Detours and Roadblocks

OK, now where was I? So, right out of the gate, I faced a major challenge...that double baby shower I mentioned. Wow! Food everywhere!! I know me, probably better than anyone else does, so I figured the best way to avoid any temptation to just stay away from the kitchen. Of course, being that it was only Day 2 of my journey (in the Road Trip analogy, I liken it to opening the garage door!), I did what I thought was best at the time. If I faced that situation today, I would handle much differently. I could walk in the kitchen, be around all the food and be safe in the knowledge that I would make the right decisions. Did you notice: back then it was a "challenge", but today it is a "situation".

That's the thing I love about Weight Watchers. (I must put a disclaimer here...going forward, I will refer to WW as "The Program" or "The Plan" simply because this is my story, nobody is paying me to tell it and I don't wanna get in trouble!) So, as I was saying, I love this "program" because it's all about real foods and real life, and nothing is off limits, as long as you account for it. Sure there are other programs that work faster, and I have tried just about all of them. But guess where I ended up? Sitting in the meeting, weighing in every Saturday and leaning on my fellow meeting goers for support. Quick is not always best! I mean, really! Do you choose your hair stylist because she's quick or because she's good? Do you choose a tattoo artist because he's fast or because he's meticulous? Why choose a "diet" plan that is hard to follow, even if the results are quick? I am also here to say that the plan that works best for you is one to which you can fully commit.  It doesn't have to be W squared, but it does have to be something that you can live and breathe.

Trust me when I say that I know this lifestyle overhaul is not easy. It takes A LOT of planning, motivation, self-reliance, support, mental-toughness, and determination to be successful. But the feeling of accomplishment is amazing. If you are on your own road trip, you have to make sure that when you hit a detour (and trust me, you WILL hit them), you don't just end the trip and head home. I have a friend who is always telling me that I have internal GPS and that I can get to, or from, the farthest and strangest of places. She's kinda right, but I wouldn't call it GPS, but rather simply having a sense of where I have been, where I am and where I wanna go. If someone throws a road block up, I just have to figure out how to go around it and stay on course. Chances are, it will take me longer, but really, what else can I do? No good comes from getting frustrated and throwing my hands up in defeat.

I decided to discuss road blocks today because I expect that I will hit one when I weigh in tomorrow morning. There was a time when I would throw in the towel and say it's not my fault, the plan doesn't work, I'm through. But not now. Not when I have the chance to learn from the experience. I know that my road trip isn't going to end tomorrow, I still have quite a long road ahead of me, so this anticipated road block can't keep me from moving forward.

So, my wish for you today is that you learn to turn your challenges in to opportunities and always remember that an alternate definition for "detour" is "scenic route".