Wednesday Wisdom

I am a Weight Watchers fraud.

I talk the talk. I've been a lifetime member for 17 years. Believe me, I know how to talk the talk.

But I do not walk the walk.

I know what needs to be done to be a successful "Weight Watcher". I know I need to track. I know I need to measure. I know I need to get to my meeting without fail every week. I know I need to ask myself, "Is this the best choice?". I know I need plan for my meals. I know I need a plan for when the plan goes out the window due to life, or social events, or whatever. I know I need to make time for my workouts - no excuses.

But for the last several months I have done very little of that.

I have tracked, but extremely inconsistently. Some days I track all day. Some days I only track breakfast. But most days I don't track at all. And when I don't track, I eat garbage.

I have been measuring some things (the things that are habit for me. For example, I keep a 1/2 cup measuring spoon in my oatmeal anyway, so that's measured.) but not most things. How many goldfish did I eat? No idea. Handfuls of Skinny Pop? Not a clue.

I haven't been getting to my meetings. Partly because the best meeting time for me often conflicts with social plans. For example, last weekend I went straight to an out of town weekend right after work on Friday. I picked my daughter up from daycare and we hit the road immediately. No time for the meeting. And the other meetings are just too late in the evening to be practical for me. Excuse? Maybe. But the Friday afternoon meeting is best. It's right after work, 5 minute drive, and when the timing works, it's great. When it doesn't work, I skip the meeting.

I do sometimes ask, "Is this the best choice?" But when I have all those other things going on (not tracking, not going to meetings, etc.) my answer is always "No, it's not, but what the hell?"

I do plan my meals. That hasn't changed. I have the same few breakfasts and lunches every day, and being a working mom I have to plan my dinners for the week otherwise we would eat take-out every single day. It's the unplanned snacks that get me. The chocolates in the faculty room, the Starbucks stop that includes a pastry, the digging into my daughter's snacks after work...

And planning for when the plan goes out the window? Let's just say last weekend I ate lots of pizza, lots of wine and cheese, and lots of left over birthday cake while entertaining and visiting with friends. No planning - just eating.

Finally, the exercise. No excuses? Yeah right! Excuses galore! I'm too tired, it's too late, I don't have enough time, blah, blah, blah...

So I use the label "lifetime" but I do occasionally lose my way and revert back to my old lifestyle. The lifestyle that keeps me at a weight that I'm not comfortable with. The lifestyle that keeps me from fitting into my pants. The lifestyle that I enjoy in the moment, but regret in the morning.

The last two days I have been a Weight Watcher. I tracked everything. I did my workouts. I planned. I measured. I did what I needed to do.

But how long will this last? How long before I lose steam and go back to my old habits? Is this the time it will be for a lifetime?

I'm going to go with probably not, LOL

Here's the thing - you can't be a perfect Weight Watcher every day for the rest of your life. You just can't. We eat at least three meals a day (usually more). We subconsciously make over 200 decisions about food every day. With those odds, you can not be perfect. It's not possible. So stop trying to think it is.

What you can do is keep showing up. Tracking 2 or 3 days is better than zero. Weighing and measuring one meal is better than zero. Working out one or two days is better than zero. Going to one or two meetings a month is better than zero.

Be better than zero. That's the goal. That's how you do lifetime.

Sometimes you'll have a streak of 10, 100, 1000 good days. Other times you'll have one or two good days in a week, or even only one or two good days in a month. Or a year! That's all ok.

As long as you keep showing up, time and time again, you're #winning