Weekly Meeting with Caroline

So I told you the other day I was going back to WW meetings, and I meant it, damn it! I went to my regular Wednesday evening meeting with Caroline, the sweetest lady ever. Caroline has been my leader for a couple years and she is hilarious. She is about 70 years old and has been on WW for 30 years!! Seriously, I want to be her in 40 years or so! She is such a firecracker!

The topic of the meeting was "Say no to saying no" and was all about how on WW we don't NEED to say no to any foods. We may CHOOSE to say no, because it is not worth the points to us, but there is nothing that is completely restricted. (One reason I love WW, by the way!). I felt like this was a timely topic, considering my Pizza Hut debacle last week.

One thing Caroline said that really hit home to me was this: "Don't feel guilty about eating something. But make sure you ate it because you really wanted it. Don't eat it just because it's there, or because you smelled it, or because someone else is eating it. If you really, really want it, eat it. Count the points and move on. Guilt will get you nowhere."

Okay then. Last week I really, really wanted that pizza. I ate it, I counted it, I moved on, I still lost weight. I felt somewhat guilty for eating WPs when it wasn't really necessary, but I DID have the points, I DID want the pizza, and I DID track what I ate. So, no guilt.

The bottom line is, I think we are programmed to feel guilty when it comes to eating "bad" foods. No matter how healthy a lifestyle someone may live, no one is perfect and I'm sure every one of us craves some kind of not-so-healthy food at some point or another. Realistically, it's totally okay to splurge on something  every so often if we are maintaining a healthy lifestyle most of the time! And why should we feel guilty about that?

I think people often follow this philosophy in other areas of life and don't feel guilty about it. For instance:
I know people who cut back on spending in everyday life to save money for a nice vacation. I bet they don't feel very guilty while they are sitting on a beach somewhere sipping margaritas! Isn't what we do on the WW program a similar philosophy? If you want the pizza, cut back in other areas or exercise to offset the points, and enjoy! Wash your hands of the guilt!

I am just as "guilty" of this behavior as others, as you saw in my post about the pizza last week. However, Caroline's comment about how guilt gets you nowhere has really been stuck in my head. She's totally right and I'm going to try to stop the "bad" talking and feelings of guilt. I challenge everyone else to do the same!

Good luck and stay healthy!