The Truth Of Tuesday Night

It's been a few weeks since I have gotten to this.  Life has been insanely busy and when I sit down for the night, I just want to relax on the computer for an hour before bed.

My weight hasn't changed much in the past couple of weeks.  Tonight I weighted in at 257.00 lbs, which I think is down about .50 lbs.

I was responsible for the program tonight and I did it on change.  The first thing I made everyone do was to stand up and move 4 seats to the right.  Each week we all tend to sit in about the same spot.  This had everyone at a totally different end of the table.  I've decided to include the program here for you to read through if you wish.  We all thought it was very good.

CHOOSING TO CHANGE

Change can be hard. We get so comfortable in our lives, in our daily routines, that when something comes along and shakes us up, we are actually startled by the change. Small changes are undoubtedly easier to handle. Think about all the changes you make every day without thinking. You change your shoes. You change your clothes. You change light bulbs when they burn out. You change the batteries in your smoke detectors and remote controls when they go bad. What are some other changes you make without thinking about them?

You change your hairstyle sometimes. There are days when you change your mind about what to have for dinner. Most women change their names when they marry. Life changes all the way around when couples have children. These are changes that, for the most part, we don’t really think about. Something needs doing, so we get it done. Why aren't we approaching our health the same way? Changing the way you approach weight loss and wellness can become as second-nature and logical as the changes you make every day. It takes practice, sure, but what doesn't? Did you know how to change a light bulb until you’d actually done it? Did you hate a new hairstyle and then have to change that change when your hair grew back?

Let’s talk about ways to implement changes in our lives. Let’s talk about changing our approach to change by discussing the habits and principles of successful people and organizations. Be proactive instead of reactive. When we are proactive, we are accountable and responsible for ourselves and our choices. When we are reactive, we blame others for problems in our lives. How does this affect our weight-loss and wellness journeys?

Once we accept responsibility for our health, we can then take action by choosing weight loss for wellness by incorporating into our daily lives a healthy balance of foods, regular exercise, and regular attendance at TOPS meetings. If we visualize our end result, essentially we’re setting a goal for ourselves. This can include smaller goals inside the bigger picture. If you have a large amount of weight to lose, try and picture stepping on the scale and weighing just 20 pounds less. Imagine the sense of accomplishment you’ll feel. Imagine how you’ll want to keep succeeding. Taking advantage of resources is another sign of success. How are you managing your time? Are you scheduling exercise like you would any other important appointment? There is no appointment more important than your health and wellness. Are you really using TOPS’ famous support to reach your goal? What are some ways our chapter is a great resource?

We are all here to bolster one another’s self-confidence when we feel unsure, when we doubt we have the strength to reach our goals. We are all here to cheer and applaud successes when we have them. If you aren't taking advantage of a KOPS as a mentor or supplying support if you are a KOPS, then you aren't using one of our most valuable resources. Another step toward changing the way we approach change is making sure we have all the information we need before moving forward. Do we feel comfortable with the exchange system so we can put it to use for our weight-loss efforts? If not, what can we do about that so we can utilize this tool? How can we apply these same principles to exercise?

Perhaps the strongest tool you can use for change is to change your mind. Stories about KOPS in TOPS News always stress the same theme: you must truly embrace the journey and all of its challenges; you must change your mind about the way you look at food and exercise to truly succeed. Once you make a commitment to change, tackling plateaus and other issues along the way gets a little easier. You make changes every day that are almost second nature. Let’s work on making changes that help us reach our weight-loss and wellness goals.

This activity is for you to take home and fill out. It’s designed to help you choose to change your approach to a goal of your choice each week for four weeks. Maybe you’ll choose to eliminate artificial sweeteners or maybe you’ll choose to get up 30 minutes earlier to take a brisk, 20-minute walk. The choice is yours. To help keep us all accountable, we’re going to track our goals for four weeks. I've entered all of our names on this chart and put the dates of our next four meetings across the top. Each of you will write your change for the next week and then, each week, we will come back together and briefly discuss whether or not we successfully made these changes. We’ll hand out fun awards at the end!

See activity below:

ACTIVITY: Choosing to Change 

Week One

 I commit to _________________________________ this week. 
Small changes I can make this week: 
• Take a new route to school, work or to our TOPS meeting.
 • Write an old-fashioned letter instead of sending an email.

 Week Two 

I commit to __________________________________this week. 
Small changes I can make this week: 
• Try a new, low-fat recipe in place of a family standard.
 • Sit in a different seat at our TOPS chapter meeting. 

Week Three 

I commit to ________________________________this week. 
Small changes I can make this week: 
• If you've never done it before, volunteer to lead a chapter program in the future.
 • Invite someone new to a TOPS chapter meeting. 

Week Four 

I commit to _________________________________this week. 
Small changes I can make this week:
 • Donate clothes you haven’t worn in a year to charity. 
• Try three new seasonings on your food this week.

 © 2008 by TOPS Club, Inc

I sent everyone with this activity sheet and assigned it as homework.  Next week I will have the chart ready where we will write our goals down for everyone to see and get our stickers if we succeed.  I challenge you to try it too!