A Quick Detour

I am going to take a little detour today! The following is something that I wrote as an entry into a contest sponsored by WW. I thought it fit pretty well in my own little "Road Trip" theme as well, so here it is. I hope you enjoy!

In October 2011, after almost 40 years of living in denial, I finally came face to face with reality.  After my family expressed their concern about my weight and health, I decided it was time to start Weight Watchers. That first weigh-in was a slap in the face, or a wake-up call, depending upon how you look at it: 311.6 pounds! How did this happen? How did I get to this point? It was then that I started my life-altering and, more importantly, life-saving “Road Trip.” I refer to it as a road trip because there are uphill moments and downhill moments, smooth sailing and traffic jams, but once I reach my goal, I will be able to stretch my legs and enjoy life like I never have before!

At first, it was the little things I noticed: swelling of my hands and feet had gone down, I was able to bend over and tie my shoes and I could walk to my mailbox without being out of breath (a distance of about 30’, I might add). As I hit my 10% goal, I noticed I could walk around the block without my back or feet hurting, my clothes started fitting better and I had more energy. Before I knew it, 50 pounds were gone, then 75. I couldn’t believe it when, 2 weeks after celebrating my one year anniversary with Weight Watchers, I hit the Century Mark! I had lost 100 pounds!

Now, here I am only 23 pounds away from my goal. Of course, I know the longest, toughest part of the journey is yet to come, but I have the support of my family, friends, my WW Group (led by Margie the Magnificent), and even people I’ve never met.  This journey has given me the courage to do things in life I had only dreamed. Having always wanted to be a writer, I decided to start blogging about my life-changing experience. It has been through sharing my personal experiences that many others have told me that I am their source of inspiration and encouragement. And like a Karmic Boomerang, the knowledge that I have inspired many others is the driving force keeping me on this path. Weight Watchers is not only something that I will be doing the rest of my life, but it is intrinsically who I am as a person!

Getting There is Not the End, but the Beginning

You know how, at the end of a long road trip, after you've finally made it to your destination, you tell yourself that you will never get in a car again? Then, maybe after you've had a short nap, you find yourself in the car going to dinner or out with the Girls or after a few days, you could be looking at the long drive home you have ahead of you.  In any case, you realize that you will forever be on a road trip, and that you will continually have destinations which you will always be attempting to reach.

I hadn't really given much thought to what happens when I finally reach my goal, and then the other day, Margie the Magnificent (my incredible WW leader) mentioned to me that the journey will not end once I get to “Canton”, but it will merely shift. Shift to maintaining rather than losing, shift to living rather than struggling, shift to being self-confident rather than self-conscious. 

As I have often said in the posts here, the “Road Trip” is symbolic for the journey through life. Now I see that life is not one big road trip, but rather like a series of road trips along a perpetual winding road. So, when this journey ends, another one will begin. Another thing I may have mentioned— a time or two— is that Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” has always inspired me, both as a writer and as a person, and that has made all the difference in this adventure. Many times in life, there will be the option to choose one of two roads. And while there may not necessarily be a wrong choice, there is a right choice for the right time. Each choice will lead us to the next fork in the road, and so on. The journey never ends, the destination and purpose only changes. 

While I am not currently standing at the divergence of two roads, I’m sure there are some of you out there who are. Don’t fret about your choice, embrace it. If you land on a path that is not taking you where you want to go, then look for the next fork. If you aren't sure where you are on your path, get our your compass, map, GPS or phone a friend! That’s the beauty of not taking the road trip alone!

Are We There, Yet?

Ahh, the age old question, especially if you have little ones along for the ride! But it’s not just the kids who are anxiously awaiting the end of the road trip. I, too, am excited about the prospect of finally being able to get out of the car and stretch my legs.  But sometimes I have to question if I really need to keep going. I mean, I’m almost there, so why can’t I just be happy with almost making it? In the grand scheme of things, isn’t Woodstock the same as Canton? Well, no, it’s not. They may be in the same county, and I may be happy staying in Woodstock, but the very reason for driving to Georgia is to go to Canton so that I can hang out with my BFF. 

