I'M BAAACK!

It has been a long time since I have written.  When I look back I am able to clearly see when that time stopped and what got in the way. However, my mistake was thinking that just because I was thrown a curve ball that I should give up.

Isn't that what we talk about with WW?  When something gets in the way it does not mean we failed. We just need to assess the situation and make a new game plan!  Below you can see my thought process or use it to fill in your own blank with what is happening in your life!

1.  What do I WANT to happen?  write my blog this week
2.  What needs to happen for me to do that?  I am going to have to schedule it in.  Probably on Monday after my coaching sessions.
3.  What could get in the way?  I usually grocery shop then. But, I will try shopping with the kids after school instead.
4.   CAN I do that?  Yep,
5.   WILL I?  I actually am.  I'm not sure I like having to adjust the shopping schedule.  That is another item I want to plan and be more regular with as it increases my chances for success at the scale but this week I will try it and see.  Knowing now that I may not stick with this time in the future.  The trade off is that this week's blog will be short but I will have accomplished writing it!  See, B- material ;) 

See what I did?  Have a reality check with yourself.  If you haven't tracked in weeks it may not be the best plan to decide you can track every little thing that you eat for the next week.  But, can you do a meal?  A full day?  The weekend?  The reality is that we need to stop focusing on the result being "good enough" and realize that there is no perfect Weight Watcher journey.  No way to be A+ material all the time.  Shoot for an average one.  Maybe a C?

THIS WEEK IN MEETINGS:

This week the Weekly talks about getting in your fluids and how it helps with weight loss.  Are you drinking enough?  Does only water count?  Not sure?  Track it and see!  The tracker is a form of information that allows you to see a bigger picture of your story.  If you don't track it you are just guessing.  You think you drink enough?  Maybe I drink enough?  I feel like I do?  These are all forms of guessing.  Watch what happens when you have data/information in front of you:  I drank 6 bottles of water today.  I drank all day long but I only have one empty water bottle so I really only sipped all day long.  How much is enough?  Ugh, I hate water, how will I get it in?  Come to a meeting this week and hear what your fellow members have to say about this!

By the way....These are non-alcoholic fluids that help with weight loss!

COMING SOON:

SEPT. 7th  In Geneva from 9-10am:  WHY STRUGGLE WEDNESDAY

Feel like you lost your motivation?  Need to re-focus on your plan?  If you are struggling you are not alone!  Join us the first Wednesday of each month in Geneva for a workshop built just for you!

SEPT. 10th in North Aurora from 11:00 - Noon:  APP ACADEMY

Not sure how to use your WW App?  All you do on your app is track?  Join us for a monthly workshop that allows you to learn all the tools that your app provides!  Save favorites, look for a recipe, create a meal, Connect, 24/7 Chat and much more!  Please have your app downloaded prior to the event.  (if you don't know what an app store is or how to download the app please discuss this with your meeting room staff so they can assist you or call customer service at 800-651-6000) Also note there is no wifi in the WW meeting rooms.

SEPT. 17th in North Aurora THE STRUGGLE IS REAL

SEPT. 17th in Dekalb: MEMBER SUCCESS

Both of these events will include member panels for a special opportunity for us to hear from fellow members that have found success on W.W.  These are great meetings for you to bring friends along and prizes will be raffled off at both locations!  Times and more info coming soon!  

WHO WANTS TO CELEBRATE?

Don't forget to share your celebrations or let me take a photo to show you off!  Non-Scale Victories are also encouraged!

                                 QUOTE FOR THE WEEK!

Finishing Well

MY STORY… BEYOND THE SCALE & REAL LIFE TOO

True Confessions of an Imperfect Weight Watcher Leader

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Happy Leap Year!  My daughter asked this morning why we have Leap Year.  At 6:45am I couldn't think of the answer but didn't want her to know that so I quickly replied "That will be a really great question to ask at school this morning don't you think?  Tonight at dinner I look forward to hearing YOU tell ME all about Leap Year!"  The really bad part is that it is now well past morning brain and I still have no idea why we have this day every four years!  LOL!  Something about the sun and the rotation...  Never fear I will google it before the kids get home!

