Its no secret- I’m not only a lifetime dieter, I also hold a trophy for dieting excuses and am the reigning queen of food rationalization.
Currently, I have 8 lbs of baby weight, 7lbs of “I’m married” weight, and perhaps 2 lbs of I love food weight – to lose. So I once again turned to the only diet that has ever worked for me- Weight Watchers.
I lost over 25 lbs when I was 21 and kept it off for years- til I got knocked up said I do.
After my son was born the weight fell off of me but unfortunately with the princess I wasn’t so lucky. So when my friend Tammy agreed to be my WW buddy- I was pumped to start again. Dieting is always easier when doing it with a friend isn’t it?
Still, even with the official “sign up” & buddy system in place…it didn’t take long for the excuses to start rolling off my tongue.
- “Its the boy’s birthday… eating the entire cake a slice of cake is 1 year good luck!”
- “It’s Easter …Gotta have the Bunny Cake and Cadbury chocolate eggs… Who am I to break tradition!?!”
- “Aunt Flo Came to town ..everyone knows those cramps burn the chocolate calories .. I mean its scientifically proven- right?”
… and then just as I thought I was fresh out of excuses… Sha-Blam!
It was Pizza Friday… and so 2 slices of Buffalo chicken pizza just seemed like a must … (wasn’t cayenne pepper sauce part of J-lo and Beyonce’s diet?- Cause I’m pretty sure there was some of that on there)… this the night before my 1st big weigh in.
So needless to say upon weigh-in, my buddy, who tracked points maticulously shed 4 lbs, our other friend dropped 3…. and I, was up .3oz.
Hello- Weight Watchers #FAIL (Though I must admit only being up 3oz was pretty impressive when I recalled all that I ate that week )
Clearly this Mama needed more motivation- which was good because it was not only what was on the menu at the meeting that morning- but was served up with a fresh hot side of “WTF?”
The leader, Nancy spoke about excuses we all make for not being more active (Yea, I know what you’re thinking… I think she stalks me too.) In one column she listed our excuses and in the other column she listed what we can do to overcome those challenges. And while I sat quietly in my chair not saying a word- I know that had I have had my coffee, and brought my sass along with me that morning I so could have given Nancy a run for her money.
For example-
Excuse … I can’t exercise because I’m home with the baby.
Nan’s Answer … “Take a walk with the baby…. both Mom and baby benefit from this- because Baby gets fresh air, Mom gets exercise– Baby may even take a nap”.
Yea. Ok.
I love how black and white people can make parenting seem. Uhhh.. Nanc? What about when you are home with 2 kids– one 5 year old who whines insistently about walking and then will also whine about being bored after about 3 minutes in the sit and stand?
Go ahead– tell me to take walks while he’s in school for 2 hrs 3 days a week… Sorry! Can’t I have tweeting to do… and tweeting is work… and work pays the bills sooo… See? I told you… The Queen has spoken!
But seriously, perhaps my favorite take away from the meeting was this one-
Excuse … “I don’t have time”
Nan’s Answer… “How many of you have time to do get a manicure ladies?”
… clearly this woman was on drugs right? I hadn’t seen any celebrities in the room. I looked around … resounding “uh-huh’s ” and head nods. Wha?
Nan continued: “How many of you have time to go to the movies, shopping?”
.. ok, I know the room got my back on this one– I looked around… ((head nods, smiling faces in agreement))
WTF!?!??
What sweet deal did I miss out on in this whole married with kids thing? Is this included in one of those pre-nup things? …. dammit I knew I should have looked into that! … I’ve been robbed!
I sank in my seat and wanted to bury my head… but instead I just sat there- blank face… afraid to look left or right to see if either of my friends had been head nodding to all this crazy talk.
In the end, the moral of the meeting wasn’t about highlighting all that fun stuff that balances a lady – and that I rarely get to indulge in… it was about making yourself and your health priority in your life…. and I got the message loud and clear.
I scheduled my mani-pedi, drove to the mall, bought a sexy pair of shoes and a ticket to the next showing of Alice in Wonderland…. Ok ok , no I still did none of that… but I did download the Weight Watchers Iphone App (which is awesome BTW), tracked all my points, planned out my meals for the week & this Mama is ready to go…
And even with those accomplishments in my day, I cannot tell you how much more comforting it was to receive this tweet from my WW Buddy at the end of the day:
Good Lord I love that mama!
Extra (ww) points for her this week…. Everyone knows being a good friend is the equivalant to a 1/2 hr on the eliptical.
