Community is Key to Right Choices

Disclosure

I’m not quite sure why but things have sure seemed hectic lately. I started off the year on the right track.

Exercising both at the gym and at home.
Trying healthier dinner options
Refocusing when I went out to eat.

Unlike some people my size, I love being at the gym. I enjoy the difficult workouts along with the social interaction. On the off days, I used to do weights at the gym but had switched it up to utilize the Kinect.

Lately. Not so much. Volunteering at the school and other stuff has thrown a kink in my gym routine. While at home, I’m working on my computer (or playing on my iPad.) My Your Shape: Fitness Evolved has probably forgotten who I am.

The kids sports schedules and religious education classes have made preparing dinners less than fun. Besides the fact that I’m not disciplined to sit down and plan a week’s worth of meals.

Can you hear it? Excuses. That’s what they are.

It all has to change. When we focus on making healthy meals, we incorporate healthy option like fresh produce, whole grains and shared portions of protein. As an example, a few years ago, we would cook up two steaks. One for myself and one for DH then we would cut portions off ours for the kids. Now, we cook one steak, share it between the four of us, fix a salad, some vegetables and some fresh fruit.

I’m ready to start that again. With the local farmers’ market opening on Monday along with the close of some of our extra-curricular activities, I think we can get back on track. We started planting our annual garden which means the summer will yield some fresh produce. I’ll plant container herbs once we get past the frost.

Both my parents, as well as my MIL all keep their focus by attending Weight Watchers meetings. I participated in the program and attended meetings before my wedding and achieved my target goal but I haven’t been back – to my goal or the meetings.  Right now, I’m just not fond of the idea of adding yet another thing to the schedule.  But at least Weight Watchers has options at home for those of us who aren’t ready to take on the big commitment yet.

In fact, I’m working on an outreach campaign for Weight Watchers.  While they naturally would want consumers to purchase Weight Watchers products, that isn’t the focus of this campaign.  They simply are aiming to spread the word about healthy living, healthy options and making better decisions.

Weight Watchers Smart Ones is making it easier to stay on track with a healthy meal plan without spending time on prep work beforehand. Their products provide a variety of delicious, convenient and portion controlled meals and snacks that contain lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. And now they are offering two new breakfast items – like the new Egg, Sausage & Cheese Wrap and the French Toast with Turkey Sausage. Plus, the packaging tells you the Weight Watchers PointsPlus values in each serving, allowing you to conveniently plan for the day. Visit www.eatyourbest.com for more information.

Now, I want to point out that EatYourBest.com is branded by Weight Watchers. It looks like any other brand website. You can find coupons for Weight Watcher products, articles and advice from experts as well as information about the latest products.

But look closer and you’ll find what I feel is the most important part of this site: the community that they are building. It’s free to sign up. It’s free to post. It’s free to read. You know what? Everywhere we turn, we’re surrounded by community. The people who share our hobby, sports or other interests are part of those respective communities and we look to each other for information, advice and camaraderie. When it comes to weight loss, community is extremely important also. It’s important to have someone who shares our problems and concerns and celebrates our victories with us. People who can relate to the ups and downs.

So while I cannot and will not claim to eat Weight Watchers products regularly, I do enjoy the ones I have tried. I’m also excited to be given the opportunity to test out some of their newer breakfast products because I’m always on the lookout for something that will help me push through the morning at the gym! Having been through the Weight Watchers program and seeing people who currently participate in it, I can attest to the fact that it works. And one of the reasons it works is those weekly weigh-ins… with the Weight Watchers community.

Whether you’re already on the path to healthier eating, exercise and well-being, just getting started or trying to figure out WHERE to start, it’s worth checking out EatYourBest.com.

As for me, I signed up for the community today. Maybe I can stop making excuses and get back on track.