I am facing a similar dilemma in my weight loss journey. To date, I have lost 132.4 lbs, and only have 23.3 lbs to go until I hit my goal. I am fighting the urge to be satisfied with my current accomplishment.  But then I think, hmmm, I haven’t come this far to be merely satisfied, I have come this far to reach a goal. And while I can’t take anything away from what I have already achieved, I also can’t sit back and rest on my laurels and expect to not have some pangs of guilt or the feeling of unfinished business hanging in the air like a dense fog. So, I must resist the urge to stay where I am and get back on the road and make it to that goal that is off in the not too distant future.   

Something else that I have to realize is that while the drive from Woodstock to Canton may seem like a hop, skip and a jump, it is going to take me awhile to complete it. In fact, I’m pretty sure it feels like I actually abandoned the car and am now travelling by foot the rest of the way. Things have definitely slowed down, but they haven’t stopped. And as long as I continue to see forward progress, there is no reason to be satisfied with only making it “most of the way”. 

So, for those of you who have joined me on this journey, I ask that you help keep me focused and I will do the same for you. When we can finally answer “are we there, yet?” with" “yes!”, then we can celebrate with a pitcher of Margaritas!

Tuning Out the Road Rage

As anyone who has ever driven a car knows, there can be some serious road raging drivers on the mean streets. I know I am guilty of a road rage temper tantrum or two (or three or four); however, I also know that it is really in my best interest if I just pay attention to what I am doing rather than listening to the angry shouts of my fellow road warriors. The weight-loss journey (or any of life’s journeys) is no exception. Lately, I have been letting other “bloggers”, whom I have never met (nor will I ever meet) cloud the view of my success. For instance, the story about the Oklahoma City cheerleader who was called “chunky” by some random ink slinger just got me all riled up. I know that it is not healthy (mentally or physically) to compare myself to others, but sometimes I just can’t help it! The way society has distorted and warped what is considered to be “beautiful” is not fair to anyone. As long as there are people out there with poison pens (or should I say cantankerous keyboards) directing their bile at unsuspecting targets, the distortion will only continue. I understand that there are health concerns associated with being overweight, but usually when “chubby” people are attacked publically it’s not by someone who is expressing concern for the health of the person, but rather it’s because the person doesn’t meet society’s idea of Hollywood aesthetics.

 

Back in the day when Marilyn Monroe was the standard by which women would measure themselves, life was indeed simpler. Social media, eating disorders and Sensa were not part of everyday life.  But, much like ignoring the vulgar ramblings of road ragers, I just have to keep my eye on the road and listen to my heart, music or the humming of my own engine rather than the negative voices out there trying to tear others down. I figure by writing about my experiences in a fun and light-hearted way, I can help people tune out the cynicism that permeates the blogosphere! 

I’m reminded of an anecdote about a frog: There were a bunch of frogs who were to race to the top of a mountain. The crowd that gathered to watch the frogs kept chanting that it couldn’t be done, it was too steep, too long and too hard for the frogs to complete. So, one by one, the frogs— listening to the crowd— began to drop out of the race. Except one. One lone frog kept hopping and hopping until finally he reached the top. The crowd couldn’t believe he made it to the top, they were all surprised because of the difficulty of the task. When they asked him how he did it, they realized he was deaf. It was this deafness that allowed him to keep going when all the other frogs had listened to the crowd and thrown in the towel. So, I have to be like the deaf frog: tune out the naysayers and keep on hopping! Really, isn’t that what we should all do? Even when the negative voice we hear the loudest is our own, we just have to keep on hopping!

Listening to Music Along the Way

I have found that for any trip in the car, whether it’s a mile up the road to the grocery store or 8 hours up the road to Atlanta, it is important to have good music. Music keeps me from getting bored. I know, who can get bored in a car when you are only driving a mile? The answer is this girl! So it is vitally important to me that I have a nice, eclectic variety of music: local radio (which, quite frankly, isn’t what it used to be…I do miss the days of JJ Jackson, Mark Bell and Randy & Spiff!), Satellite Radio and, of course, my own mixture from my MP3 player where I have anything from The Monkees and Mumford & Sons to Les Miz and Cats to Kid Rock and Eminem.

