#2364 WW Wednesday: maintain

WW workshops are being held virtually through on-line meetings. I like it because I can attend meetings at different times and with different coaches. I usually attend a couple of workshops a week because I can. There are some people that are virtually "traveling" and attending workshops held in other states. There have been people from Texas, North Carolina, New Jersey, Idaho, and California that have attended workshops based here in Salt Lake. I check in with my local coach, Lana, every week just to see how she's doing, and I also check in with my regular Saturday morning crew through our Facebook group.

Even though everyone who attends WW is there for the same reason, I find that now, even more, the WW community is facing the same thing. We are all at different stages in our weight loss journey, but everyone is being affected by the pandemic and having to stay at home. Everyone is tempted by their kitchens and what's in those cabinets. Everyone has had to modify their exercise routine. Some people are working from home, some people are retired and were at home most of the time anyway,  and some parents are struggling with finding ways to deal with their children 24-7. One mom of rambunctious twins was online the other day and I thought the poor woman was gonna lose it. Her kids were yelling and jumping up and down in the background, knowing they could get away with all kinds of shit while their mom was trying to get a grip on sanity. I thought she was going to cry or scream. She looked exhausted.

One thing I like about WW is that they do a good job of sending out positive messages and trying to keep us all on track and motivated to stay on the weight loss path. My goal these past weeks has been to just maintain my weight, and I have been able to do that. I haven't been very active physically and I am a snacker if I don't have an actual meal. Figuring out my hunger cue was a true a-ha moment for me. I found that I would start poking around in the kitchen looking for food and telling myself I just wanted a little something-something. I finally realized that I could snack on crap for a long time and feel like crap, or I could fix myself some real food and then I wouldn't snack anymore. Yes, it sounds so simple, but until I took a moment and looked at what I was doing, I really didn't know. Now when I start snooping around the kitchen, I just fix myself whatever I had planned to eat and I'm satisfied.

I'm not saying I don't grab some chips every now and then, but it's been less frequent. 

I also discovered that I prefer to eat something more substantial in the morning, and eat lighter meals in the afternoon and evening. I have no hang-ups about having dinner or lunch food at 10:00 in the morning. Today I fixed myself a bowl of rice with black beans around 10 am and I was satisfied until around 2 pm. At that time I had a bowl of strawberries because I knew I was making something yummy for dinner. It felt like a balanced day as far as food goes. It doesn't always work out, but today was good.

Stay positive. Stay hopeful. Stay home.

xo