Learn From Your Successes

I remember one of my favorite Weight Watcher leaders encouraging us to not only learn from our failures, but from our successes as well.

This past February I signed up for an Empower Wellness Program at Comanche County Medical Center. It met once a week on Tuesday from 4:00-5:00 at the hospital cafeteria. 

The previous May at my yearly check-up my doctor had shared with me that if I continued down the same path I’d probably end up with Type 2 diabetes.

I knew I needed to take this seriously, but I still struggled to make any real changes. I had learned about this wellness class the year before and had actually reached out to get more information. Sadly, though I never signed up. 

The next year I saw the class advertised again on Facebook and, decided to give it a try. 

What I’ve realized from my past successes is that I do better in a group setting with some sort of accountability. Since moving here four years ago I found the one Weight Watchers meeting offered in Stephenville didn’t work with my schedule. 

However, the Tuesday afternoon time slot at the hospital worked perfectly for me. 

The first thing we focused on in class was activity. Not two hours at the gym every day, but rather ways to up the ante when it comes to daily movement. 

Ruth, our leader, made activity fun by leading us through very simple exercises to music. She always kept us laughing. 

We were encouraged to set a small goal to increase our activity. I began with walking 30 minutes three days a week while I was babysitting my grandson. 

It wasn’t long before three days turned into five. 

I also bought a new Fitbit to track my steps. I set a reasonable goal of 8,000 steps a day and pushed myself to reach that number daily. 

Along with activity, we also learned more about making better food choices. Each week in class we got to sample a healthy snack and leave with a recipe in hand. 

We were encouraged to track our food intake and were given options as to how to do this. 

On the first of April as I was walking on my porch, I listened to a podcast about sugar, and its somewhat addictive qualities. I was convinced that I could not stop eating added sugar. 

However, at the end of the podcast I decided to give it a try and go one day without added sugar. What I had learned from a past success was that abstaining is easier for me than moderation. 

When I made it past the first day I decided to keep going. 

One day without sugar became two, and two became a week. Before I knew it I had gone a whole month without added sugar. Now it’s been almost four months.

I used to think I was “addicted” to sugar, but remarkably I had no withdrawal symptoms when I stopped eating it. No headaches, no cravings, no mood changes. 

What I did find was that after a short period of time, I really didn’t want it. 

I  allowed myself dessert on special occasions like my birthday or a holiday. To be honest, what I used to love just tasted okay. I was beginning to crave more a juicy peach with a spray of whipped cream or a sweet mandarin orange instead. 

From April to mid July the pounds started to come off. These were the pounds I had carried for the last few years that I couldn’t seem to lose. 

At my next check-up in May my blood work numbers were so much better. I’m convinced removing the added sugar allowed my body to work more efficiently, and along with healthier food choices made the difference. 

 I began making simple changes in my diet, and it wasn’t too long after that my palate readjusted to wanting real food.

Each week I look forward to my class. I get to meet with a group of friendly, supportive people, and a devoted coach and teacher who is constantly encouraging us.  

I’ve also learned from my past successes not to fall into the trap of “all or nothing thinking.” Our class encourages us to have the right mindset. I don’t want to let a small slip up derail the progress I’ve made. 

Today, I’m feeling so much better about myself and my health. I like the way I look and my clothes are fitting better. I am looking forward to another six months of fun and learning, and am grateful for this program offered by our local hospital. But most of all if I can prevent Type 2 diabetes it will be more than worth it. 

Lessons

 I really admire tenacious people. My husband is one of these. You know, those people who don’t give up easily and power through a difficult task. 

I wish I could say the same thing about me. You know, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

I’m one of those who prefers things to be quick and easy. If I find myself struggling I generally just give up and move onto the next thing. In high school I dropped out of the leading role in our One Act Play because I felt so uncomfortable. I’ve regretted that decision to this day. 

I’m one of those people who pretty much crave the next thing. I changed grade levels regularly over my teaching career finding myself ready for a new challenge. I’ve bounced from denomination to denomination over the years never quite content to stay in one place.  If I don’t something new to work on I find myself restless. 

I also have learned, to quote my high school friend, Barbara, “It’s hard to have fun with it, if it’s frustrating.” In other words, if it’s too hard or takes too long to complete, I’m out. 

At the beginning of the year I started a new crafting project. I had seen something called Woobles come across my feed. It is a crocheting kit made for beginners, and looked awfully cute. 

Now I already knew the basics of crotchet and decided this would be a perfect way for me to learn how to follow a pattern. The reviews were glowing and everyone seemed to love their Woobles kit. Except apparently me, once I got started. 

From the beginning I struggled to follow the video instructions. I ended up starting over a couple of times. Although my dinosaur began to take shape, I was not enjoying any of the process. It was not fun to me. 

I struggled for a few weeks, reluctantly returning to my project. I kept thinking it was building character for me to not give up, and stick with it. 

Until one day I just said, “Forget about it!” and put it up. I haven’t looked back since.

As much as I have encouraged others over the years to try new things, I felt a little hypocritical. Who was I to promote this when obviously I couldn’t even finish a silly crocheted dinosaur. 

However, as I really thought about it I realized that it wasn’t the finished product that was the important thing here. It was the trying of something new. 

Just because you attempt something new doesn’t automatically mean you are going to like it. I’ve tried jigsaw puzzles, knitting and baking, but none of these ended up being something I really enjoyed. 

That being said, it was the experience that was the more important thing. What is the old saying? “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

Perhaps the real lesson learned here is that if you never tried you might miss out on something that you really do enjoy. 

