I am working with a friend who wants to get serious about weight loss. She lives out of town so we’re doing this by e-mail. It occurred to me that it might be very helpful to share some of our conversations. Feel free to give your feedback. We’ll call her Mabel and I’ll be, well – me.

Mabel – Yesterday, I used the point calculator from the internet. I only ate 31 points and I am allotted 35. I was so proud. For breakfast I had oatmeal, for lunch I had a veggie sandwhich on wheat (5 dollar foot long). It was SO good, then for dinner we made salad with Chicken breast. It was SO yummy. I also ONLY DRANK water yesterday. I felt so great. No sweets ALL DAY! I am on my way.
We also went grocery shopping, and the only thing sweet I bought was caramel popcorn. I figured it was a better sweet snack then my old choices.
Anyways, I am pretty proud.
This morning I had a small bowl of fruity cheerios.
For lunch we are having roast beef sandwhiches.
And for dinner, I am planning to make pasta.

Mabel (later the same day)
UHHHHH!!!
Lanette. I was doing so good, and then…..I ATE half the box of caramel pop corn. Why can’t I control myself. I need to just not have ANYTHING in the house I guess. It’s amazing to me how LITTLE control I have. GRRR.
I am not giving up though.

Lanette:
I was worried about that caramel popcorn when you mentioned it. There may be people in the world who can control themselves around treats – I am not one of them and I venture to guess that you are not one of them either. We can either be upset and wish we could have one cookie and be satisfied or we can face the fact that if it’s there, we’ll eat it. I don’t like frustration so I have come to grips with the fact that I cannot have junk in my house or I will eat it….until it’s gone. I’ve kept my 65 pounds off for 4 years now, one would guess I can control myself. That would be the wrong answer. Here’s an example – The other day I was in CVS with a coupon for pop tarts and even had two boxes in my cart. I checked the nutrition information and one of those babies is 200 calores – 4 Points but wait there are 2 poptarts in each little silver package so that’s really 400 – 8 Points but wait there are 4 packages in the box which is actually 1600 caories – 32 Points. But wait – the coupon was $1 off two packages so that’s 3200 Calories – 64 Points – for Pop Tarts!!! Standing there in the store I asked myself, “What will happen if I bring those into my house?” Then I answered myself – I will eat them….all of them….I tried to convince myself that I was buying them for Johnny but really I wanted them. I know they’re not that delicious, but if they’re available – I’m eating them. I put them on the shelf. I didn’t feel like a failure because I can’t control myself, I consider myself amazingly powerful because I can choose to make it really difficult to be healthy or I can make it easy. I really like to make it easy so I keep fighting to be strong at the store and make my home a haven, a safe healthy place to be.

This is a great learning experience for you. It’s not that you can’t have caramel corn – you can have a reasonable portion away from home, but if you want to be healthy and fit – you can’t bring CRAP into you house!! You are not a failure – you are learning and you will make the best choices you can as often as you can and when you have a lapse you will learn from it and move forward into you fabulous, healthy life!!!

You can do it!

Hugs, Lanette

Johnny worked on his geometry homework for 4 hours last night – which means we all worked on his geometry homework last night. He wanted to give up so many times, prepared to take a bad grade and flunk the test. The immediacy of the moment often keeps us from what we really want. When the chocolate chip cookie is right there in front of us who cares about losing weight? We want comfort now! The path of least resistance is well worn in our society. But taking the easy way doesn’t bring peace, contentment or success.

The little steps Johnny had to focus on, adding, subtracting, formulas, required attention to detail and focus. The daily practice of homework makes geometry easier – building skills and competence. It’s the same thing with weight loss. Choose to do your homework – sweat, pass up the treat, plan healthy meals – do what it takes to get what you want!

Lesson learned – do not get cocky about your health! My voice is almost back to normal after a bad cold. I really felt pretty good but lost my voice and tortured my poor members who had to listen to my sandpaper voice. I only missed one day of exercise so all in all, not too bad.

I’ve made a fan page on facebook which might be a bit easier than checking on the blog. I’m thinking I’ll put pictures and videos here of lifetime members and link it to facebook. I think you have to become a fan and then you can post comments and even pictures and videos – I think it will be a great venue to share ideas. Things just keep evolving as I try to find the best ways to spread the word on health and fitness!

A great benefit of eating healthy foods and exercising is a robust immune system. I hesitate to speak too soon but I hardly ever get sick. I felt a cold coming on yesterday – nose running, body aches and sneezing. This morning my throat is a little sore but my nose is clear and I feel pretty good. Getting enough sleep is also part of the equation. Being at a healthy weight is wonderful but being healthy is the best benefit of all your hard work!

I follow the blog (http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/) of a young mother who was severely burned over 80% of her body and miraculously lived. Her face is being reconstructed and she continues to have many surgeries to keep the scars from immobilizing her. In an instant she went from a beautiful, happy mom who blogged about the joy of life to a bald nearly unrecognizable woman who teetered between life and death. The accident was over a year ago. Her blog is so insightful and sometimes raw with her pain. Of course she spends a lot of time worrying about the future. Today she shared some words from her dad, “Take life one day at a time.”

It’s the same with any journey. Weight loss seems insignificant next to life and death but in a real way it is a struggle for life. Each day we decide whether we’ll eat foods that make us more healthy or not. There’s really no other way to live a healthy life than one day at a time. What will you do with the precious moments that are today?

I saw a TV show the other day and was struck by how beautiful healthy food is. Often we grab and go and don’t really enjoy what we’re eating. When I take a moment to prepare my food and put it on a plate (which I’m less likely to do when it’s just for me for breakfast and lunch) and sit down at the table to eat I am much more satisfied. Today let’s eat only from a plate sitting at a table. Imagine the mindless calories we’ll eliminate!

TNT!!

Yesterday I saw a friend who lost a lot of weight (100+ lb) on Weight Watchers. She inspired me to keep going when I was losing weight. Sadly she has gained most of the weight back. It just broke my heart to see how difficult it was for her to move. She was so full of energy and vitality before and now you can see in her face that she is weighed down, not just in body but in spirit.

I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if she had continued going to meetings. Perhaps when the pounds started creeping back on she would have turned it around at 10 lbs. or even 20… Weight gain is not inevitable – we just have to wake up every day determined to do our best to make healthy choices. Day after day – never giving up. I hope my friend has the energy to do it again because life is worth living the best we can.

TNT!!

Isn’t change wonderful? It takes time and focus but it happens. I think this might be one of the best things about growing older – you have perspective and can see that change for the better is worth every effort. Time becomes a friend and every experience adds perspective and wisdom. We are not bound by our past and the future is limitless!

TNT!!

Is it hard to lose weight? Why yes, I think it is. This might turn some people away from Weight Watchers. We all want the easy fix. This might be the most tragic legacy of our generation. We haven’t had to work hard at much. My grandparents were farmers. They worked really hard every day just to survive. They felt the satisfaction of harvesting what they had worked hard to plant, cultivate, irrigate and reap. Their lives were a reflection of the eternal truth that you “reap what you sow”.

If we insist on a life of ease we’ll reap illness and depression. If we work hard we’ll reap a healthy body and a full life with limitless possibilities.

Yes, thankfully, it’s hard to lose weight – now resolve to work hard today!!

TNT!!

What can you do for 6 days? Take the time to experiment. Focus in on the basics of weight loss and make it happen – today!

TNT!!