Big, Fat Success

I totally should be sleeping right now after working last night, but I couldn't wait to blog now that we have the internet up and running in our new house! It's amazing how much we NEED the internet once it's not available to us!

So, I promised a longer blog later, and this is IT! Two weeks worth of WITA (What I Took Away)!
I had major revelations at both last week's meeting and today! I've had to work the past two Friday nights at the hospital, so I've attended the 8am Saturday meeting, and I have to say it's one of the best I've ever been to.

WITA: Saturday, April 17th

I had a mini epiphany prior to the meeting while thumbing through Book 2: Starting to Move More. I was reading the section on fact and fiction. If you aren't familiar with this book, this section answers common thoughts about exercising, and one of them was the assumption that physical activity increases appetite. I was struck by the following quote: "Many members report feeling hungry after they work out, though, and that may be because exercise is such an emotional challenge; after emotional challenges, we're conditioned to look for rewards."

Whoa. I had never looked at it like that! Think of all the emotions that happen at the gym. For me, I go through the following at just about every trip:

-I often feel fat and frumpy in my workout clothes. I worry that all of the hard bodies at my gym will look at me and laugh. I often find myself wondering if they think I'm a lost cause.

-I work with a trainer two times a week, often to the point of nearly passing out or puking. I love that she pushes me so hard, and I like the changes I'm seeing in my body. But, it's no wonder I feel like I need a reward afterward! It's some of the most physically difficult exercise I've ever done in my life!

-Also, I don't always want to be there. Many afternoons, I'm there at 3:30pm and heading into work at 7pm. That's like a day shift person hitting the gym at 3:30am. It's INCREDIBLY hard some days.

During the meeting I realized that sucking it up is important. SHOWING UP is crucial. Even when you know you had an off week. As I blogged previously, I decided to "start back" at meetings the week that I went to Miami for a girls' weekend, as well as the same week that we were in the process of moving. Looking back, I realize I had a lot going on that week and that it probably wasn't the best week to recommit. I will say that I behaved better in Miami than I have on any vacation that I can remember in a long time. Despite that fact, I did rely a lot on fast food during the moving process later in the week, since all our kitchen things were packed away. I gained over 2 pounds. I was so very tempted to just skip the meeting last week because I knew I was facing a gain. But instead, I approached the scale and told the receptionist that I fully expected a gain that morning. And then I did something I've never done before in a meeting: talked about both my first week on the program, AND about my gain. Not a typical discussion for a first-weeker, amongst all those people with their fabulous first week losses.

I talked about the fact that I chose a week that really had a lot going on and that it was very hard to ground myself and get focused when my routine was so up in the air. I simply told the room that I was going to have to swallow my pride, and declare a "do over". Everyone applauded me, and the leader even gave me a Bravo Sticker for my bookmark. This is huge for me because in the past, I've never spoken up in meetings at all, and this day I not only spoke up, but I spoke up about a major bust. A failure. And it made me change my mindset for the following week. At the meeting I was able to get it out in the open, and I got support. I realized that I'm getting over sounding silly or worrying what people will think of what I say, and I'm finally getting the most out of my meetings! Hurrah!

WITA: Saturday, April 24th

First things first- I lost 3.6 pounds! I not only took off what I gained that first week, but an additional 1.2 pounds! All this while we were STILL in the process of moving/unpacking. We got all our "big stuff" moved to the house this past Sunday and have spent the rest of this week digging out of the massive amount of boxes and bags dumped all over our house. We had no internet access until today, and I will be honest and say that I didn't track on paper either. I did plug in my food in my online journal whenever I had access to the internet, but that was roughly 25% of this week. The rest of the time I just majorly focused on keeping a running tab, either in my head or on scrap paper. I had several days where I ended up under points, but I know there had to have been days where I probably undercalculated and went over, so I was wishing and hoping that it would all balance out. And it DID!!

Also, I'm really putting myself out there, both in meetings and in real life. I spoke up in my meeting and reminded everyone of my "do over" declaration from last week, and let them know that I lost 3.6 this week. I was met with raves and applause, and I earned another Bravo Sticker for my bookmark. I also mentioned to three people at work that I'm doing Weight Watchers. The first was my nursing supervisor, who goes to my gym along with his wife. He commented that it looked like I was losing weight, and I replied with, "We'll see this morning at Weight Watchers." Just like that! I also told two coworkers, and what do you know, one of them has also done Weight Watchers in the past. It was surprising because she is a person who I never even thought would have heard of Weight Watchers, because I think she has a great figure, and assumed she'd probably always been skinny without any issues. She said she'd lost 14 pounds on WW, and had gained it back, and really wanted to go back to meetings. She is going to Vegas this week, but plans to attend Saturday meetings with me when she gets back!! Yip!

Okay, I must get some sleep! Big plans to grill out tonight and watch the Penguins playoff game. Well, the guys are. I'll probably unpack some more and take a bath in my huge new bathtub. I think I've earned it!