The Last Meeting

It's been a long leg of my journey, but it ended on a high note. I lost a pound this week, but I lost 3.5 pounds of fat (woot!). I knew in this hot weather, I was retaining a lot of water. So, I was really worried about my final weigh in during the "weight loss" phase of my program.

Now for maintenence (sigh...the hardest part!)

For me, I am still trying to lose 19 more pounds. I readjusted my goal weight in consultation with my doctor. However, I am still amazed I got down to 159! However, I do feel as if I am beginning a new phase of my weight loss with the end of my Kaiser class.

I have many, many thoughts tonight--about success, failure, and the journey I have been on. The reality is, though, my primary thoughts linger on my classmates--my compatriots on this long journey. There is no doubt that their support and encouragement during these past 30 weeks has been instrumental in my personal success. I just want to take a moment to explain why these folks are so special.

We were thrown together by chance; we came from all walks of life. However, we all shared this one element in common: we felt oppresed by our bodies. Male, female, young (although the youngest of us was in her mid thirties) and old, we felt disconnected with the one person we should feel most connected to: ourselves- our SELF.

Every week (and I only ever missed one week!), these folks showed up and talked about their challenges and successes. Whatever success or failure I felt during the week was cheered on or comiserated by these people. I was inspired by so many people: the older woman who was losing weight to improve her health, a man who was challenged by simply walking. They showed up week after week, month after month--how could I not do the same?

Over our time together, these folks began to recognize the same thing I did--that our bodies are extensions of our souls and mind, and therefore deserve respect.

It's hard for me to believe that I have had 29 weeks of consecutive weight loss. There is no way, NO WAY I could have done it without support. My husband and child greeted me tonight with a card saying "congratulations!" I really should have done it for them--they tolerated my stress, my anger, my worry, my weird diet, all the meetings, changing their lifestyle--almost everything!-- for me.

One of the SMART skills is "Recruit support." The people in my Kaiser group, my family (especially my weight loss buddies: Mom in Law, Mom, and Hubby), my TOPS friends--these are the root of my strength. In a way, that is the best advice I can give anyone trying to make a major life change. Find people who believe, even more than you do, that you can achieve your goal.

Now my weekly meetings are ending and my bimonthly meetings are starting. My blog will continue on Fridays, instead of Wednesdays.

I will work on my recipe section to beef it up, and continue to add links. In addition, I will respond to any single email from someone who needs support. You are welcome--even if you are a stranger to me--to reach out and get a "kudo", or "atta boy", or "you can do it" from me.

Because, I KNOW we can...lose weight, be better with money, raise amazing kids, improve our world, and empower others if we do it together!

Here are the numbers:

Starting Weight: 224
Current Weight: 159
Goal Weight: 140

Goal Time:

Outer Goal: Looking good while running my 5K--bouncy pony tail and hot new duds!
Inner Goal: To share my strength and draw strength from others...and of course...WORLD PEACE!

See you next week!