My first week back as a leader--after having been away for 15 months--was GLORIOUS (yes, I love that word). Thank you all so much for the incredibly warm welcome. Thank you, too, for your patience while we worked hard to get you checked in and weighed. You were great!
Some of the highlights from this week's meeting:
- The meeting topic was "Interim Goals: Steps to Your Dream." Our discussion had an Olympics theme and we talked about the "Dream Team" from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Our WW group is OUR dream team (hey, maybe "Dream Team" would be a great name for our "Making Strides for Breast Cancer" team--see more about this below). As a group, we are going to help each other, support each other, and we WILL each be successful and reach our goals.
- We spoke about the importance of setting goals. Many great comments were shared (thank you) as to WHY we need to set goals. There's a great book called "Write it Down, Make it Happen" that talks about the importance of taking the time to write down your goals. Be sure to write them down--and be specific.
- Once a goal is set, a plan needs to be implemented to achieve that goal. Small, consistent steps typically work best.
- One of my favorite parts of our meeting is the celebrations, and we celebrated BIG this week when Dana Dolsen was given his lifetime award. He worked hard to earn it and I'm confident that he will--as he shared--continue to attend meetings and continue to follow the program. You're a great example to all of us, Dana. And it was very kind of you to acknowledge the wonderful support your beautiful wife, Linda, has been to you and how you couldn't have done this without her! It's true--we do need each other.
- Congratulations, too, to all of you who earned a 5-lb. star! There was a lot of success last week and I look forward to celebrating even more successes next Tuesday. But don't forget--not all success shows up on the scale! You'll have a chance to earn "BRAVOS" when you make behavioral changes and have other non-weight-related successes, too!
- We had a special treat (no, not food) at the end of the meeting when Tammie and Missie sang, welcoming me back to the fold. These wonderful women truly have angelic voices. Thank you, Tammie and Missie, for sharing your amazing talent with all of us! For those of you who know how emotional I can get--I held it together for the entire meeting, UNTIL Tammie and Missie began singing--then the tears started to flow. They were tears of JOY, HAPPINESS, and APPRECIATION. How I love WEIGHT WATCHERS and its MEMBERS!
Next week's meeting:
- The topic for the meeting the week of August 24-30 is "Zones." Do you ever wonder why you sometimes eat more than you should? Be sure to attend next week's meeting where we'll help you "zone" in on it!
- Please come prepared to discuss how you, personally, feel when you are hungry, satisfied, and full. What are some of your body's signals that tell you when you're at any of these levels?
Upcoming Events:
- On Saturday, October 11, 2008, Weight Watchers will, once again, be participating in the "Making Strides for Breast Cancer" walk/run at Liberty Park. I understand that Hope Woodside (Fox 13 News) has stated that THIS YEAR, the news media will have the most participants and will dominate the walk. Is she serious?! Oh, I don't think so! Last year, Weight Watchers' participation was amazing--the Weight Watchers organization and its members, along with family and friends, dominated the race (you could see the blue WW T-shirts everywhere). We're going to dominate again this year (we'll show you, Hope Woodside!). Please plan to participate. It's a great way to earn ACTIVITY POINTS, spend the morning with friends, and support a VERY worthy cause. Be sure to invite everyone you know. We'll be putting a "Tuesday night" team together and we'll want a name and/or slogan to put on the back of our shirts, so give this some thought and we'll talk more about it next Tuesday.
Recipes:
- Shae (one of our wonderful members) asked me for the Split Pea Soup recipe that was shared in a meeting some time ago. Do any of you have a copy of that recipe? I can't find it (yet). If so, please share it with me and I will make sure that it gets in our next newsletter. In this meantime, here's a great recipe for "pinwheels."
FRESH BERRY PINWHEELS
POINTS: 6
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
10 oz frozen pizza crust dough
4 tsp preserves, raspberry
2 Tbsp raspberries
2 Tbsp blueberries
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Spray a nonstick baking sheet with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon.
On a lightly floured work surface, unroll dough and slice lengthwise into quarters. Spread each quarter with preserves,
top with berries, then roll up dough.
Place rolls, seam-side down, on baking sheet. Brush tops with butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
Motivational Thought:
Og Mandino was one of my father's favorite authors. So, in honor of my father--and because this is a wonderful quote (and has become my new motto)--I share the following quote with you:
So long as there is breath in me, that long I will persist. For now I know one of the greatest principles on success; if I persist long enough, I will win. Og Mandino
I'll see you Tuesday night!
Debra
