three weeks ago.

I had weighed myself at home and the number on that scale was sad - but I guess I should have had my glasses on when looking because the scale at WW showed me a number that was 8 pounds sadder!! Have you ever heard of someone gaining 8 pounds at their first WW meeting??!! 

So, I came home and my darling daughter and accountability partner, Delaney, refocused me and we made our grocery list. Re-motivated, I got on the recumbent bike and rode that damn ... I mean darn bike six of seven days between weigh-ins at WW. I worked it. I ate well, not great, but better, and I exercised.

So, when I rolled in to my second WW meeting, I was confident that the scale would show I was working it . . . WRONG! I'd gained 0.2 pounds. "Roll out the barrel" played again and I almost rolled right out of that room because tears were starting to roll. But I stayed, and boy am I glad I did because had I left I would have missed the amazing support of the people at that meeting. Had I left, I would have had the mindset of a loser - and not a weight-loss loser, and based on previous experience I could have made some bad choices with that "Roll" song playing in my head. Instead, I stayed and got refocused. I was advised to turn off that song playing in my head because it wasn't working for me - bad thoughts never do. I came home and continued to make good choices the next week. I worked it. I ate well, better than the previous week, and I moved more.

So, when I rolled in this week, I was really nervous to step on the scale. I was thrilled at a 2 pound loss! I sure have to work a lot harder to lose 2 pounds than I ever did before - but age and the immobility restrictions of MS aren't going to discourage me from working it! I can't let those restrictions restrict me from moving more and eating better. After the meeting, two women I hadn't previously met, said I was an inspiration to them. ME - an inspiration to anyone at a WW meeting?? There are many inspirations - and weight losing/loss stories and these will keep me going and working it. 

So, what will meeting #4 hold for me? It all depends on me and how I roll!
I will carry the motivators - my daughter and the women in WW- with me through the week.

For now, I've got to roll - time to ride the bike!

Comments

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Time

I have been reading through the blog entries for John's caringbridge site and am marveling that it was only a year ago we were on that awful cancer journey. In a way it seems like so much longer - especially when I look at the Patient Patient and see just how wonderfully handsome and healthy he looks! John still has periodic visits with the docs in A2 and prior to each we are both a little nervous that the docs might find something. He calls after each visit and we breathe a sigh of relief when the docs declare that all is clear! We know patients that went through treatment at the same time haven't received the same news; our concerns are grounded in reality and our sense of relief immense. In the past year, we have heard of far too many people that have received a diagnosis of cancer - prostrate, breast, throat, etc. While the type of cancer may be very different, the family's reaction and the ultimate course of treatment may vary greatly. The family and loved ones g...

When you encounter a totally different reality

John and I arrived early for an appointment (for those of you that know my husband, you know that this is not infrequent! The story of arriving three hours early for a flight to Phoenix from Midway still gets repeated and laughed about when the 'kids' get together). We found a seat and the waiting room began to fill. We had chosen seats away from the TV where NBC's Today Show was playing, so we couldn't see what was on the screen. Another couple sat before the TV and provided commentary and as the time progressed provided a glimpse into a total different 'reality'. "Oh I can't even stand to look at him. He's so evil" "What is wrong with his hair?" "This administration will do down in history as the worst ever." "The federal government is taking over the states. There's going to be a civil war, just you wait." "They just let all those illegal aliens in and then they're going to give them weapons to take...

Happy Birthday Michael Bowen!

This is a face I don't see anymore - except in my memories. That of my little brother Michael. Today would have been his 46th  birthday - but this senior picture is how I will always remember him because he was taken from us just a couple years after his senior year. I don't want to dwell on the sad details - because there are many and they can still all these years later bring me to tears. Because today is his birthday, I want to write about the many gifts he bestowed on those that he loved. Bernard Michael Bowen was the youngest of five. The rest of us have names that start with the letter K - but Michael from birth was going to be unique. Named for his paternal grandfather, whom everyone called Barney. No one called Michael, Barney, until high school when many were adopting nicknames. His friends would jokingly call him Barney! And like nearly everything else in his life, he seemed to smile and shrug it off and go with the flow. He played, and loved, football. A...