Focus on The Actions

I wish that my Weight Watchers scale did not just record your current body weight. I wish it would tell me what positive actions you took that reflect your healthy lifestyle. Sometimes my members had a great week action wise, but the weight loss does not show it. And sometimes members come to the scale with their eyes closed, knowing what kind of week they had (not good) and the scale numbers still may go down. Either way, the number on the scale seems to be the be all, end all of my members success.

Look, I know you are trying to LOSE WEIGHT. But ultimately, it's what you do over time, consistently that makes a difference. I understand you are disappointed if you had a great week - following the Good Health Guidelines, counting POINTS and moving more, and the scale does not budge. But you must have confidence that persistence wins this race.

I do get excited to hear about your weight loss, but what really makes me happy, and sure of your success, is seeing you in the meeting, every week, no matter what. That is the first action you take each week towards a healthy lifestyle. If you are not doing everything you need to do, focus on figuring out what you need to change to make that happen. Don't focus on what you did wrong. Don't keep feeling bad. Learn from the experience and then take action to make sure it doesn't happen again. When members "fall of the wagon" and just feel guilty, they never move forward. You can't change what is done. Guilt is not helpful!

Just taking one positive step changes the momentum. Get out your tracker. Go for a walk. Make a plan! Get out the recipes. Don't wait until you can do everything perfect to come back to the meeting if you been avoiding the scale. It is more important to get to the meeting when it's been a tough week. You don't have to get on the scale. Just let me know you're there.

That's what I did today. My list of things to do this weekend is LONG... I didn't want to do any of it. I didn't know where to start. So I made a quick list of things I needed to get done now, and then I went for my run. I came back and started my day. If I don't check off everything on my list, so what. As long as the list is getting shorter.

You may not know how the baby healthy steps you are taking are going to effect you weight loss, but if you can check it off the list, you know you are a success. This is a lifestyle. Just do it!