We were talking about goals this past week in the meeting and I realized that my Fitness Goal is the same one that I usually set this time of year.  To RUN a 5k.  My daughter starts Girls on the Run today which means that I will need to run with her at her 5K later this spring.  For extra motivation we also registered for a local 5K that supports children in foster care.  At least is supposed too motivate me! 

So here I am on the last day of February thinking about this annual goal of mine and it dawned on me that I have had this goal now for the past 3 years.  Yet I have never accomplished it.  Each year I download the Couch to 5k app an 8 week program designed to get you from the couch to a 5k in about 8 weeks time.  I can make it about 6.5 weeks then I give up.  Not intentionally.  But somewhere around that time frame my life gets busy & its around here that I run a full mile without resting so now I am a know it all and no longer need the App to teach me how to get the other 2.2 miles done.  (This time I need to make this Fitness goal a Smart Goal like we talked about in the meeting)  Then the day of the race comes and I walk/run it.  I am unable to complete it the way I want.  First of all I can't because I didn't do the work.  My dream of running the entire 3.2 miles stays a dream.  Many of the runners are there to win!  Get the prize, beat their best time.  Me I show up - get a tshirt - maybe a medal, and it is really a great day.  I spend it with my daughter.  In a large family like ours, time with just one kid doesn't happen often enough.  Yet once we get home and the day is done I reflect on the fact that I didn't reach my goal.  I make excuses about how it doesn't matter since the day was so great & try to convince myself that the time together was the goal.  But I know that was just part of it.  I really wanted to run alongside her - not hold her back.  I want her to be proud of me.  I want to run the good race... train my body to endure, learn to breathe, eat right, condition.  I don't need to win.  I don't have a time to beat.  I just want to finish without resting.  I want to finish well. 

Instead the past few years I sign up and think that magically I will know how to breathe and run and keep up with my daughter and not be last. 

Is this familiar?  Do you do this with your WW journey?  Do you pay each month and really really want to "lose weight and get healthy" but have no plans of doing what it takes to actually have that happen?  You know what to do.  Most of us know don't we?  Yet we hope that knowing is enough.  We know how to track, measure, weigh, move etc. and still we choose to ignore what we know &  lay on the couch eating "junk".  That's not the end though is it.  We do nothing and expect to loose weight.  So what is it that needs to happen to turn our dreams into reality?  We need to Leap.  Take that first scary step and DO what we know needs to be done.  Look at what can get in the way and push past or plan a detour.  Tell someone (or us!) to have accountability and begin taking the first steps toward reaching our goals!  Together we can do this!

btw if you are still wondering:  It takes 365.something days for the earth to rotate around the sun.  Since it isn't a perfect 365 days we need to have Leap Year to play catch up.  Grade school science is coming back to you now isn't it ;)

WHAT'S HAPPENING:
Wednesday March 2, in Geneva -
             Struggling Member Workshop  9-10am
Thursday March 10th in South Elgin -
              App Academy  6-7pm
Saturday March 12th in North Aurora -
              App Academy  11am - 12pm

LET'S CLAP THE BIG HANDS:

Let's celebrate!  This morning we had 3 people reach their 5% goal!  I didn't have my camera ready but this week Mary H., Kendra & Sara from DeKalb all reached this health milestone!  BRAVO ladies!

TASTY TUESDAY:

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti  5sp

Since using the squash instead of pasta I made mine like an Italian meal.

