Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Seeing the light

Today was one of my favorite weight watchers meetings to date, and it happened exactly when I needed it to.  Today was a bad pain day (lots of back and hamstring pain) after what I thought was an easy swim workout.

I weighed in this morning and lost 0.2 lbs- basically a maintain, but ever ounce counts! I couldn't stay for a meeting, which bummed me out but I was thinking I might be able to squeeze into the 5:30pm meeting if I could leave work with enough time- and I did!

It was the best thing I've done for myself in weeks.  My head has been in such a funk these past couple weeks and I know I've been grumpy- sorry, people!  I know my mood has been affected because of my need to take a pause on running and all of the high impact and high intensity workouts I love and crave.

The topic of the meeting today was "Seeing the Light"  and it was all about members sharing their "aha" moments.



I didn't realize that this was the topic today when I walked in and they were asking for celebrations.  I had to acknowledge hitting a new decade cause I missed doing this last week and it really meant a lot to me to be in the 170s!  The leader remembered me from a past meeting and she asked me to share my total weight loss and share my "aha" moment to get the group started. 

In case you haven't heard me talk about it, this was my "aha" moment as I submitted to WW for their inspiring stories section (this is just a part of the submission):

"I had tried to lose weight in the past, but it wasn’t until I was honest with myself and came to terms with my own bad choices that I changed. One day after a bad fast food binge, which of course was done while hiding out in my car away from prying eyes, I looked at myself in the little vanity mirror and didn’t recognize who I was. I started crying and simply couldn’t stop, because I finally got it. I knew in that moment I had 2 choices, but only one that I could live with. I had to take control of my life - and quickly!

That was almost three years ago, on October 20, 2009. The next day I joined Weight Watchers and gained control of my life. With the support of Weight Watchers, my awesome leader Joni, and fellow members behind me, I finally learned what healthy eating meant and what it was like to enjoy activity. Before I would get winded simply walking down a hallway, now I can run 10 miles with a smile on my face at the end! Life is so drastically different now; sometimes it’s hard to believe that I’m the one living it."


So after sharing my light bulb moment with the fast food and crying in the car there were people crying and they all stood and gave me a standing ovation. WOW.  Of course that made me grin and cry not so pretty tears.  But that's what WW is all about and why I love it so much- the support and love I feel from every meeting I go to.  The meeting basically came to a screeching halt and nearly the entire meeting was me answering questions and basically leading and directing the meeting back to the topic.  After the meeting the leader gave me a big hug and told me that if I didn't become a leader it would be a crime against all things weight watchers. lol.   So sweet!

I needed that! I feel energized from within my soul and so grateful to all the wonderful members that made me feel so special today.  Sometimes I need to take a moment to remember how far I've come and that sometimes setbacks are a part of life- you just have to deal with them.  This quote at the end of the meeting really hit me today and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since.

"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't- you're right," Henry Ford.

I KNOW I CAN!



Did you have an "aha" moment that really affected your actions? Share please!

9 comments:

  1. My "Aha!" moment was when my first child, Meadow, was 9 months old and just starting to eat solid foods. Here I was, feeding her peas while I ate a plate of nachos piled high with cheese and sour cream! I realized that I needed to change my eating habits - and fast - if I wanted to set a good example for my kids. And, not only did I lose 50 pounds and keep it off for two years, but my kids LOVE fruits and vegetables, and it makes me so proud that my example is helping them to have a healthy lifestyle.

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    1. that's awesome, Lauren and a GREAT "aha" moment! :D

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  2. My "aha" moment was when I realized I had found the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. :-)

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  3. The night I had a panic attack but I felt like I was having a heart attack. At my age and weight it wasn't an impossibility. I wanted to be healthy and being smaller was a GREAT side effect!

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    1. I've had one of those moments before, too. Took a year after to get my head in the game though. Glad it wasn't a heart attack and that now you are healthy AND small! :)

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  4. When my mother came to visit for the summer we visited a lot of place and took lots of pictures. At the end of the summer I looked through all the photos and didn't recognize the person I had become. I cried and cried, then I decided to start a new life. I am training for a 5k and haven't missed a workout in almost a month!

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    1. Thanks for sharing your aha moment, Ivayla- that's a great story! I think sometimes we have to get to a new low to reach a new high. Good luck on your 5k!

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  5. Hello!

    My name is Colleen and I'm a work from home mom that just created a weight loss app. It started as an Excel spreadsheet and I kept adding functions. So I turned it into an app that is a great compliment to calorie tracking apps. I'm excited that I've lost 27 pounds already and want to spread the word about the app.

    For me, I had tried everything. This worked because the focus of the app is predicting the weight loss goal date. So I knew if I just "made my numbers," (which the app calculated) I'd FINALLY weigh what I've been trying for, for years. And it worked. I'm really just a mama of two boys who finally found a way that worked for me. Why not share it and help others?

    If you want to check out the app first (to make sure I'm not a crazy person) my website is:
    www.weightlossbyformula.com

    and the App Store address is:

    https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wt-loss-bf/id709388684?mt=8&fb_action_ids=10202088177635990&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map=%7B%2210202088177635990%22%3A579759532059150%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210202088177635990%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D


    And finally my Facebook Page:
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Weight-Loss-By-Formula/565648583500749?ref=profile

    Thank you so much!

    Colleen G. Sherman

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