Changing/Exchanging?? Which do you need to do?

Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.

H.L. HUNT

Good Morning Sister W.W.F.F.,

What are you willing to exchange to get to your end goal? Or if your already a lifetime member, what are you willing to change to stop the ''flip flopping"? Both valid questions.

For me I had to do a ton of exchanging and even now I have to decide what else I am going to change to get myself into what I like to call, ''maintenance rhythm". Last week was my first week on maintenance, and I was up .2 pounds. I had already been told I would probably have a gain, so I was prepared for that, and since it was such a small gain I feel pretty sure it was not really anything that I had done wrong.

We do need to think about the things we can change to make our weight loss or even maintaining our weight loss to go more smoothly. Yesterday we had our weigh in, and yes its the weekend, and I know that most all of us have the hardest time during the weekends. I always did until I got my mind set in the right direction. I cannot treat Saturday and Sunday any different than if it were Monday-Friday. I still get in my activity, it may not be going to the gym, but I make sure I exceed those ten thousand steps on my pedometer so at the end of the day I have a nice number of steps added up.

I found out--something I knew, just did not want to admit to it--I cannot have the treats on the weekends. In fact I am not one of those people that can be trusted with a treat, as I know many of you share that same addiction. So back in January I just had to tell myself, ''you have this control problem when it comes to food, there are some thing you are just never going to be able to have."

For a while it was as if someone died, and yesterday I got tested right there at our Weight Watchers meeting. The Ginger Snaps are back and they are back for a limited time. My first thought, ''go get your wallet, buy three boxes?" My immediate second thought was, ''ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" I was so about to set myself up for a disaster. Oh it would be great if I could just eat the one package and move on, but no if I had purchased those three boxes that I first thought about getting, before I went to bed last night they would have been all gone, and what would I have accomplished? Nothing except some really negative thoughts and feeling that would have followed, and I know myself well enough to know, it would have been just the beginning, I would not have been able to say, ''I am on my second week doing maintenance".

So I have changed. I have changed my thinking, I have decided what is more important, that instant joy I think I am getting when I was sneaking and eating out of Bob's Russell Stover's candy at night, or being able to say, "I am more important than any chocolate martini (which I have never had), I am more important than that ice cream sundae, I am important enough to do the research and plan before heading out to eat, I am important enough to myself and to my goal to ask for that take home box before I even begin my meal.

I am, You are, WE ALL ARE IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO MAKE CHANGES. We are worth the effort it takes to get up and get excited. Ladies today is a brand new day, make changes if you need to, if you find you are struggling call a friend, heck you all have my phone number and if you don't here it is 423-8294, if I can't talk trust me, Bob is great in talking people off the ledge, ha. All joking aside, we need support and we try to give it here, we get it at our weekly meetings, we need change, and change can be scary, but you know it can also be really good.

Have a wonderful Sunday, and STAY STRONG,

Love to all,

Joan