Five Second Rule

I haven't done WW for a while, but I thought I remembered acknowledgments every 5 pounds. You know, first 5 pound, 10 pounds, etc. Since I'm only focusing on 5 pounds at a time it seamed like a good idea. We could celebrate my 5 pounds together! Yesterday I got to the next "5" pound goal for a grand total of 15 pound lost! At the end of every meeting, the girls in the front of the office that do the weigh ins gather all the information for the meeting and give Rosie, the team leader,  the "ribbons" (which are actually paper book markers)  to be handed out. They can range from 5 pounds lost to 100! So I wasn't too surprised when Rosie started handing out the 5 pound cards and she called my name, "Did you lose 5 more pounds?" yes, I did! Rosie said, "Well don't just sit there! Stand up and take notice!" So I stood up and waved my ribbon high in the air, but before my butt could touch the seat, I heard  a small voice from the back of the room say "excuse me?" I didn't have to turn around. I recognised the voice, it was the OTHER Alison. "I think that's my 5 pound ribbon?" It was as if everything was in slow motion as I turned over the card that read "alison" not alyson. I handed over the card with the big "5" on it. Rosie turned to me innocently and said "Did you lose another 5 pounds this week?" Of course I had! I wasn't trying to take the other Alison's glory. Now I was feeling defensive and embarrassed. Rosie thought that my ribbon was further down in the pile since she had just started with the 5's, but after handing out every award, my name was never called. There was no ribbon for my 3rd 5 pounds.  Now I was really embarrassed! The meeting ended and I slithered out. I was trying to remember the last time I felt like that. I think it was Jr. High School! The feeling was wanting to never show my face at that meeting again! I quickly realized that no body was going to remember what happened a week later, but it was a knee jerk reaction. I just wanted to go home and wallow in my misery. I had plans to go walk, but I felt like, forget it! I just want to go home and comfort myself with some chocolate! Instead, I stuck to my plan that night and walked around the mall. I even wanted to quit early, but I stuck with it and felt like I fulfilled a commitment. So I had made a fool of myself. I still had lost 15 pounds! I wasn't going to let my ego get in the way of my success!

Last night the meeting was about what we have learned while on the program and how to turn our mistakes into valuable learning lessons. Especially how not to beat ourselves up when we feel that we've been "bad". I've changed my vocabulary since I've been on WW and don't use words like "bad" or "good" when focused and unfocused are better options. So what have I learned? Well, I call it my Five Second Rule. When I eat something that wasn't the best choice or feel that I've lost focus I look at it like why let one little side step ruin 3 months of hard work. Like when you drop something on the ground and you immediately pick it up, brush it off and, depending on where it fell, go right back to business as usual. I tripped and fell, emotionally, but I picked myself up, brushed myself off, and went right back to the task at hand.  I didn't need to go for comfort food to make myself feel better. I worked it out by myself and actually found some humor in it. Learning to laugh at yourself is a great gift!

I've also learned not to expect anything at the meetings in terms of a "reward". There are a lot of people to keep track of and they're bound to miss something. Besides, I'm not losing weight t o get awards.  My weight loss is my reward.  I'm looking forward to my continued weight loss, but if Rosie calls out "Alyson" again, I'll definitely be asking "which one?"