The Runaway Train
By
Allison Adams 08-2-12 / Submitted to The Greeneville Sun 08-03-12
Four weeks ago I joined Weight
Watchers Online in a desperate effort to stop my consistent, persistent, weight
gain, which – for a woman in my “stage of life” – is akin to a runaway
train. Apparently.
After studying the Weight Watchers
website I learned that the reason I have continued to gain weight because I
have been eating large portions of unhealthy foods and not exercising.
Shocker, I know.
Some of you might think exercising
is f-f-f-fun.
You might think it’s simple to muster
up a little self control when it comes to choosing a salad and a fish fillet
over, say, a beautiful cheeseburger, all-the-way, with a side of fries, and a
thick, rich, delicious, chocolate shake…
Whaaa … what was I saying?
Some of you might think Weight
Watchers is just a gimmick.
Anyhoo, I registered online, read almost
some of a little bit of the Weight Watchers guidelines, and commenced with
portion controlled, point-counting.
After Week 1 I stepped on my
bathroom scale and was pleased to see that I had lost nearly 5 pounds.
Hurray for me!
Together, me and my portions and
points were a force with which to be reckoned!
After Week 2, I stepped on my
bathroom scale and was a little deflated to see it register a number that was not
that much different than the week before – but I soldiered on.
I did a little more reading on the
Weight Watchers website to see if I was doing something wrong, and it turns out
I had missed a whole section that talked about exercise being a “critical
component” to the success of the program.
Interesting concept.
I should have known there was a
catch.
At the end of Week 3, after I
budgeted my points, and walked TWO WHOLE laps around the Laughlin Memorial
Hospital walking trail, I stepped on my bathroom scale and thought somebody had
made a huge mistake because the number it registered was identical to the one
that was there one week earlier.
Deflated, I sought and received
encouragement from many who have managed portions and counted points before
me.
They reminded me that this is a
journey, not a race.
It’s a lifestyle, not a diet.
Exercise is a must.
Blahbitty, blah, blah, blah.
I continued to eat my carrot sticks
and plain, non-fat, Greek yogurt, and gave some serious thought about going for
a walk.
I was stunned when the weigh-in
after Week 4 was a repeat of Week 3.
STUNNED, I tell you.
Didn’t lose an ounce.
Zippo.
Let’s just say I was more than a
little angry.
I was so furious I decided I needed
to blow off a little steam.
I hopped off the scale and grabbed
a water bottle, Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, The Dave Matthews Band, and Reba McIntire,
and we marched ourselves around the Laughlin Memorial Hospital walking trail.
We walked 3, lickity-split, laps.
In the heat of the day.
One of us was sweating profusely.
Sunglasses sliding down my nose.
Face beat-red.
Singing so loudly at times I could
even hear myself right through my noise cancellation headphones.
Now hear this, Weight Watchers:
I am NOT letting you kick my
marginally large caboose.
You are NOT bigger than me!
I’m gonna stick with it.
I’m gonna continue to carefully
calculate portions and points.
I’m gonna hit that walking trail
with my iPod several times this week – I don’t care who hears me!
I’ll bet you a 3-ounce can of Solid
White Albacore Packed In Pure Spring Water mixed with a tablespoon of Hellman’s
Reduced Calorie Mayonnaise (6-points) AND a low-fat, granola bar (3 points)
that next week, the number that registers on my bathroom scale will be LESS
than it was this week.
This is WAR, Weight Watchers.
This is PERSONAL.
And now, apparently, it’s also
public.
