Skip to main content

All in!


I'm especially good at finding lost or missing objects - a skill I attributed to my "ULD" (uterine locating device).

This includes my previously lost pounds always inevitably finding their way back to me. Damn them!

In an attempt to keep those pounds permanently lost, this time, I had approached my Weight Watchers experience as a lifestyle change instead of a diet. So this time instead of working hard to lose the weight, reaching goal, doing a happy dance, buying new clothes and celebrating the weight loss success by promptly going back to living and eating as I had before the diet and then wondering why the new clothes were getting tighter ( blaming the damn dryer, or cheap fabrics, or temporary water weight gain) - I decided instead to look at Weight Watchers as my own 12-step program. While I'm not a food addict, I don't always make good choices about food- I prefer asiago cheese bread and bagels to Tumaro wraps, and I prefer cheese on just about anything and being Irish I love spuds (they're a vegetable!), and who doesn't like alfredo or pesto sauce ... you get the picture. I've learned I can still love these things but just not as frequently or in the quantity I had been accustomed.

That decision had already been made when about three months ago, I was asked to think about working for Weight Watchers. Initially, I laughed. I mean I'm not a very good role model with my asiago cheese and spuds addiction and my inclination to lassitude over exercise and the fact that I've lost (and Found!) the same 35 pounds in my life and the fact that I'm mostly in a wheelchair ... and then it hit me - that's exactly why I should work with Weight Watchers! I mean who would you rather journey with through weight loss - someone who hasn't struggled and cannot relate or a real failure like me??? 

I have so many strikes against me for a weight loss home run. The number of times I've tried and tried and tried. The fact that I have M.S. and the limitations it can impose (fatigue, heat sensitivity, inability to walk without falling to name a few). The reality (I still try to deny) of my wheelchair. That I have a preference for cheese, spuds, bread, wine, pasta, chips, crackers,cheese, popcorn with lots o butter, cheesy popcorn, fried rice and of course cheese.

 So, I started with Weight Watchers as a meeting receptionist about a six weeks ago and in January I will begin training as a leader. I love it! I get to spend time with people (and I love people more than cheese!). I get to encourage and cheer-on (may not have been the high school cheerleader just the mascot but I get to cheer now!) people. I am surrounded by an infectious positivity and energy. And, this is the biggest bonus, I remain focused on making positive food and lifestyle choices. 

Did I mention, that I love it!

Weight Watchers - if I can, you can!

Comments

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

Friday Night Lights

Friday night lights were blazing last week - when for the first time in the history of our little town, the Saugatuck Indians clinched the district title! You can see the sheer joy on Matthew's face and the pride in his father's eyes in the picture above. Leading up to and during the game, there were several things that made the victory even more sweet. The first being that the sports writers in the area, to a person, all predicted the opponents, Climax-Scotts, to win. They'd had a perfect season - until Friday. The second was that we had to travel quite a distance (nearly 90 minutes) to get to the game. And the weather was frigid and snow was blowing - thankfully it was blowing towards the Climax-Scotts stands and was at our backs. And then our quarterback injured his shoulder and had to sit out for a good portion of the game. Thankfully, the replacement quarterback (a sophomore called up for the playoffs from the junior varsity team) did not let the stress effect his ...

When it's time it's time

  When I was a child and someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, the response varied greatly through the years. Having once wanting to be a nun (I can hear the guffaws and peels of laughter now!) to an attorney (I married one and birthed two instead) to being secretary of state (diplomacy was gift) to being an actress (still love a stage!) and to being a journalist (did the latter off and on).  Not once would I have responded to being a mother or bookstore clerk or Weight Watcher coach - but those last three turned out to be my jam. Those last three are where I have found the greatest joy, had an impact and felt most comfortable. And yesterday, I had my last Weight Watcher's workshop saying goodbye to members and to coworkers that hold a special place in my heart. As a coach, I was honored to walk alongside members as they struggled with emotional issues and self doubts but also when they gained strength and control over life-long mindsets that were hold...

Peter Pan no more

                          It's time. Peter Pan had to grow up.  For nearly 18 months of his life, Matthew dressed in this costume. In this picture it's new, just out of the box. He picked the costume out of a catalog and when it arrived, two weeks prior to Halloween, he asked daily if today was the day he could finally wear his Peter Pan costume. He didn't like the hat and only wore it on Halloween, but the rest of the costume he wore daily! You read that correctly - DAILY. He wore it to Meijer (for those of you unfamiliar with Meijer, it's a cleaner, friendlier, more 'upscale' version of WalMart), to church, to play dates and preschool ... Heck, he was three and adorable and it worked for him!  (Yes you read that correctly, he even wore it to church on one or two occasions when it seemed arguing with a three year old about not wearing a costume to church was not a battle worth waging. He once mentioned th...