The important part about falling off the wagon is... getting back on again

This blog isn't just about reporting and celebrating my successes.  It's also about being truthful about my mistakes, so that others may profit from my journey.

The past two weeks have been difficult.  Things have been busy at work and I had some major events that I was coordinating that required significant attention.  Additionally, preparation for the coming baby and another major responsibility that I'm not at liberty to discuss have weighed heavy on my mind.  These bumps in the road caused me to fail off the wagon a bit with my weight loss efforts.  I missed my last two Weight Watchers meetings and I haven't been tracking.

This journey isn't about being perfect and it isn't about beating yourself up for past mistakes.  In a Weight Watchers meeting a few months ago, I heard from a fellow member "Turn your setback into a comeback" and that is what I intend to do with this latest deviation.

My plan is to reboot and to once again focus on tracking and boasting my activity.  In addition, I will specifically schedule my next Weight Watchers meeting for next Saturday.  I'll keep you posted!

The Power of the Anchor

Last week at our weekly Weight Watchers meeting, we talked about anchors.  Not the heavy, iron kind.  An anchor is a reminder that helps you stay grounded and focused on your goals.  This object could be real or in your imagination.  As long as you can turn to it in your time of need.

Included in our weekly bulletin was a series of questions to help guide a member through selecting and using their anchor.  I decided to take the opportunity to make a blog post where I responded to these questions.  Here we go..... (my responses are underlined)


What's you trouble spot?  Think of a situation where you typically struggle to avoid overeating.  It could be dining out with friends, the weekly lunch meeting at work, or when you're stress or upset.

My trouble spot is when I am at work and things are very hectic, but I have not planned ahead and packed good options for the day.

How do you want to feel in that situation?  Confident?  In control of your choices?  Determined to succeed?

I want to feel calm and not stressed.  When I'm stressed or short on time, I simply grab something quickly.  If I'm calm and collected, I can think of ways to make better choices.

Now conjure up a past time when you had those positive feelings and you totally nailed it.  for instance you might have felt determination as you did your first 5K race.  Immerse yourself in that time: See what you saw, hear what you heard, and feel what you felt.

How I felt: I'm thinking back to my first year on weight watchers, specifically in the meetings that I attended.  I did very well during this time and lost almost 60 pounds.  I felt extremely confident and that I could face all the challenges ahead of me.  I saw the new possibilities available to me and heard the success stories of other members.

Now pick your anchor.  Anything that reminds you of that feeling - a gesture, word, or object - will work.  Perhaps the 5K medal you were awarded at the end of the race?

My anchor is my 33rd Degree Masonic ring.  This object reminds me of my hard work and brings me confidence.  It reminds me of new possibilities and of the successful brothers that I know.  It helps me to remember that I can overcome the challenges before me.

Make the positive connection: Look at your anchor (or think of it if it's not a physical thing) and call up those good feelings.  Keep doing it, and over time it'll become second nature.

How is this working for me:  Very well so far.  I always wear my ring, so it's always on me.  When I face a challenge that I need to face, I rub my ring between my fingers.  I have used it to fend off the wicked candy bowl that coworkers leave in the beak room and to fight the urge to pillage the snack cabinet in the office.

Finally, practice using it as defense!  Imagine the challenging situation, then wield your anchor - and focus on the feeling that helps you make good-for-you choices.  Rehearse often so anchoring is automatic and helpful.

Tips from members and my leader:  Make the anchor something visual that you can always turn to when you need it.  One member recommended her weight-loss chart on your WW phone app.

Daily Positive Thought - Friday, May 23

"Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity...."

 My daily positive thought today is about my brothers.  Not my brothers of blood, but my brothers of spirit.  Fourteen years ago, I became part of a worldwide brotherhood of men dedicated to the ideals of brotherly love, relief and truth.  As Freemasons, we understand that we are imperfect men, but that it is our quest for an unobtainable moral perfection which makes us good.

I can walk into an country or city on earth and find a brother who will greet me as family and in whom I can trust.  From these men, I gain incalculable strength and to these men, I dedicate my energies.  I am truly blessed to have joined in this fellowship.

