Weight Watchers New Program

So as any of you who are doing Weight Watchers already knows, they've gone and changed up the whole system!

A Point is no longer the same unit it was before.  Fruits are free!  You get a higher number of points, but most foods now have a higher point value.  I feel like it probably all evens out, and that it does encourage you to eat more natural and nutritious foods, but it's different for sure.  I have certainly been getting in more produce than before, so that's a good thing.

My meeting is tomorrow, but I think I might wind up not weighing in.  It's kind of a silly reason, but here it is:  I have a Christmas Brunch to attend in the morning.  It's to benefit my little friend Katie, who is in the hospital with cancer right now.  I'm not planning to go wild and eat my weight in pastries or anything like that, but I do plan to participate and enjoy a sampling of what my friends have made for us.  Now, I wouldn't even blink at that if it were, say, tonight.  But I normally don't eat or drink anything at all until after I weigh, so I'm thinking that could affect my weigh-in.  I find that it does make a difference if I have even just a cup of coffee, and I don't want to get discouraged after my first week on the new plan.

I will go to the meeting, though.  I really want to hear what people are saying about it and hear what the leader has to say, as well as to see how the scales are treating everyone.  I will weigh at home on my scales, as usual, but I never count it until it's official at the meeting.

A few days ago my friend Mandy wanted to walk a winding and hilly road here called Holdsworth Drive.  It's really scenic and has nice sidewalks the entire length of it.  It's also just over a 5K if you go all the way down and back.  We started out, but then she started having trouble with her knee, so we had to go to the high school track and walk for an hour there instead, on that flat and level surface.  Before you accuse her of chickening out, let me assure you that she often walks it with no trouble and that it was her idea.  Don't worry though, it's coming!  I'm going  to blaze that trail!

Hope you're all enjoying this busy season and not getting too stressed out about it.  So far, so good here!

My Absence Explained

I've been a little lax about posting the last couple of weeks.  Sorry about that!

I mentioned one day that I was having a hard time sleeping due to some stressful things going on.  Well, I thought I'd share that with you today.

My main concern had to do with one of my best friends, Marla.  She has three kids, and the middle child is in 8th grade.  That's Katie.  Katie was diagnosed with a kind of cancer called AML when she was 11 years old, went through treatment, and had been done with all that for about a year and a half.  Two weeks ago the family learned that it's back.

A few days after that, she was back in the hospital getting chemo.  She'll need a bone marrow transplant this time around, and she will be living in the hospital pretty much full-time for several months to come.  It's just hard on Katie and on the whole family, as well as those of us who love them.

So to make myself feel like I was doing something -- anything -- I set up a blog for support of the family.  It was a little time-consuming doing that and working on fundraising ideas in my community.  You're free to check it out if you'd like to know more at www.katieskrowd.blogspot.com.

In addition to that, my father-in-law had heart surgery during this time (he came through it fine), and I found out that someone I've tried to help in the past is probably back on drugs again (not so fine).

In the meantime, however, I have overcome that little binge setback I had and am still back on track.  I'm trying not to confuse food with a security blanket.  That will just make it worse.

My usual weigh-in day is on Thursdays.  Since Thanksgiving is Thursday we will have no meeting, so I'm going to weigh today.  Fingers crossed!  I'll update that in the morning.

Everybody ready for Thanksgiving?  Whatever you plan to do, whether it's strict dieting, moderation, or allowing for an indulgence, I hope you're able to stick with your plan!

Pretty in Pink

October is National 

Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Today I attended the "Baubles & Beads Style Show and Luncheon," which assists local women who might require financial help with their breast cancer treatments, medications, or other needs in order to battle their disease effectively.  This annual event has provided funds to the Peterson Regional Medical Center Breast Cancer Assistance Fund since 2002.

Our Table

Before the crowd arrived

Pink everywhere!

Rose petals on the runway

Baubles & Beads

Naturally, I started thinking about health and wellness during this luncheon.  I thought about how lucky I am not to be dealing with a life-threatening illness, even though I've eaten loads of junky foods and gone long stretches of time being sedentary.  

Sitting at my table were Jennifer and Kacy, who are both runners.  We talked about health and the importance of physical activity.  Jennifer started running just recently.  She has a friend with breast cancer who is beating it and credits that partly to her active lifestyle.  Kacy has been running for about two years, but is really getting serious about it lately (after having major knee surgery, mind you).  She's recently lost almost 50 pounds!  They were very supportive of my efforts to get healthier, and I had a great time visiting with them today.

Jennifer and Kacy

This got me excited thinking about what I might work up to.  I'll be sensible about it, of course.  I've recently recovered from a year-long foot injury, so I won't try to run right now.  I'll need to build up to it.  But already I can see improvement in my abilities.  If I try it and have a problem, I'll just build up more.  But I think I would like to try to run.  Maybe not a marathon, or even a 10K.  But how about a mile?  I know for a fact I couldn't run a mile right now, but maybe someday.

And speaking of physically fit, next up came the local firemen, strutting down the runway to collect money for the cause.  They really knew how to work the crowd, and women were stuffing those boots with cash!

Firemen on the Runway

These little pink gift boxes were at each of our place settings.  What could be inside?  

Open it!

Surprise!

Ah, looks like my two kiddos will each get a little treat!

And speaking of little treats, even the dessert was pink.  Here's where serendipity hit... One guest at our table was not served her dessert.  She asked the waiter for it, but it never came.  So instead of sitting there thinking about how to resist eating the whole thing, I offered my untouched dessert to the other woman.  It worked out great!  

I heard it was delicious!

Today's luncheon was very emotional.  I'd encourage everyone reading this to do what you can to help eradicate breast cancer.  Donate time and money, if you can.  Wear your pink ribbon awareness gear.  Talk about it.  Sign up for events to raise awareness.  This can happen to anyone (and statistically, most of us will be affected by breast cancer during our lifetimes - either personally or through someone we care about.)

So here are my final words (stolen from a t-shirt I saw for sale today): "Feel your boobies."  Check yourselves, and remind others to do the same!