Well, here we go again...

/waves

Hi out there.  Yes, it's been nearly 9 months.

I stepped on the scale on Monday morning for the first time in at least a month.  I saw the number and blinked.  I was tipping the scales at the highest weight I've ever been in my life - 330 lbs.

Was this a surprise?  Absolutely not.  My pants have been fitting tighter and tighter and I've been trying to work miracles with my current wardrobe without resembling a ridiculous, over-stuffed sausage.  (Horrible visual, I know.)  I've been working long hours and grabbing fast food on the way home.  There's absolutely no excuse as to how I got to this point.  I've let my priorities slip - focusing on everything and everyone else around me and neglecting ME.  And it's finally reared it's ugly head.

So, Monday night, with my college roomie Jenn at Snuffy's, I decided that dinner that night was my last hurrah with a delicious mushroom burger, fries and a brownie malt.  I was going back on Weight Watchers the following day.

Yesterday was a new start, back on the plan again.  Though I was still a paying monthly pass WW member, I attended my first meeting at the Edina WW location since September 2013.  Stepping on the scale before the meeting for my official weekly weigh-in plain SUCKED. I knew I had gained my weight back (and some) and facing these people was extremely humbling.  The attendant was great - she noticed my weight went up, looked at the last weigh-in date, and in a very friendly way - welcomed me back.  She said that she was resetting my starting point to today and that it was my new beginning.  She didn't make me feel guilty.  She gave me all the materials I needed for the start over.  The hard part was over - I walked into the 10:30 meeting just as it began.

I haven't been to this facilitator before, but I immediately liked her.  She started off the meeting by opening the table to the group, asking people to share any successes, setbacks or highlights from the previous week.  I opened up to the group, saying that I was back after a 9 month hiatus.  I received many smiles and nods of encouragement from the group.  It made me remember how important the meetings were.  Everyone in that room was struggling with exactly the same problem I was.  They understood.

After the meeting, I waited for my individual 'refresher' on WW (which I didn't really need) and the walk-through of the new 'Simple Start' program (which I did need, since it was new to the regimen since I had joined back in June of 2012).  During that transition time between meeting end and this refresher, I had 4 individuals - complete strangers - come up to me before they left and welcome me back, wish me luck and tell me that they're happy to have me joining them again.  WW is a community.  A family. Without question or hesitation, they welcomed me back in with open arms.

I know it's only day 2 on the plan, but I'm feeling very optimistic.  I'm hoping that this initial wind in my sails continues.