Ingredients:

Spaghetti Squash

1 pound Ground Italian Sausage

1/4 c. diced onion

1/4 c. diced green pepper

Large can of Diced Tomatoes

1/4 c. Mama Mia Marinara Seasoning (from Tastefully Simple)

Olive Oil

Season Salt, Pepper, Sea Salt, Garlic - to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Slice off one end of squash so that it stands on end.  Slice it long ways and scrape out the seeds.
3. Coat with Olive oil, season salt and sea salt.  Then place face down on a cookie sheet and cook for 40-60 minutes. Or until soft.  (My husband & I like it a little on the crunchy side so we cooked for 40 minutes.
4. In a skillet put onion and diced green peppers for about 10 minutes or until they start to soften.  Then add Italian Sausage to until browned.
5. Once meat is browned add Mama Mia seasoning, can of diced tomatoes, garlic, salt & pepper to taste.
6. Once spaghetti squash is done scrape out the insides with a fork.  This is your "noodles"
7. Top with Meat Marinara Mixture.

Since I avoided the pasta with this dish I also had a slice of garlic bread!  My husband and I shared the squash eating a half each.  The meat w/ sauce fed our family of 8.  Points were calculated for 8 servings.

                            

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: 

MY STORY… BEYOND THE SCALE & REAL LIFE TOO

True Confessions of an Imperfect Weight Watcher Leader

January 11, 2016

Number of To Do Lists I have started:   2

Number of piles on my counter that I am ignoring:   5

____________________________________________________________________________

Happy New Year!  I really believe that 2016 is the year that we SHINE!  

I am really into making resolutions but at the same time I realize that this is a time that I like to reflect on what I did in the previous year and what I want to see happen this year.  Is that a resolution?  Anyway, many of you have been coming back into the meeting room (Yay) and may have heard this but since this blog is kinda my accountability I have to restate it.  You know that I had the habit of gaining 7 pounds over the holidays and how long it could take me to get it off.  This year my goal was to gain only 2.  Bad news:  I gained 3.6.  Good news is:  I know why!  and I don’t feel bad.  Am I a little disappointed?  Sure, at the same time when I re-read my last blog and saw that in order to keep the weight gain at 2 I would need to track on all the non holiday days….  I didn’t do that.  When you kinda do the program it kinda works.  Right?!  So it was no surprise that I didn’t meet my goal.  However, I also know that if I want to get it off in January guess what I have to do?  Yep!  The Program!  

Just like if we look at the above confessions.  Just because I have piles and lists of things that need to be done maybe I need to realize that if I just set a goal but have not taken any action that really that goal is just a nice little dream.  Right now it is a dream of an organized life.  One with no piles and lots of things crossed off the list.  A home with clean counters.  Let’s not stop there.  Keep pushing Jenn, you are almost to the root of it.

“Why do I want clean counters with no piles?”  I want to feel in CONTROL again.  DING DING DING!  WINNER!  

Facing my why gives me the motivation needed to take action!  If I really look at the mess like a failure - look at all I need to do but still haven’t, then sure I have just told myself that there is no way I am good enough to tackle those things.  I might as well eat a cookie and ignore the piles.  I’m no good anyway.  Have you entered the weight loss process with little to no belief that you will succeed?  So much so that it becomes very difficult to even try?  OR we can tell that negative voice in our heads to Shut Up and look at the things that I have done.  And which CAN I do today?  

Here are a few steps that will help you conquer those thoughts:

1. Never see anything as a failure but instead see it as a step towards your ultimate success.
2. Say it out loud.  When you find yourself thinking those negative thoughts practice saying them out loud.  Listen to yourself.  Would you ever say those things to your child, grandchild, the 10 year old version of yourself?  Probably not. So why would you allow yourself to be so harsh to yourself?  Now try speaking positive.  You will begin to feel the momentum of your positive intentions which can propel you towards conquering that voice!
3. Take Action!  Your inaction can allow you to be overcome with negativity.  Don’t sit by  while those thoughts fill your mind.  DO something to chase it away!
4. Flex your No Muscle.  Practice saying no.  Sometimes that negative voice is disguised like positivity.  For example, “It’s ok to have that.  It's ok to skip the gym, you can go tomorrow.”  Say No!  Maybe even practice in the mirror so that when you are faced with a real challenge you are in control and more comfortable saying “No I don’t want bread or No thank you I am not hungry now”
5. Take a compliment.  Without saying but…!  You look like you have lost weight! “Thank you BUT I still have a long way to go.  WRONG!  Just say Thank You!
6. Be Grateful.  What are you thankful for?  It may be the fact that the sun in out, that I have a roof over my head or the fact that I am able to cross “Write Blog” off one of my To - Do lists.  Either way making a list of all things that we have in our life will help us to see what we are more than enough!  

