Happy New Year!

Dear Weight Watchers Friends,

Well, Christmas has come and gone--although, seriously, I keep thinking it's still a few days in the future. It seemed to come and go so quickly. I hope you all had a wonderful, memorable Christmas and that you're ready to embrace 2009!

By the way, it's Tuesday night and I'm going through "Weight Watchers" withdrawal. I'm definitely enjoying watching "The 31st Annual Kennedy Center Honors," but I have to admit I'm missing connecting with you. I felt a little bit lost tonight when I didn't get to see you. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing you next Tuesday night. Can you believe that it'll already be the 6th of January?

Hey, have you seen any of the new Weight Watchers commercials on television? I saw my first one tonight and I was very impressed! I can tell you one thing--hunger isn't going to win with ME either because I know how to conquer it now, and I will. Thank goodness we have the Momentum Plan. I love learning more and more about the importance of eating filling foods, making wise food choices, and tracking. I have every confidence that we're each going to WIN this battle.

How have you done during this holiday season? Have you struggled a bit, perhaps felt a little out of control, or have you stayed strong and expect to see great results when you weigh in next Tuesday night? Whatever your situation, I can't wait to get together and share, help each other, and watch the pounds melt away! We're going to reach goals, we're going to succeed, and we're going to win in 2009. It's OUR year.

Thank you to those of you who have kept in touch. I love hearing from you.

See you soon, my friends,

Debra

P.S. Joe, I can't exercise for less than 63 minutes, my friend! Thanks for the inspiration.

FUN stuff

Dear Weight Watchers Members,

I had a co-worker share an amazing website with me today. It's www.gmap-pedometer.com. It will help you track a course to walk and/or run, tell you whether it's uphill or downhill, and it'll tell you have far it is. It's absolutely amazing! You should check it out.

Also, Linda and Art Milliman (two of our dedicated Tuesday night members) recently returned from Africa and Linda has been sharing some of her photos with me. They are fantastic. Here's a few of them, just for fun!

I hope to chat with you a bit through the holidays. Until then, stay warm and happy.

Debra

Plan for Holiday Success--Part 1

Dear Weight Watchers Friends,

Highlights from this week's meeting: This meeting's topic was "Plan for Holiday Success—Part 1." We talked about all the things that have the potential to slow down our weight-loss efforts during this time of year. Several of you shared your challenges, which included things like office parties, family parties, neighborhood parties (SO many parties), treats at work, treats at home, baking gifts to give others (SO many treats), the colder late fall/early winter months that bring darker (and did I mention colder) mornings and evenings—making exercise a bit less convenient or inviting. We also have shopping, writing cards, decorating, gift-wrapping projects, stress, etc. So, is it possible to be successful when we each face so many obstacles? YES, it is. With the new Momentum plan, we can either “prepare and prevent” (which is likely the best strategy), or we can “repair and repent.”

The Weight Watchers’ four-way approach is extremely helpful to keep us on track:

1. Meet (attend your meetings)
2. Move (walk, run, squat, bend, stretch—anything you can do to move)
3. Eat (make healthy, wise choices)
4. Think (with regard to eating and movement, definitely take time to think about when, why, how much, how often, etc.)

We discussed our new “Book 2: Start Moving More” and were reminded that physical activity is a wonderful way to offset the extra calories and indulgences that creep in during the holidays. Remember—weight loss is simple: burn more calories than you consume. As I’m sure you know, one of the best ways to burn excess calories is to move more. I appreciated all the helpful suggestions and great ideas that were shared by many of you. I love our meetings when we get into a really great discussion, and this was definitely one of those great meetings! Thanks to all of you for your contribution—whether you share comments and/or feeling, or respectfully listen, you each play such a vital role in our meetings.

Next week's meeting topic: "Plan for Holiday Success—Part 2." Next week we’ll be exploring the other two great ways to ensure your success this season—how to eat smart and eat mindfully, no matter what challenges arise!

BRAVO drawing: This coming Tuesday (December 23) will be our last meeting of the year and we will be having our last “Bravo” drawing. Bring all your FULL Bravo cards to enter into our drawing (extra cards will increase your chances of winning). If you don't have a card yet, you'll receive one Tuesday night. Everyone will have a chance to win.

