[CHANGES] She walked 18 miles!

[Sandra Ahten]

Hello again,
It is amazing how quickly we forget about the aches and pains and
inadequacies that we used to have. Recently I have gained a couple of 
pounds. I was telling members of my Women's Body Group that it is
clear why--it's because I have been eating more. I gave them an
example: I had my usual cup of cereal and 1/3 cup of milk for
breakfast, and several mornings in a row I was still hungry and so
had a second bowl.

Edith, who has been a friend and confidante to me for several years,
looked at me, aghast. "Well, of course you need more to eat. Look at
the amount you are exercising." Then she reminded me of when, due to
problems with my back, I was seeing a physical therapist. He told me
that I had the arm strength of a 60-year-old woman (and that was
probably an insult to many 60-year-old women). I was not exercising
at all. Well, I still can't do a dang push-up to save my life, but I
have some muscles that I'd love to flex for you sometime! I haven't
even had that back problem--that I was convinced was chronic--for
months and months now. How soon we forget the problems we used to
have. I had forgotten the weakness. I had forgotten the back pain. I
was so ready to dismiss my accomplishments and assume that a weight
gain at the scale was a sign of my failure somehow. I was even
dismissing the fact that muscle weighs more than fat.

As our bodies change, we need to be aware of them and remember our
history. What if you are getting fitter and healthier and the weight
is not coming off? You have to "unplug" from getting all your
feedback from the scale. One of the things you can do is remember
what your body used to be like and pay good attention to the positive 
changes that are occurring.

Here is a letter to a Weight Watchers Leader, Salle, from one of her
members--who is getting fit despite having lost "only" 10 pounds in
the last year. As you read it, note that Karen remembers exactly how
far she could walk and at what speeds at different times. I'm sure
she must have been writing these down and celebrating every step of
progress.

Dear Salle,
I've been in your Saturday morning WW in O'Fallon since July 3, 2001.
I've learned a lot from you but most importantly, though my success
with the program has been less than expected, I've not quit when it
has become disappointing and frustrating. As I listened to you each
week last fall talk about training for the DC marathon and the group
you took, I thought "I could NEVER do that... walk for 3, 4, 5
hours!" Then you passed around the pictures after the marathon and I
nearly came to tears when I saw the picture of the 250+ woman who
walked the marathon--and completed it. I was looking at myself.

I've had bunionectomies and reconstructive surgery on both of my feet
in Dec 99 and June 2000. At the time I wispily told my surgeon that I
wanted to be able to exercise walk without pain--something I hadn't
done at all in over 15 years. In fact, in that 15 year period, I went
from 145 to 300. October 2000, I began the Atkins Diet and lost 25
pounds by Christmas but realized that I was craving so many of the
foods I "couldn't have" that it was yet another to add to the list of
"diets" I wasn't going to be able to "live" for the rest of my life.
Disgusted with myself, on July 3, 2001 I attended your evening
meeting in O'Fallon. Believing that I was "fooling myself yet again"
that I could be healthily 'fit'. You see, I've been a Lifetime Member
of WW since I was 11 years old. It was my very first "diet" and was I
never "proud" of that achievement--I did it for my Mom. But that
night of July 3, 2001 I realized I'm not like the rest of my Mom, my
sisters, or my friends, I am a food addict.

On July 4, 2001 (Independence Day), I began my JOURNEY FOR LIFE for
ME! I don't CARE about what the scale says from week to week because
this is my new LIFESTYLE! I'm an instructor and personal business
coach for highly successful investment representatives. I travel
anywhere from 50-60% of my time for work--which for 3 years was to
the World Trade Center in NY. My 'journey' is my 'testimony' to the
people I work with and is providing me with insightful life lessons
that I'm able to translate into applications for motivating the
people I coach and train.

