[CHANGES] What Laura Says

[Sandra Ahten]

This is what the Changes group has meant to Laura:

Today I was having lunch with my best friend.  She was telling me how trim I 
looked in my new clothes.   I have lost 20 pounds since the first of the 
year and I went from a size 16 to a size 12.  I have tried many diet plans 
in my life.  In fact, I am a lifetime member of Weight Watchers. My friend, 
who knows me so well and has supported me in my many attempts at weight loss 
over the years, said it seems different this time. Why? I explained that it 
is different.

The Changes group has been perfect for me because the groups are small. When 
I have gone to support groups before, the groups were often very large, and 
I never talked.  Now I make sure I talk, and I make sure I leave with the 
tools I need to help me in the week ahead.  Also, the groups aren’t focused 
as much on weight loss, but on lifestyle changes. I often felt like if I 
wasn’t losing weight then I should drop out of the support group I was 
attending because the main measure of success was weight loss.  I always had 
this on again off again mentality. Now I am in it for the long haul. It took 
many little steps to get me to where I am.  After a while each step became a 
habit, and lo and behold with all these new habits  a miracle "weight loss"!

Another difference between the Changes group and other groups is that I am 
in control of my weight loss program not some organization far removed from 
me and my life. I decide on my goal weight. I decide on when I want to weigh 
and when I don't want to weigh. In fact success is not measured by the scale 
at all.  It is simply a wonderful reward for the changes I have made.  This 
program is individualized and my program is all about me. I am in control 
and as a result. Sandra has helped me develop the tools, within me, to make 
many healthy lasting changes to my life.

LRA