Support

I don't like relying on people. I'd like to think I'm the type of person who can take care of himself, especially when things get really bad. Over the last couple of years my partner has been out of work and I've only managed to find part time work. That said, one of my relatives has been helping us financially until we can get back on our feet. Every time I see a check in the mail, I cringe. I should be able to take care of myself.

I've felt like this when it comes to weight loss as well. I feel like relying on friends to help you lose weight is somewhat of a trap. It certainly does (and for me can) work really well at keeping oneself motivated. However, what if you lose the continual support of that friend? A situation like this happened to me several years ago while I was on Weight Watchers with one of my best girl friends. We both had a significant amount of weight to lose, although I had much, MUCH more than she. I joined the program several months after she had, when I had noticed how much it had worked for her. After I joined the program, I noticed how well it impacted me! The pounds started coming off, and after a few weeks people started noticing the change in my physique. Every week at the meetings and weigh-ins, my friend and I would share our accomplishments, support each other in our missteps, and continually push each other through to that next week. I was eating healthier, moving more, and really enjoying the process of losing weight. More importantly I wasn't at all missing those habits that made me overweight. It was an incredible experience.

Then it happened: my friend had achieved her weight loss goal and she quit Weight Watchers. At that point, I thought, 'yeah, I can do this on my own.' Within a couple of weeks, though, I had started falling into bad habits. Before I knew it, my attendance at the meetings evaporated and I found every single pound I had lost.

Now, I don't blame my friend. She is to this day one of my best friends and I wouldn't trade our friendship for anything! But that experience made me realize something: when it comes to weight loss, I very much need people to rely on for support, encouragement, and motivation. This is why I was so happy to learn that another friend of mine began this same program a few weeks ago, is having success, and wants me to come to the meetings with her. I accepted the invitation, and Thursday the new journey begins. The best part is, as the day gets closer, I feel like I'm ready for this, and I'm even somewhat excited about the prospect. However, I am leery of my previous experiences, and I need to find a way to keep the motivation alive. Stay tuned!

Effort and lack thereof

As you've probably guessed it from my lack of posts, I lost focus on my weight loss. Again.

I'm certainly not the only one to experience this phenom. You know the story: a big person gets a burst of motivation to change their life. He or she sets goals to be more active, eat healthier, and lose weight. And all that energy lasts about a week and then POOF! they're back in the drive thru saying "large size, with a diet Coke."

My friend Pjaye has been making serious changes to her lifestyle over the last year, and she's seeing lots of progress. She used to be fairly large, but because of Weight Watchers and a gym membership, she has lost more than 65 pounds. I once asked her how she keeps the motivation alive, and she said that she just has to be really OCD about things like going to the gym. That's great, but how does one not be OCD about eating high-fat, greasy cheeseburgers?

I've heard people suggest that weight loss is all about priorities, and one choosing to make it their number one priority. I guess I don't understand how to do that. I certainly want to lose the weight bad enough, and yet the desire for weight loss is never that appealing when I have to choose between a home cooked meal and a greasy cheeseburger, or choose between going for a walk and sitting on the couch watching TV. It's not that I don't know how to set goals. I've done it before. Last year I completed my Masters in Teaching degree, capping a 9-year long college career. During those years of studying, I never once considered dropping out of school. I had a goal of getting a BA, and MIT, and my teaching certificate, and I met all of those goals. Surely, if I can spend a third of my life working toward a degree, then I can spend a few years losing 175 pounds.

This weekend the weather is supposed to be dry. I think I'll take advantage of it and go for a stroll or two around the neighborhood.

WW

"Nothing tastes as good as thin feels"

Several years ago I joined Weight Watchers with my pal Sarah. We found that the food tracking and the weekly weigh-ins helped us both stay accountable to what we were eating. So why do I currently weigh 350 lbs? Turns out my friend Sarah didn't have as much weight to lose as I, and when she finished the program, I used it as an excuse to stop going. That decision allowed me to regain every single one of the 30 pounds I lost, as well as an additional 20 pounds!

A few weeks ago, I decided to try WW once again. It's a program I know works well for me. However, this time I am going it alone. My very good friend Patricia has been on the program since early 2009 and has lost around 50 pounds. Seems like she'd be the perfect candidate to lose weight with, right? Actually, for me, not so much. I love the girl as a sister, but when it comes to losing weight together she has somewhat of a competitive side to her. For instance, one time we tried a weight loss competition in which we would weigh in each week, and the person who lost the least amount of weight had to pay a communal piggy bank money dollars in the amount of the weight lost by that weeks winner. Turned out I was very good at losing, that is I was good at losing the game! Ultimately, I quit playing and the weight started going back on.

So this time, I'm not using my friends as a crutch for my weight loss. Instead, I have decided to only tell a select few that I am working on my weight, while others, like the competitive Patricia, remain in the dark. So far, this is working well for me as I don't feel pressured if my weight doesn't drop as fast as I'd like it to. I'm only answerable to me and the WW scale. Works for me!