[CHANGES] JUMP Start your program

[Sandra Ahten]

Hello members and friends,

Salle, a WW leader near St. Louis, recently wrote this to her members--

----------So many of us on a weight loss program get to a "stuck" point. We 
do really good for a few weeks or months and then, wham, the weight stops 
coming off. There's really two good reasons for this -- first, we slip back 
into old habits and, second, we keep doing the exact same thing. Same foods, 
same exercise, same calories or points -- the body needs things stirred up a 
little sometimes to get working at optimum again. Another way to say "if you 
don't like the results
-- change the action" is "if you always do what you've always done, you'll 
always get what you always got and you'll always be what you've always 
been". Or try the definition of insanity -- "doing the same thing over and 
over and expecting different results". Hmmmmmm,
other people must have the same challenges or there wouldn't be so many ways 
to describe it. So, if you find yourself at the same weight for a while and 
want things to speed up -- change something! ----------

I decided to take her advice. I've been playing around with exercise so far 
this summer. A little bit here, a little bit there. This weekend I decided 
to JUMP-start my exercise program and get things
stirred up. My husband, Kevin, and I did a 40-mile bike ride. It is 
interesting how the ride was both
exhausting and exhilarating. But I love the change in attitude that came 
with it. It feels so empowering to push myself beyond what I thought I could 
do. And the feeling carries through. This momentum is what got me to the 
swimming pool after the bike ride was over. I swam
20 laps!  It was what made me get out my food and exercise journal this 
morning and firmly plan my day and sketch in my week.

Forty miles? On a bike? Is she kidding? I'm not kidding. Yet it was only two 
summers ago that I got completely winded and had to lie down in the grass 
having ridden to the edge of town. But after several months of 5- and 6-mile 
bike rides, I pushed myself and headed to Mahomet. I not only made it there 
-- I had a low-point lunch, laid in the shade and read a book for an hour, 
and then hopped on my bike and headed back.

What do you need to jump-start your program? Something drastic. Not forever 
-- just for the week. We have to do things to push our beliefs about 
ourselves. You can stay in your point range every day for a week. You can 
walk ten miles. You can go a week without sugar.

If you need some inspiration, you can go to these archives of my past e-mail 
messages and take a peek. You can read about Karen, a woman who weighed 300 
pounds and walked 18 miles. (Aug 13 2002, She Walked 18 Miles) Or about my 
amazing bike ride to Chicago last year! (June
27, 2002, Anything is Possible). The link is here: (cut and paste this into 
your browser)
http://lists.cu.groogroo.com/mailman/archive/changes/2002/date.html

What are you willing to do to JUMP-start your effort? Let me know. I'll be 
in all my meetings this week and I look forward to seeing you there.

Sandra

Sandra's current schedule--
WW meetings: Wed 9:30am, Noon, 5:15pm; Fri 7:30am, 10am, Noon
At Shoppes of Knollwood on South Neil in Champaign, behind Biaggis.

Art classes:
Collage for the Soul, Tuesdays,  7-9pm July 1 - 28
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Mondays, 7-9pm, July 7 - Aug 4
Art with Intention, Thursdays, 5-7pm, 7-9pm or Fridays 3-5pm. Ongoing.


© 2002 by Sandra Ahten
Although I am an employee of Weight Watchers, this message has no
affiliation with Weight Watchers International. I am solely
responsible for the content.

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