AWARDS! Our sincere congratulations to Emily for earning her 10% award—just in time to go visit her husband who is serving in the military. Emily’s husband doesn’t know that she joined Weight Watchers (she joined after he left). Emily was so hopeful that she’d earn her award by the time she got to see her husband, and she did it! I know I wasn’t the only one who shed tears of joy as she accepted her award and shared her story with us. Emily, we sincerely hope that you enjoy this time with your husband, and please thank him (from all of us) for the sacrifice he is making to keep us safe.

Also, beautiful Lauren successfully sailed through the six weeks of maintenance to become our newest LIFETIME MEMBER! Lauren, thank you so much for sharing your success tips with us—and for being such a great role model. You are indeed an inspiration to all of us and we look forward to continuing to see you at our meetings.

Motivational Thought: I found a great blog from “J. Success” with a post titled: “Use Obstacles as Motivation,” and thought it fight so nicely with our topic. Here’s what the author says:

Successful people realize that failure is an opportunity to learn and not an opportunity to give up. Successful people realize that obstacles are an opportunity to learn and not an opportunity to turn around. Successful people realize that all negative experiences are opportunities to learn new ways to succeed and not opportunities to throw in the towel and settle for what life gives them. Successful people take control of their lives and never give it back to circumstance, luck, and coincidence.

I wish you success each and every day!

Take care, my wonderful friends,

Debra

Burrrrrrr ...

Dear Weight Watchers Members,

It's COLD. And it's going to get colder. So, for someone like me (a lizard wannabe), who lives (and loves) to walk outside in the warmth of the day, when the sun is shining--and HOT, what recommendations do you have for alternate forms of activity? I know I'm not alone in this dilemma. Our beautiful Alex also expressed some concerns at our WW meeting on Tuesday. So, any ideas? Please share. Post your comments here. At the end of the blog, where you see the pencil, click there and share your comments. THANKS in advance.

I'll update the blog soon with information from our meeting last week. And don't forget, our last WW meeting of the year will be held on Tuesday, December 23--and we'll have our last "Bravo" contest.

Take care, and stay warm ...

Debra

Silly me!

Dear Weight Watchers Friends,

Apparently, I need to proofread my blogs (and e-mail messages) better before I finalize them! For those of you who are confused about the conflicting dates in the previous blog post, the last meeting of the year is Tuesday, December 23 (not December 16--tonight). Goodness. Sorry for the confusion.

Hope to see you in a few hours.

Debra

Introducing the Momentum Plan

Dear Weight Watchers Friends,

Highlights from this week's meeting: “Introducing the Momentum Plan.” During this week’s meeting, you were all introduced to the latest, greatest plan from Weight Watchers—“The Momentum Plan.” The more I read and study the new program information, the more I love it, and I’m confident you will, too. So, what do you think so far? Don’t you just love the new Pocket Guide? And what do you think of the program changes? I can’t wait to get your feedback on Tuesday night. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please write them down and we’ll discuss them at our meeting on Tuesday. I’m sure looking forward to hearing all about your first week on the new program. Wonderful new changes, wonderful new opportunities for success!

Next week's meeting topic: “Plan for Holiday Success – Part 1.” This coming week, we’ll continue our “sneak peek” at the 2009 Momentum Plan by exploring Book 2: Start Moving More, which is sure to get you on the right track for managing the holidays successfully. You won’t want to miss the first of our two-part plan for holiday success!

Our “Gold Medal” Book: I sent the following information by e-mail message to those members whose e-mail addresses I have, but I don’t have everyone’s addresses. So, I apologize for the duplication here. (If you've read the e-mail message, just skip down to the next heading.)

If you've been attending our Tuesday night meetings, you know that we've had a notebook that has been sent home each week with a different member who has written down a few thoughts about his or her struggles, successes, triumphs, etc. A couple of months ago, I mentioned that one of our generous members had offered to pay to have copies of the book made and shared with any member who is interested in having a copy. It's now time for those copies to be made, so we need to know how many copies to make.

We have a couple of options and I need to know which option, if any, you'd prefer.

1. Would you like to receive a hard (printed) copy of the notebook?

2. Would you prefer to have an e-mailed version of the notebook? If you choose this option, you'll need to be able to open a PDF file (you can then print the copy yourself or read the notebook on your computer).


