Gavitygirl's Struggles


I feel like this has been an emotional roller coaster.  Weight loss is not an easy thing.  Yes, I've done really well and have said that it is easy to loose weight if I am following the WW program.  But humans are emotional creatures.  And this often gets in the way.

Injuries


I started WW on 1/5/05.  On 1/15/05 I was moving the box of Christmas stuff out of the dining room so that I could make room for my elliptical machine.  I wanted to start contributing to my weight loss and get in some exercise.  I stubbed my toe so hard on the box that it totally flipped up the toenail on my left big toe like a hinged lid.  The nail came off and I was left with (sorry to be so graphic) a bloody pulp where the nail once was.  OUCH!  It was weeks before I could even walk right.  It put me into an emotional tail spin.  I felt like I was somehow sabotaging my weight loss.  And now I definitely couldn't be exercising for a while. 

A couple of weeks later on 2/3/05 I hit my knee incredibly hard on the corner of my bathroom sink's counter top.  I thought I had broken my kneecap.  I spent the day on the couch eating ice cream, pudding and 100 calorie packs with ice on my knee.  I lurked around the WW 100+ board all day and was fitting into the mood grumpy mood that day with the trolls that were around.  But I only used 5 Flex Points and stayed 100% on program.

Those first 5 weeks of being on WW were really hard.  I think that those initial road bumps on my journey really developed my dedication to this program.  I have been 100% on program without a MOMENT off.  EVER!!!  I struggle with urges to stuff cake and pizza in my mouth every day.  But being in control of it is part of the empowerment that WW has given me.  I have a favorite saying...all it takes is time and dedication!

Vegetarian = Thin Person


I had some real personal issues with an offhand comment someone made on the WW 100+ board.  I honestly don't remember how long ago it was or who said it.  But it was along the lines of "why are you overweight?  I thought that vegetarians were by nature very healthy."  

When Jim and I moved in together in September of 1997, we both recommitted to being vegetarian.  One of the things that we had in common was that we had both previously been vegetarians and we wanted to regain our vegetarian habits together.  And as time went by, we both gained weight as vegetarians.  Just because we don't eat meat doesn't mean we ate only vegetables.  Pasta and cookies aren't exactly vegetables.  I was so excited when I joined WW online that they supported vegetarian menus and had the points for many of my favorite soy products. 

But this comment about vegetarians shouldn't be overweight made me angry.  I'm not sure why this hit such a never with me.  But it did.  I ranted, I spent time away from the 100+ board and I considered not visiting the boards ever again.  It really angered me.  It was as if someone was challenging me as to why I got fat.  ON THE WW 100+ BOARD!  Why would someone say that?  I know it was an innocent question.  The person was curious.  But it was my first real personal conflict with anyone on the board.  And this was my main source of support on WW!  No, it wasn't really conflict at all because I just dropped the issue.  But I stewed around the house about it for a while.  It made me feel so uncomfortable in my "safety zone" of the 100+ board.

But I got over it.  People say stupid stuff sometimes.  People will continue to say stupid stuff.  I just don't have to take it so personally.

Exercise


Getting in my activity points has been a struggle from the moment I began.  With the toe and knee problems right up front, I was in a difficult place.  I remember a phone conversation with my mom after the knee thing was feeling better.  She said, "couldn't you just do the elliptical in your socks since your toe still hurts?"  You know, it had never occurred to me.  By the next week I was up to 20 APs.  And I did good for several weeks. 

Two things threw me into my first exercise nose dive after that.  I started to develop a chest cold and scaled back my activity for a week.  When I did get back to exercising, WW changed their preset online calculations for several exercises.  My elliptical points were cut in half.  It didn't seem worth it anymore.  I had also spent a small fortune on several different exercise DVDs and equipment from the Firm series.  They had sat gathering dust since I received them right after the knee injury. 

I finally got back into the groove several weeks later.  I started to just count how many days I was working out at least 30 minutes a day.  I think I was getting hung up on the actual AP numbers.  So once I was working out 5 times a week for a couple of weeks, I started back to counting APs again.

I even started running around 6/12/05.  My sister is a runner and I have tried at several points in my life to be a runner.  I thought I never had that ability.  I started with a mile and have worked my way up to 2.2 miles.  I've only been going 1 or 2 times a week.  I don't want to push myself too much.  But it is really a great feeling.  And many APs for the time spent!

But now I am again in an exercise nose dive.  Not sure why over the past two weeks I haven't been doing much.  I wake up at 5 am and instead of hitting the elliptical, running or doing a DVD, I sit on the couch.  I have no idea where this has come from or why.  So I am staring a personal challenge for July 13 - 19 of trying to hit 28 APs.  If I hit that mark, I am going to buy a lovely outfit that I've been eyeing.  I have a hard time buying myself clothes.  I like the smaller sizes, but often think that it is wasteful since they HOPEFULLY won't fit in another 6 months.  I'll let you all now how I am doing on this challenge.  UPDATE:  I made it with 29 APs!  But when I went to buy my reward outfit they were SOLD OUT!  I was so sad.  I am still searching other stores to find it.  Oh well. 

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