#SaturdaySkinny: The Mindset Shift

After last week’s meeting about Stress, I took the message of finding something other than food to deal with Stress.

Now for years I had the good habit of focusing on exercise or other tasks to distract me from using food as a crutch when stressed. Unfortunately once we moved and the work hours increased, I fell back on old habits.

So this week I wanted to focus on one thing to improve my Stress… getting on my Peloton. I set a goal with the meeting members and myself to get on the bike everyday for the week (even if it was for a quick 20 min class).

And you know what? I freakin DID IT!!! There were more 20-min classes than I wanted, but I took the time each and every day to focus on ME and take that time on the bike.

Not only did I pledge this to the group, but I had the accountability since I joined the WhatsApp group for our WW meeting. I had heard about a group before during one of the meetings, but got too nervous/anxious to ask to join. Then a couple of weeks ago I finally put that aside and asked to be added! So now both the wife & I are a member of the group.

For those that don’t know WhatsApp is like texting, but it doesn’t have any effect on your data plan so a TON of international folks use it to stay connected… especially between US and Europe. Most of my friends in the US also have iPhones so we can continue to use iMessage, but for those that don’t I stay connected with them through WhatsApp. Also here in Europe a ton of groups stay connected via WhatsApp over texting or Facebook.

I want to thank the ladies in the meeting and WhatsApp group for being an added level of accountability and support on this journey!!

Now the week was ticking along quite well until I hit Thursday!! On Thursday and Friday, I had 2-day meetings at work and barely moved from the conference room. :( That mixed with low-will power against the snacks in the room led to me feeling completely defeated by Friday afternoon. After a long day the wife & I had nothing for dinner and instead of going to the store to buy something plan-friendly… we opted for pizza! Yes I ate 4 slices of pizza plus fries the night before a weigh-in. Ummmm NOT my brightest moment. I said even if we did that I would still go to the meeting. I might not weigh in, but I would go.

After an amazing 8-ish hours of sleep, we made our way to WW on our bikes. The wife said she was weighing in so I said I should face the music anyway even though I knew it would be at least a 1kg gain. Because the smart thing to do is overdue it the 2 days before weigh-in!! <<insert a good eye roll here>>

And you guessed it… up 1.5kg!

Since I knew this was coming, it didn’t put me into a downward spiral! I was ready instead to get back to a fresh week this week and see what I could learn in the meeting.

Today’s meeting was about having the right mindset and celebrating our successes.

Since I’ve been on this journey about 9 years, I know there have been ups and downs. But the one common mindset/theme of the journey has been: “I’m Worth It!” Many of you know I struggle with the self-love/confidence.

Therefore the wife and I are heading into this week with a plan!! I just need to keep my stress and anxiety in check and the rest will follow!!!