3. If you do not want a copy of the notebook, don't do anything. That makes it easy, doesn't it?

I need to know ASAP--but absolutely no later than Tuesday, December 16--if you want a printed and/or e-mailed copy of the notebook. I'll be asking at the meeting on Tuesday night, too. The printed copies will be distributed at our last meeting of the year (Tuesday, December 23), so you'll need to be in attendance at that meeting or make other arrangements to get your copy.

Bravo Drawings: Finally, I have made a decision that, starting in January 2009, I’m going to discontinue our Bravo drawings. You will certainly continue to earn and receive Bravo stickers at our meetings—there just won’t be a drawing for “full cards.” I definitely believe that it’s very important for each of us to recognize when we’re being successful and to find ways to reward ourselves. However, I’ve recently become convinced that winning small little token prizes does little, if anything, to ensure success on the Weight Watchers program. I hope you won’t be terribly disappointed. So, during our last meeting of the year (Tuesday, Dec. 16) we will have our very last Bravo drawing!


Also, I personally feel that when we fill up our meeting time with too many things (drawings, etc.) then we miss out on the opportunity to have really great discussions, or we have to end the discussions too quickly so as to fit in other less-important “things.” I'm convinced that these small changes to our Tuesday meeting structure will help us all be even more successful!

Motivational Thought: Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough. Og Mandino

Take care, my wonderful friends,


Debra

What (Gear) Do You Need to Move More?

Dear Weight Watchers Friends,

Highlights from this week's meeting: "What (Gear) Do You Need to Move More?"

What a fun meeting we had this week! Thank you so much for all your great comments and for your help in making our discussion so meaningful, so thought-provoking, and FUN. I’ve been thinking a lot this week about just how powerful our thoughts are, and how they have a great impact on how we conduct our lives. I don’t know about you, but I definitely prefer the thought: “I want to find time to play,” versus “I have to figure out how I’m going to make time for my work out.” One is such a positive, happy thought (WOW, I can take a break from my stressful life and do something good for my mind and body), while the other feels like a burden (Just one more “work” obligation to add to my otherwise busy life).

I hope that you’ve been able to find time to PLAY this week. I did, and it felt GREAT. I had the best time (seriously) walking on my treadmill this morning while I finished watching Season One of “Lipstick Jungle” on
www.hulu.com. Isn’t the Internet fantastic? I got so caught up in watching the show that I completely lost track of time and, before I knew it, I’d walked 75 minutes—and I truly enjoyed every minute (perfect “play” time). Have you given any thought to how you might make your "play" time more enjoyable? Perhaps it would help to if you were to purchase some new “toys” (exercise equipment) so that you could have more fun with your “play” (exercise). For example, a new pair of walking shoes, a new pedometer, a jump rope, hand weights, an exercise ball, a thigh master (you’re smiling, I know), a new “play” DVD, music CD, etc., might help you enjoy your play time more. What “gear” do you need to help YOU move more? I’m looking forward to hearing how you fit PLAY time in this week.

Next week's meeting topic:
I sent you an e-mail message a few days ago letting you know that you’ll soon be learning about Weight Watchers’ latest (and greatest) new program. The new program is being shared with members the week of December 7-13. If you’re unable to attend our meeting on Tuesday, I hope you’ll be able to get into a meeting another day/time (you won't want to miss getting this information as soon as possible).

AWARDS!
Tuesday night was a family celebration for Joe and Lauren (father and daughter). I’ve witnessed it over and over again that when friends and family members work together to accomplish something important and meaningful, there’s no more powerful support, and success is inevitable. Joe and Lauren both earned their 10% awards. In addition, Joe earned his 25 lbs. lost award (sorry for the delay in getting that to you, Joe)! Congratulations to both of you—and thank you so much for your comments. Those of us who attended our meeting will have a new appreciation for 59 minutes versus 63 minutes of activity (aka play)! I’m sure I’m not the only one who thought (several times this week) about the GREAT advice both Lauren and Joe shared. Also, congratulations to each of you who earned your first—or additional—5 lb. stars. You're doing fantastic!

Motivational Thought:
People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.

For those of you who may have temporarily lost your motivation, I'm excited for you to have a chance to find it again--and I'm confident that you'll find it at our meeting this week! I am really looking forward to telling you all about the exciting new program changes! You're going to LOVE the new program. The program just keeps getting better and better (just like YOU).

Take care, my wonderful friends,

Debra