Daily Positive Thought - Thursday, May 22

My daily positive thought today is about my great family.  I've been blessed with a wonderful and supportive family.  They are always there when I need them for support.

Within the next two months, my family is going to grow by one.  I'm looking forward to welcoming this new person into our family!

Daily Positive Thought - Wednesday, May 21

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. – Nelson Mandela"

My daily positive thought is to remind myself of the many times that I have had setbacks in life, but was able to pick myself up, dust myself off, and kept going.  I didn't let these failures stop me and I learned from them.

My character isn't measured by my successes, it's measured by how I faced my failures.

This week's goal - Recording Daily Positive Thoughts

I am not a positive person.  At best, I could be considered a realist, at worst, a pessimist.  I focus on the negative elements in life.  I've never been one to look on the sunny-side and just simply enjoy myself.

Thankfully, I have been blessed with a focused personality and I work hard to change the negativity around me.  My pessimism is masked by dedication, which leads a lot of people to think that I'm actually a positive person.  I do believe that with hard work, a person has a chance to change their situation, but overall I agree with Thomas Hobbes when he said, "the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

Unfortunately, I've learned that this isn't the best outlook on life and doesn't help with my weight loss struggle.  Focusing on the negative can wear down your resolve and make your challenges difficult to overcome.

This week, I'd like to try to focus on the bright side of life by setting the following goal.  Each day, I'll write a short blog post that relates some positive element of my life that I am thankful for.

Like last week, I plan on keeping up with my past weekly goals in addition to this new goal:

• Track my Weight Watchers PointsPlus each day.
• Schedule a specific time to get activity every other day and keep to this schedule.
• No cigar smoking during the workday.
• 7000 steps per day

This week's goal - 7000 Steps a Day!

I've been wearing a pedometer for the past two months and it's been really interesting to see my daily number of steps, distance walked and Weight Watchers PointsPlus earned.  However, I haven't really used it to push my daily activity.  Until now.

I'm setting my weekly goal to help me increase my exercise using my pedometer.  I'm committing myself to hit 7000 steps per day and to report on each day at the end of the week.  At the moment, I usually average about 5000 steps, so this increase won't be very much, but it will structure my activity.

In addition to this goal, I'm keeping up with my past three weekly goals:

• Track my Weight Watchers PointsPlus each day.
• Schedule a specific time to get activity every other day and keep to this schedule.
• No cigar smoking during the workday.

See you next week with my progress!

Celebrating Non-Scale Victories

One great element of the Weight Watchers program is their celebration of non-scale victories.  These are victories that are not connected to the scale and are very helpful when you work hard but don't see a change at the scale.  Examples of non-scale victories are going down a notch on your belt, being able to run further than before or sticking with a new routine.  Although last week was a successful week at the scale, I also had a nice non-scale victory as well.

I am an active Freemason and am a proud member of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.  A significant aspect of the Scottish Rite is the portrayal of ceremonial plays, where our members act  as characters from many periods in history.  Last monday, we conducted a ceremony where I portrayed a knight.  I have acted in this role many times over the past few years, but this time was different.

Normally, the costume that I use for the ceremony does not fit quite right because I was too large.  It wouldn't close in back and I would be forced to tie or pin it closed and hide the impromptu fixes with my cape.

However, much to my surprise this past Monday, the costume fit extremely well and closed without any further assistance.  My efforts since last December, when I last wore the costume, have paid off quite nicely and fitting into the costume was a great non-scale victory!

Making adjustments, but staying with my weekly goal

Sometimes, life (and the weather) gets in the way of our best laid plans.  Yesterday was one of those times.

Previously, I set the goal of "scheduling time every other day to get activity and to use that scheduled time."  So, I set the following events up on my calendar:

Monday - 5:30-6:00 - Walk around Indian Cove before dinner
Wednesday - 5:30-6:00 - Walk around Indian Cove before dinner
Friday - 5:30-6:00 - Walk around Indian Cove before dinner
Sunday - All day - Setting up for the Baby Shower

Yesterday, it rained heavily in the evening, so we couldn't walk around outside.  At this point I had two options, find another activity to do inside or reschedule.  Unfortunately, the cottage is not ideal for any real sort of inside exercise, so I moved the event on my calendar to tonight.  The weather should be clear tonight and we'll definitely be able to walk.