So, now that I have rambled on about my wide and varied musical tastes, you may be wondering what this has to do with my figurative road trip. Well, it’s simple: variety is the spice of life! The hardest part of making such a drastic change in my life is not getting bored with my food or exercise routine. As far as my food goes, it’s true that I do eat a lot of the same meals, but I make sure to fix the chicken/Boca Crumbles/salad/turkey etc. using different spices or cooking methods in order to give it a different flavor. Another thing– and this is a huge deal for me– I am trying different things. I have never been one to wander too far outside of my comfort zone when it comes to food, but I have found that I am open to a wider variety than I once was. I still have some weird food avoidance issues, but those will never go away.

While there are some minor challenges with food, it’s the exercise that often times makes me cringe! Since I don’t do anything too strenuous or difficult (boot camp, anyone?), I have to make sure that I stay interested in my routine. All I do is walk…on a treadmill or outside. I have found that I have to be in the right frame of mind to get on the treadmill. I would rather walk outside, in the sunshine and fresh air, but sometimes, I have to get on that blasted treadmill. When I do, I am thankful for Hulu and Grimm. I have noticed that much like my meals, my walking patterns are very predictable. So far, however, it’s not been an issue for me. I keep my trusty MP3 player handy and fully loaded with music.  While my food tastes are slowly opening up, my musical tastes are also expanding. With my new found love of BBC Radio 1, I have been introduced to new music from across the pond. And since BBC R1 doesn’t have the same affliction as most Pop/Current American stations (playing the same 5 songs OVER and OVER, ad nauseam), I don’t out grow the music quite as quick (side bar: if I NEVER hear Taylor Swift again, it will be too soon! Just sayin’).

So, in order to stay on the road and get to where I’m going, it’s best if I can mix up my on the road entertainment a little. When I get bored, I tend to veer off course, and while it doesn’t bring me to a complete dead end, it does make the trip just a little bit longer. But that’s OK, too. I have the rest of my life to finish my journey.

Driving While Impaired

First, let me say that I do not condone driving a vehicle while impaired in any manner (alcohol, drugs, fatigue, texting, etc.), but I know that people do it, even if it is against the law. I think that there is a tendency to drive impaired on the figurative road trip as well. I know there are days that I am tired of exercising or eating healthy or passing up the scrumptious double chocolate something-or-other recipe that someone posted on Facebook. There are days–mostly on Saturdays in the Autumn, “Go Dawgs”– when I just wanna sit on my couch and drink beer. And you know what, why not? I’m not driving anywhere. The thing is, just like on the real life road, if you are going to imbibe, then don’t get in the car! If you need to sleep, don’t drive; if you need to text, don’t drive; if you need to drink, don’t drive. If you want to take a break from your rigorous routine, then do it, but just get back on the road after your break is over. All too often, people decide to take a quick break from working out or eating healthy and then they never go back. That’s when things go awry. If I thought of this journey as having been on a diet all this time, chances are, I would have given up a long time ago. I had to make the connection, in my head, that this is a life style now. And if I want to have something that may not be “healthy”, then I have to make sacrifices along the way: more exercise or fruits and veggies as a meal so that I consume food but not points, where there’s a will, I’ll find a way!

So, just because you want to have fun, doesn’t mean your progress is permanently halted, it just means that you have either pulled off to the side of the road to take a nap or you are letting your DD drive for a while.  The key is to make sure and eventually take back control.  I feel like in every post I say how important it is to “get back on the road” and I don’t want to be repetitive, but, I have to keep telling myself that it’s not the destination that is important, it’s the journey. If I keep repeating this mantra, I know I’ll believe it one day!

The Road is Long, but the Journey is Worth It

Have you ever looked at something and said “this is going to be difficult”? Have you ever let the potential difficulty stop you? Why?

I knew when I started this expedition, that the road was going to be long and not so easy. But what I am finding out, is that while it may be arduous, it is also the best journey I have ever taken. It has been my experience that the things you have to work hardest for in life are the ones that come with the sweetest rewards. I read a quote the other day that was posted by the owner of Thrive Weight Loss (who also happens to be engaged to my childhood BFF) that said “I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, I’m saying it’s going to be worth it.” And it struck me like a bolt of lightening! Maybe your it is a weight loss journey or possibly a job promotion that offers the chance to relocate, or maybe your it is simply living a healthy, happy life.  The harder and longer the road is to your destination, the more you will be able to celebrate and revel in your accomplishment.

So, where ever you are on your own personal Road Trip, don’t think about how far you have to go, think about how wonderful it will be once you arrive, because nothing worth it is ever easy and nothing easy is ever worth it!