Checking In:

Tracking - Were you able to track one full day yet?

What did you learn on that day?  If tracking is a challenge for you , what got in the way?  Remember tracking is done in a variety of ways. If one doesn’t work for you don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater just try something different!  Do you have the app downloaded?  Many members love the bar code scanner.  No thinking necessary just hold the scanner over the barcode and it will automatically show you the SmartPoints value.  Now you are back in control! Knowing the points helps you make decisions for what is worth it the rest of the day! Note any questions you may have and bring them up in the meeting room, on 24/7 or during your coaching session.  Remember we have your back and are here to help!

What’s Happening…

Upcoming Workshops:

APP WORKSHOPS:

January 13 at 5pm in Geneva location

January 16 at 1:00pm in Geneva

January 23 at 11:00 in North Aurora

SUCCESS WORKSHOPS:

Are you finding it hard to adapt to the new plan?  Is change getting in the way of your success?  If so join me as we Adapt to Beyond the Scale!

January 30 at noon at the South Elgin location

Recipe:

SkinnyTaste.com Korean Chicken

                      

This was sooo good!  My family loved it.  I did make a little change due to the fact that it was so cold today.  I didn’t want to go out and use the grill so I used a grill pan to sear the chicken and then threw it all in the crockpot. Didn’t marinate in a zip lock just made the sauce in the slow cooker then added in the chicken. Super moist and easy.  I served it over rice and made some veggies.  Find this recipe on www.Skinnytaste.com Search Korean Grilled Chicken Breast.

Servings:  4 (using 4 oz. chicken breasts)

SmartPoints: 3

Quote of the Week:

by:  Steve Maraboli

This newsletter & the views shared are not affiliated with weight watchers international, inc.  It is meant to be a motivational tool.  

 Email me: beyondthescalewithjenn@mail.com     Facebook: Beyond the Scale with Jenn

Holiday Goals 2015

MY STORY… BEYOND THE SCALE & REAL LIFE TOO

True Confessions of an Imperfect Weight Watcher Leader

Dec. 22, 2015

Weight:  +.8

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I had an “ah ha” moment this last week as I was scrolling through my past weight history.  Sadly, I found that I have a habit that I seem to fall into somewhere between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.  And like many habits it is not one that I am proud of.  I found that as far back as 2009 I gain 7 pounds during that time of year!  SEVEN!  You think that’s the bad part….Nope.  The really bad habit is that some years like in 2015 it took me till May to get it off!!  That’s 5 months!

Here’s what I know.  So far this month I have not gained seven pounds yet I have no doubt that I could still do it.  Especially looking at all the eating events in my near future.  If you attended a meeting of mine after my ah ha moment you heard that I was giving myself until Saturday afternoon to decide what my weight goals were for the rest of the year.  I could be ok with gaining 7 or less, try to maintain or do I want a loss?  No matter what I picked I knew that I did not want to take 5 months to take it off.  I also realize that with the launch of Beyond the Scale that my weight isn’t the only measure of my success during the rest of the year but we are Weight Watchers for goodness sake and with my past blaring at me in black and white I think this goal needs to be weight/scale related.

I opened my calendar, (and on the advice of a member) looked at the weather too!  Tried to decide what was sustainable and what was I willing to do then asked myself these 4 questions:

This list is what I have members ask themselves when they need to set a short do-able goal to kick start their motivation.  I am going to list them with my responses.  Not so that you can follow my plan but you can see how to really push yourself in your thought & goal process. 

