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