Rather than trying to change my natural inclinations, I’m going to stop being so hard on myself expecting perfection. 

Instead of looking at my Woobles experience as a fail, I’m going to chalk it up as a win in the column of “Things I Don’t Enjoy Doing.”

To quote one of my favorite authors, Gretchen Rubin, “Onward!”

Sweet

 

An interesting thing happened on April 1st. I gave up sugar. 

Today it’s been almost two months of life without added sugar and I can honestly say I’ve not really missed it. Technically I have has dessert on Easter, Mother’s Day and one random other day. 

However, my daily consumption of added sugar has come to a screeching  halt. I have become quite content with a little cutie as my sweet of choice. 

I didn’t intend to give up sugar that day, but I was listening to a podcast about a woman who had beaten drug addiction. She told the story of receiving a coin for one day sober. 

I wondered if I could go one day without eating candy? What I did know for sure was that I do much better abstaining than moderating. One chip at a Mexican restaurant can lead to ten, while saying no to that first chip makes it easy to refrain. 

So I did it. I went one day without candy, and that turned into two and then a month, and then almost two months. 

What I found was I no longer craved sugar and my palate seemed to be craving healthier choices. Everything healthy just seemed to taste better. 

Along with the giving up of sweets I had already challenged myself about a month before to start walking thirty minutes three times a week. Over time that turned into five times a week. This was due to a Wellness class I had started attending in February at my local hospital. 

I reinvested in a Fitbit and kept track of my steps. Eight to ten thousand steps a day became the norm. 

Along with more intentional healthy eating an interesting thing happened. After giving up the sugar I was able to lose seven pounds in a  little over a month. 

I had been trying to lose those dang pounds for over a year, but they just seemed stuck. 

I also learned that my cholesterol had gone down sixty points, and I was no longer showing to be insulin resistant. It was as if my body was beginning to work properly again. 

Between no sugar, more activity, healthier food choices and doing resistance exercise at the gym two times a week, the weight seemed to becoming off easily. And without me feeling deprived.

Now what I excused as an addiction to sugar turned out not to be. I literally had no side effects when I gave up sugar. No cravings, no headache. Basically, it took a little self-discipline for a few days, and I was good to go. 

I will share with you, though, that I did use a little plastic quarter given to me by my grandson, as my “sober coin.” I kept it in my pocket, and would take it out to remind me of what I was striving toward. It was a physical representation of giving up sugar. 

Now you might wonder about those times that I did indulge. To be honest they were just okay-nothing earth shattering. I don’t have a problem celebrating a special occasion with a sweet treat. It’s not having sugar a regular part of my life that I really enjoy now.

MAHA

Latest Snack Obsession

 I wanted to share with you my latest snack obsession. 

 I picked up a package of sweet peppers from H‑E‑B. 

I cut the pepper in half and scraped away the seeds. 

Then I spread a wedge of light Laughing Cow cheese inside the pepper. 

Finally, I sprinkled Everything but the Bagel seasoning on top. 

Talk about yummy! That and the crunchiness makes it really tasty.

Do you have a favorite healthy snack? 

Fun

 

I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t have enough fun in my life. Of course, what exactly is fun? According to Merriam-Webster fun is, “providing entertainment, amusement, or enjoyment.”

Now this may seem simple enough, but in reality what one person finds fun another may not. It took me a while to figure this out. 

When everyone was anticipating the opening game of baseball season I could have cared less. Yes, I had attended several games over the years, and always enjoyed the company, but the game itself was rarely what I found interesting or fun. 

Today, however, I look forward to attending my grandsons games, not so much for the love of the game, but rather for the love of my grandsons. I always have a fun time hanging out with them, and love being one of their biggest supporters.

As I contemplate the things that I find fun I actually came up short. Dare say, I may be considered a stick in the mud when it comes to fun. I rarely just cut loose. 

In fact, some of the things I used to enjoy doing no longer appeal to me. However, sadly I’ve not come up with a list of new fun things to take their place. 

In an attempt to study fun a little more (now doesn’t that sound fun, except to me it does) I started observing my three year old grandson whose middle name should be FUN. 

He approaches life with an attitude of fun. He misses no opportunity to enjoy life. Whether it’s riding his balance bike through a giant puddle, shaking his booty to the Gummy Bear song, or playing endlessly in the sandbox with his trucks he embraces all the fun that life offers.

I definitely could learn a thing or two from him. I’ve noticed that as we age many of us embrace inhibition. We have been conditioned to care too much about what others think, and have made people pleasing a high priority.

It’s very hard to have fun without a Iight disposition.  If everywhere you look you see what is wrong you begin to walk around with a dark cloud overhead. 

Children are generally carefree in their demeanor, and take in the wonder of the tiniest roly poly, or the muddiest puddle. They have a gleam in their eye as they look for the next fun thing always expecting to find it. 

The other day we were out riding in the pasture with our grandsons. At one point all of them opened their mouths wide and screamed at the top of their lungs. 

Now my adult sensibilities told me to keep my mouth shut,but in the spirit of fun I opened my mouth wide and screamed along with them. I must admit it felt good to just cut loose. 

Today I’m on a quest (one of my favorite things and something I consider fun) to identify all the things I consider fun. I’m also hoping to add a few new fun things that I’ve not considered before. 

Looking back to your own childhood is a good place to start. What you loved to do as a child might be a great starting point, and could point you toward something you might enjoy doing today. 

However, when doing so consider the words of author of The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin, 

“You can choose what you do, but you can’t choose what you like to do.”

This can serve as a compass in determining the things that really ring true to you, and not just something you’ve gone along with over the years. 

What do you consider fun?