Another big “aha moment” I had as I was writing in my journal around the beginning of November (only about a month into the weight loss), was this…
There were sooo many times I have been on diets, and through the shame of it, I would do it secretly and never tell anyone. I would just be miserable trying to do it on my own. I can’t believe what a difference it makes when you tell others who care, and they choose do do it with you and/or just cheer you on! Wow!
By taking a big chance and putting it out there,little by little… this time… immediately others started to come on board with me….
On a weekend at a Women of Faith Conference last November, one of my close friends and I talked about the constant struggles of weight loss. We both discussed how it is always on the top of our prayer list for ourselves. She decided to join me, and we promised to support one another along the way. When I got home, I saw the Dr. Oz’s “buddy system” episode for the Transformation Nation Challenge, which just verified that doing this with friends is a huge advantage.
The week that I signed up for the challenge in October, I had called another one of my close friends who had moved to Pennsylvania, to tell her what I had done. She immediately signed up, and we have been calling and emailing back and forth to inspire one another and share the joy and wisdom across the miles. When she filled out the info on-line, she realized that she hadn’t been to her doctor in a very long time, which is one of the requirements. She called and got her appointment and all of the important numbers you need to know from your doctor, and then being excited to accomplish new great “firsts” during this challenge, she played tennis for the first time in over 5 years! She actually ended up later joining a league, and at this present date, she plays weekly and is taking clinics to get better and better. Her family also got involved, and one of the greatest things they started to do was..when anyone heads for the pantry where all the snacks are, whoever is near by shouts out, “nothing tastes as good as fit feels!” After she shared that great saying, it became something my husband and I would say to each other as we stood in front of the open refrigerator trying to figure out what to have. As inspiration and encouragement for one another, this friend’s family has a wall that they put post it notes to one another.  Well this was another huge moment for me back when I started, because I found out her son, Ethan,  actually stuck up a stick-em note that said, “Wendy lost 8 pounds”…every time think about the fact that her son actually heard her get excited for my weight loss, and then… on his own, he chose to put my name on a note to inspire all of them….wow, I am overwhelmed, still, every time I think about it. I LOVE knowing that my stick em note is constantly hanging in their kitchen with my current weight loss total. . It’s amazing how overwhelmingly wonderful it feels to inspire someone else, even with just 8 pounds, which was the amount I had lost when he put the first note up.
Another wonderful friend, whom I first met when our moms had us in strollers, lives in Connecticut. We have been on diets and gone to many exercise classes together throughout our lives, and even far away, she continues to email and call to encourage me to win this battle once and for all.
Another person that came on with me right from the beginning was my brother, Andy, in California. Every since I signed up and started, he has continued to take different classes, run over mountains, run up and down crazy steep stairs in the hills of California. He even just signed up for a lap swimming class which is starting up next week. He calls me just about every day to check in to see how I am doing, spur me on and share all of his great celebrations of fitness and eating right. He has always been soooo encouraging, and every time he calls, he says, “I’m your biggest fan. You can totally do this.” When he has flown in from Ca., he has joined me exercising, pushing me to constantly go deeper, farther and harder than I think I can go. He is my “Bob and Jillian” wrapped into one!
So many others, since this journal entry was written in November, have been inspired to try to ways of exercising and eating right, along with being encouraged to try other things in their lives that they have either put on hold, or never thought about trying…until now! It is so exciting to hear the stories of so many new “firsts”.
Tomorrow morning is another weigh in, I can’t wait to go and see what I’ve accomplished. I look so forward to another weight loss, I look forward to all that Elyse has to teach us at the meeting, I look forward to hearing all the ideas and encouragement from our group, along with all of us sharing the struggles and knowing that everyone will help each other through them.
Every Saturday morning, …. I leave my 8:30am WW meeting, I hop in the car, and call my husband to celebrate (or commiserate), as he is my biggest fan and support…. and then I can’t wait to make all the next phone calls, to my friends here at home, my friend in Connecticut, my friend in Pennsylvania and my brother in California.   I can’t wait to call them and share the excitement, or call even in the disappointments which will also happen…., knowing that they will  each encourage me to hang tough and keep doing all the right things. And I get so excited when I get to call Ethan and tell him to..”take down that stick-em note and change the number!”
(weigh in on Nov. 5- Total lost 9.4 pounds)