1.   What do you want to see happen in the next week?  Let’s adjust that to: What do I want to see related to my weight from now till the end of the year?  I will be ok with a gain of 2 pounds.  Not necessarily a pound a week but by January 2 I do not want to weigh more than 2 pounds more than I did on Saturday when I weighed in.

2.   What needs to happen in order to reach that goal? 

What needs to happen is that if it is not raining I need to try to walk.  Either around the stores, my house or outside.  I also need to be sure that I do not use any of my weekly allowance points on days that are just “normal” days.  Shopping does not mean I hit drive thru’s and spend SmartPoints on fancy tea drinks that don’t fit into my daily target.  I also don’t want to track at the big parties like Christmas Eve, Day, New Year’s Eve, & Day!  BUT, the rest of the days I am going to have to stay within my daily points or those 2 pounds will easily be the 7 I am trying to avoid.

3.   Can I do it?

I think so? I mean YES – this is part of my accountability.  You all ask me on 1.2.16 if I reached my goal!

4.   Will I do it? (if the answer is no it doesn't mean you are a "bad" weight watcher; it just means go back to question #1 and start over) YES!

What about you?  Have you given any thought to how you want to end the year?  Have you looked at your calendar and seen all the events coming up that may help or hinder your goals?  Don’t forget those non-events like running around shopping all day.  Those times can hurt more than the scheduled parties!  Ask yourself what it is you want by the end of the year and what it will take to get it.  It may be like me & be related to the scale or it could be fitness or me time! It’s your story – what does the Holiday Chapter look like?

Let’s Clap the Big Hands!

Celebrate the Scale & those Non Scale Victories too!

I want to celebrate all of you that have attended 6 of the 8 weeks between thanksgiving & New Years.  You got your All About Me charms and are WW most dedicated members!  Willing to take 30 minutes out of your busy schedules to check in and get closer toward your goals!

Keep celebrating with us!  Your accomplishments matter!  Whether Scale related or Beyond!

(if you’d like to share your success, let me know you’d like to be added in the blog)

What’s Happening…

I  WAS ASKED TO WRITE A REVIEW:

 THE RIGHT CUP

I received an email a few weeks ago from a company called The Right Cup.  This product was created by a man that didn’t like the taste of water.  (Sound familiar to any of you?)  When he turned 30 he learned that he was diabetic and needed to remove sugary beverages from his diet.  Not liking water this proved to be a challenge.  So after much research, trial & error he learned that our sense of taste was directly related to our sense of smell!

Based on this knowledge & further research he set forth to invent the first ever fruit flavored cup that would get people drinking more water!  Himself included!  Soon the Right Cup was born!  The idea sounded too good to be true so I asked to try it for myself.

The actual Cup will be out in early 2016 so I was sent a prototype.  A Natural Lemon tip that kinda looks like a small straw.  My family and parents all took turns this past week trying it out.  I have to say since I like water I had a hard time thinking I was drinking something other than water but my youngest children all thought I had made lemonade.  My mom thought it smelled too strong, my dad thought it was pretty cool and the rest of my family really liked the idea of it!  I think the Right Cup will be a huge success and hopefully will reach its goal of decreasing our nation’s consumption of sugary beverages! 

Please check out their YouTube video and story Facebook or google it.  It is really amazing how this all natural product will help reduce obesity as well as help reduce the use of plastic water bottles.  Let me know what you think!  I am pretty excited to be a part of this & can’t wait to try other flavors this spring!

Ill bring the sample with me this week to Weight Watchers if anyone would like to get a better idea of what this product will be like in the very near future.  Maybe we can even put in a pre-order J

 The Right Cup This link will allow you to read more info about this new & upcoming product

Quote of the Week:

This newsletter is and the views shared are not affiliated with weight watchers international, inc.  It is meant to be a motivational tool.