You're MY coach, Salle! You said to drink 1/2 your body weight in
ounces of water--that's what I do--every day! You said--journal no
matter what you put in your mouth--that's what I do--albeit not every
day and that's when I 'fall off the wagon'. You say get at least 20
minutes of exercise every day--I exercise at least 30 minutes every
day... something I've never done--even when I was thin--for longer
than a few months at a time. Since September 2001, I've only lost 10
pounds, but those are 10 lbs that will never come back.

Well, you started talking this spring about the September marathon. I
knew I had to try--but I'm scared--really scared to fail. I bought a
treadmill for my home to "see if I could work up to begin training".
I started off in December 2001 on the treadmill doing the slowest
pace (1.2mph) for 3 minutes--yep, 3 minutes--before I'd shut it off
winded and afraid I was going to have a heart attack. Then in April
2002 you passed out your schedule. I was up to doing 20 minutes 3
times a week at 1.2 to 1.5mph and doing Curves 4-5 times per week. I
thought there's no way I'm going to be able to do that 1 hour walk
... scared ... but willing to try. I started walking the 30 minutes
trail 3 weeks prior to our first group walk--thinking I was going to
die. I was SO EMBARRASSED to walk outside where people were going to
see me huffing and puffing--so I got up before dawn between 4:30 and
5:00am to walk. I knew I needed a 'cheerleader' to help me stay
motivated. I asked (begged) my baby sister, Amy (a size 8 and mother
of 3), to help me. She agreed.

Last week was the 4 hour group walk. Amy couldn't come for the walk.
I set my alarm for 4:15am ... but forgot to turn it on! At 5:00am I
startled out of bed, rushed without eating anything, and as I
suspected, got to the park at 5:20am after everyone had left. At
first I felt defeated and wanted to just turn around and drive home,
but I didn't. I said, well, Lord, I guess you wanted to spend time
with just me this morning, so let's go. I'm going to need your help
because I can't do it alone. But I did. I did the 4 hour walk, alone,
the full route with all the hills (for the first time)... And I did
it in LESS than 4 hours. I walked 13.5 miles! Several times I wanted
to cry--but with the dehydration there were no tears. Several times I
thought I was going to faint--but I thought I'd die before someone
found me. I just prayed kept walking and was thankful for the
great breezes every time I asked for them.

Amy and I wrote our registration checks today--for the FULL marathon.
No longer am I saying, "I can't do it" or "Maybe I can do the half
marathon" ... I saying, "I'm going to the whole thing!" With God as
the wind beneath my wings and my sister, Amy, as my cheerleader, we
ARE going to do it no matter how long it takes.

Thank you Salle!
Karen
-------------

Pretty inspiring, isn't she? Karen may never get to her a weight goal that 
someone else prescribes for her, yet she still may be healthier and more fit 
than someone who is thin and has never been out of the "accepted weight 
range." You cannot look at a person's weight and know about them. You cannot 
assume that if they are thinner they eat more healthy foods or don't 
overeat. You cannot know if someone "uses" food by knowing their weight. If 
they are large you cannot know if they exercise or if they have "no 
self-control."

These are things we know only about ourselves. That is why you cannot
sit in a support group and judge who needs to be there and who
doesn't. Nor can you watch someone in a restaurant and know if they should 
be on a diet or not!  You do not know what they have tried, about their 
genetics, about their history or their future. You do not know that they are 
fit just because they are thin and eating salad. We are each on a personal 
journey. Keep your eyes on your own plate. Thankfully there are those who 
will travel beside us and be the wind beneath our wings. They can help us 
see our accomplishments when we cannot. But don't rely just on others. Write 
down what your limitations once were and what you've overcome so far. Then 
write down your current limitation, one that you would like to eliminate. 
Write down some small steps that you could start you on that path. Good 
intentions will only get you into the "wish-i-woulda" or "gunna-do" 
neighborhood--you have to have a plan with specific action steps. Yes, you 
may need to revise your steps down the road. But for now, make a plan.

Remember to acknowledge and celebrate every success as you travel your path.

I’m with you.

Sandra

p.s. Salle tells me that Karen walked 18 miles this past weekend!






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