Turn It Around

By Anonymous -
"A simple plan to reverse a small weight gain."

A few extra pounds might not require a wardrobe overhaul, but they might signal that it's time to reassess your behaviors to stop the numbers on the scale from climbing.  It's always tempting to think that your weight will go in one direction....DOWN...until you reach your goal  Then you live happily ever after...right?  But that isn't realistic.  So it's important to recognize a gain will happen at some point and have a plan to reverse it!

Doing those last two things - knowing a gain is bound to happen and having a plan in place help.  Why?  Because gaining, even the smallest amount can be upsetting and if you aren't prepared you can go off track.  (Which happens to me...every time...even with a plan)  Weight Watchers recommends that  weight gain of three to five pounds that's stuck over a few weigh ins should be taken seriously before it comes larger.  This is what they call your "take action" weight, a wake up call to make some changes. 

In the Weekly reader they've provided the steps to create an action plan.  I'll outline them below.  they call it a "weight gain reversal plan"!

GET READY NOW
  1. Your current weight ______
  2. Your take action weight ________ (3-5 lbs above todays weight)
  3. Your action plan contact.  _________________________________ (the person you'll reach out to for support and accountability if you have trouble executing your plan within a week of the gain)

WHEN A SMALL GAIN HITS
  1. Track, starting with the first food or meal you eat after noticing the gain.
  2. If it's hard to track every meal right away, start with the meal that you use the most SmartPoints values.
  3. Weigh yourself at least once a week (but no more than once per day). Continue tracking carefully until the number on the scale is back where you want it to be.
  4. Check in with your meeting room team often.
So, with all that said, one of the things we discussed in the meeting room this past week on this topic was the scale.  The scale can either be really helpful for you or make your problems worse.  It can be a vicious cycle.  You may love the scale, it may help to keep you on track.  It does for me.  I weigh myself each morning as part of my daily routine.  But, I can easily see how my best friend the scale could be someone's worst enemy.  That number on the scale could trigger just saying screw it and eating like you don't care.  Forget tracking, forget eating the right thing...I've already gained for the week-better just enjoy myself.  I've done it.  I've bought into that.  A few Saturdays ago I hopped on the scale and I was up, my weigh in day is Sunday morning and I knew that I was going to my sister in laws for dinner.  I would effectively had to starve myself to not be up the next day.  So instead I ate.  Man did I eat, I ate crackers by the dozen and cheese.  Well I was up 3.4 pounds the next morning.  I'm sure it wouldn't have been that much if I had eaten responsibly and tracked what I ate.  I threw in the towel in the last round.  I definitely could have handled that differently, but I was also on that upward swing for two weeks and let my emotions get the best of me. 

I've written out the above action plan and I hope you do too.  The number on the scale is only a small portion of the whole journey. xoxo


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