Lessons from the Gridiron

Dear Weight Watchers Friends,

Highlights from this week's meeting: This meeting's topic was "Lessons from the Gridiron."
We talked about all the comparisons between football and weight loss. There are many! And some of the best motivational quotes have come from football coaches. For example, Tom Landry, former Dallas coach, says, “Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.” Weight loss is definitely a team effort. I love how we all understand each other, help each other, and learn from each other.

During our meeting, we walked through the “Anchoring” Tool for Living worksheet. Anchoring helps us tap into our internal resources (i.e., determination, sense of humor, patience, confidence, dedication, etc.) whenever we want/need those resources. We discussed how a gesture, object, word, phrase, song, mental image, etc., can be used as an anchor. We each selected a puzzle piece to use as an anchor. If you’ve ever successfully put a challenging puzzle together, you know how difficult they can be. Frequently, pieces look like an obvious fit (similar color, shape, etc.), when they aren’t. But with patience and persistence, some trial and error, the right pieces are found and the puzzle is successfully completed! So, perhaps you’ll use your puzzle piece to remind you that you have patience and CAN stick with your weight-loss plan!

Next week's meeting topic: "Managing Special Occasions."
Thanksgiving Day is rapidly approaching. You won’t want to miss attending your meeting this week (Nov. 16-23). We’ll be discussing strategies that will help you have a successful turkey day (and prepare you for the other many “food holidays” that are approaching).

AWARDS! Congratulations, Stephanie, for earning your “16 Week Stay & Succeed” award. And a big “high five” for those of you who earned a 5-lb. star this week!

Motivational Thought:
Keeping with our discussion about our internal resources, I really love this quote: “The greatest undiscovered resources in the world lie under our hats and stand in our shoes.” Kenneth Hildebran

Finally, it is with deep sadness that I share with you that our friend Tammie’s wonderful, sweet angel—her service dog, Leska—passed away peacefully on Wednesday, November 12. Leska has attended many, many Weight Watchers meetings with Tammie over the years and I know many of us had grown very attached to her. She will definitely be missed. Tammie, our love, friendship, and support are with you during this very difficult time, and we are very sorry for your loss.

Take care, my wonderful friends,

Debra