The take-home message here is that making adjustments shouldn't be an exception to your plan, it should be part of it.  I could have simply became frustrated and cancelled it all together.  Instead, I consciously adjusted my plan while still keeping with it.

This week's goal - Scheduling Time for Activity

During my weekly Weight Watcher's meeting last Saturday, our WW leader had a slide on her clipboard that read:

Last week was                          
because                             
so I'm going to                            

She asked each of us to fill in the blanks and I decided to share mine.  Here is what I filled in:

Last week was  really busy with work, so I didn't get much activity
because  I didn't have a lot of extra time and I made work a priority 
so I'm going to  make 'me' a priority and pre-schedule blocks of time for me to get activity 

This dovetailed nicely with my idea of setting weekly goals that I can achieve.  So, this week, I'm going to set my goal based on this exercise.  My goal this week will be to schedule time every other day to get activity and to use that scheduled time.

I have scheduled the following blocks of time to get activity:

Monday - 5:30-6:00 - Walk around Indian Cove before dinner
Wednesday - 5:30-6:00 - Walk around Indian Cove before dinner
Friday - 5:30-6:00 - Walk around Indian Cove before dinner
Sunday - All day - Setting up for the Baby Shower

I'll report back next week on how successful I was.

Inspirational people in my life - My wife Illa

I have several people in my life that have faced their own weight loss challenges and have been quite successful.  There will be reoccurring posts on this blog called "Inspirational people in my life", where I will highlight a different person and talk about their successes.  I hope that their example will serve as my own personal inspiration.  Here is my first such post:

My wife, Illa is my most important weight loss inspiration.  Both she and I, gained some significant weight while we were finishing up our undergraduate degrees due to the long hours, high stress and bad eating habits.  In 2009, I joined Weight Watchers and shortly thereafter she did as well.

Over the next year or so, she lost about sixty pounds and kept it off.  In addition to doing extremely well with program, she joined Weight Watchers as a receptionist (note:  All Weight Watcher's employees have gone through the program and have been successful).

She is a constant inspiration in my life and reminds me that I can do better and be successful, not only in weight loss, but in all elements of my life.  She also assists me directly in making better decisions with my food choices, encourages me to get more activity, and reminds/pokes me to attend my weekly Weight Watchers meeting.  Illa is totally awesome and I'm very lucky to have her around.

Illa is one of my inspirations!

Gramin Velothon Berlin

In my Facebook news feed, I am subscribed to several Berlin-focused blogs and websites, which allows me to see several cool events, activities and new locations as they appear on these sites.

Recently on Visit Berlin, I saw the Gramin Velothon Berlin, a 60 km Bike race throughout Berlin.  It looks like a really awesome course to see a fair amount of Berlin.

Here are the details about the event:

The Garmin Velothon Berlin - that is Cycling for everyone at the highest level. Since its premiere in May 2008, the event has established itself as the second largest cycle race of its kind in Europe. The attractive route along major attractions and the concept of a city cycling race attract over 13,000 participants who create a cycling festival in the German capital.

• Completely closed roads for traffic
• Participation in a team or as solo-driver
• Race-Highlights: "Brandenburger Tor", "Potsdamer Platz", "Tempelhof Airport", "Eastside-Gallery", "Regierungsbezirk", "Siegessäule","Straße des 17. Juni"
• Two distances: 60-km distance for beginners and hobby drivers, 120 km distance for ambitious cyclists
• Attractive fair program on 7,000 sqm
• "Kid's Velothon" for children and young people
• "Straße des 17. Juni" as finishing line
• 250.000 spectators along the route

Here is a map of the course:

Taking a long bike ride through Berlin sounds like a great trip.  Berlin is fairly flat and is not overly congested.  It's filled with large spaces filled with trees and shade, and just outside of central Berlin are lakeside areas.

I don't think I'll make it there on May 18th of this year, but perhaps I'll have a chance to ride the same path next year.  Although I will most likely not participate in a large biking event like this (I hate crowds), this is a good way to plan for an extended biking trek.  Plus with Deutsche Bahn's Call-a-Bike program, it's easy for tourists like me to rent a bike.