One of the suggestions that my new Kaiser NP suggested is for me to go on Weight Watchers. I have done this diet plan before (in fact a couple of times). What I find is that like more “diets” it turns into a major project for me.
I go to the first meeting and get signed up. I walk away with a sense of great hope that this is plan is going to make the difference. I read all the books, buy the food from the list and like any project I work on, I organize myself for success. Well after about 3-4 days I am burnt out. I am sick of counting, weighing and measuring. I spend so much time thinking about the diet I just want to give it all up, so much to the point that I even hate to eat and I avoid it.
One thing that Weight Watchers has that not all plans do is the support of meetings. I don’t remember now but I think you can go to a few meetings a week if you want (you just don’t get weighed in each time, just once a week). These meetings are great. You get great advice for success and learn from the others that are on the plan.
Over all it is a tried and true plan that has worked wonders for the masses. Well, it never worked for me. I stuck with it for about 4 months. I tried the point plan and the “other plan” that I can’t remember the name of. (in fact I see that they now have a new plan out called Momentum) The meetings were good, the food choices where great but it just wasn’t working for me.
It got to the point that I resented getting weighed each week. Even though the Weight Watcher personal were very kind and supportive. I felt like they would read the scale, see that I hadn’t lost anything and give me that look of disappointment. Maybe they were shocked that I didn’t have a look of disappointment. I just wasn’t feeling it because I knew the diet and I was not a match. After 4 months I didn’t want to waste their time or mine so I canceled my membership and moved on.
It was a good experience and I came out of it realizing that if something is not working for me, that I am bored or frustrated don’t keep pounding your head against the wall. Just move on!
I found a great list of 7 steps to take to pick a diet plan that will work for you! “How to Pick a Diet Program | eHow.com”
An email showed up in my business email inbox, the company fitness center was sponsoring a 5k walk/run. I thought this might be a great way to “keep moving”. I immediately did a Google search to find out how long a 5 k really is. I found out it was 3.1 miles. Heck, I could do that! I rallied my coworkers and a few of them were already planning on doing it. So, I signed up with excitement.
My Walking Team
The day of the event, I prepared myself with proper clothes, water bottle and comfy shoes. After a quick group meeting, my co-workers and I headed over to the fitness center. We were all chatting about the day, who had experience with this type of exercise and why we choose to do it. As we got closer to the building I could feel the tiny sensation of butterflies starting. With each step they grew larger and larger. I could feel myself breaking out into a sweat. Geeze, we haven’t even started the race yet. I noticed that my mind was racing with thoughts of failure before we even checked in. I was asking myself “What if I couldn’t make it all the way?” “What if I am the last person” and “What if I am the ones that slows down my friends?” Talk about “talking yourself” out of something!
I kept pushing through and ignored my “monkey brain” thoughts. We checked in, got our racer numbers and proceeded to the starting point. All the while my friends were smiling, joking and totally unaware of my panic. I have pretty good acting skills and I am sure I was doing a great job of showing no fear.
The race begun, the runners were in the front, next where the joggers and then the walkers. After about 1 mile, one of my friends picked up speed and headed out on her own. My one good friend stuck with me through the full race. As we were approaching the turn around point, I peeked behind us and realized we were the last ones. Being the good friend that she is, my friend kept me going at a good pace and talking with me about anything fun and positive.
She knew that I was tripping about being last. She kept saying, “Remember, the point of today Jane is that you have fun and complete what you set out to do”. I realized that she was right and now was the time for me to set a base time for myself on 5k walks. I could use this base time to challenge myself to improve. Something I love to do is to compete against myself.
We finished the race and yes we were last. But the lesson, awareness and accomplishment I got from this experience made me the winner. About 6 months later I did this same race at work. I beat my time by 15 mins and now I take 5k walks 1-2 times a week. They are a piece of cake for me. I shave minutes off my time each time and I now walk/jog during them. My goal is to someday jog the entire way. Sometimes the best way to conquer a fear is to just focus on finishing something and not be concern with the details.
I hope my story inspires you to try to get off the couch and try a 5k walk. I found this great Checklist to prepare for the day of the walk. This would have help my nerves! Walking Checklists for a 5k Walk NOTE: Love the one note to “Do not smoke while walking.” DUH!
Diet Plans | Jane | 
April 21, 2009 6:04 am | 
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