Run, WW, Run

Welcome back for another installment of Run, WW, Run my virtual cross country trek inspiring me to get fit. When last we met I had met my weekly goal to get to WPI and set a very aggressive goal for the week to make it to Six Flags New England. This was driven by the long weekend planned on Cape Cod with bike rides planned and two planned soccer games.  This week I finally find myself moving into some much more rural surroundings. I end my first leg along a long road seemingly in the middle of nowhere where the only thing in view is an electrical contractor. As coincidence would have it that same day I spent on the phone tracking down a contractor. It was for a gas issue but it counts.

 

A bit further down the road I pass a few farms and land at a farming equipment company. Nice to see some life after traveling through the woods. There is a local farm my wife has been wanting to go to for years but it would be a week or two before we could schedule it since my son is moving into finals. For now I will focus on my farm, I mean garden. I have been neglecting it but at least there has been a lot of rain.

Finally taking to the bike I trek on through the woods. I end up surrounded by nothing but trees. I pass a post office and a clam box restaurant. This would become a theme which surprises me a little considering I am moving inland. I was on the Cape for the weekend and we went to the local clam shack….I had an amazing lobster roll. I forgot how crazy the prices of those and fried seafood can get.

My next bike ride luckily moves me along quickly. I follow the Quabog river a bit with not much to see. I try to enjoy the scenery.  That’s what bike rides are all about anyway.

My next stop is at Thorndike Mills. A carpet manufacturer. I reminisce a bit at the photo shown since we had one of those when I was a kid. My only tie in that and that I was at Dad’s house over the weekend. It’s a carpet…not much inspiration there.

Then it happens for the second day on my journey. I forgot my fitbit. IT was supposed to be a day where I played soccer too. I missed the game to go to my son’s sports award. I felt a bit defeated as it became apparent I wasn’t likely to make it to my weekly target. I had only biked 2 of the 3 mornings on the Cape. I was just too tired. Had to keep pushing.

My next day I actually did get to play soccer (although the knee was a little sore) I ended in a residential area where in the satellite view you can see a huge wood pile. As I type this a huge mulch pile is being dropped in my driveway. A big project for this weekend.

Next, I find myself at the Anchor house restaurant. Another seafood place. This past weekend we went to our favorite seafood place, The Flying Bridge.

I end the week fitting in a final bike ride to replace the missed one on Monday. The surroundings are different. It is not an early morning jaunt along the empty streets of Cape Cod. It is a rush hour bob and weave thorough traffic. I get the mileage in but I don’t get the normal peace that comes with it.

I end at a courthouse where I will play judge and jury on myself. I missed my weekly target by about 6.5 miles. I kick myself for missing a fitbit day, skipping a bike ride and missing a soccer game. That’s when I realize I am not being fair to myself. Looking back I realize I got 4 “real” workouts in. 3 bike rides of 45 minutes or greater and an hour playing soccer. That’s a win. Overall, I am happy with my progress.

My target for this week will be to make it to ESPN headquarters. I will surely make it into state number two

Run, WW, Run

The WW and the Pitcher

“You don’t save a pitcher for tomorrow. Tomorrow it may rain.” ~Leo Durocher

He stands on the hill, alone. Everyone is watching, waiting. The catcher gives the sign. A simple nod and then he rears back into the windup. He feels the creak in an old tired arm. He drives forward and let’s it fly. It’s everything he’s got. One pitch. One moment. He hears the snap of the ball hitting the catcher’s mitt and he waits. A moment that can feel like a lifetime and then it comes…..STRRRIIIIKE 3. Batters out.

We as Weight Watchers are that pitcher on the mound. Each meal like a pitch, giving everything. We try to keep an even keel as some land for strikes and some balls. We can’t take one Smart Point too harshly. Each batter like a day on plan, we battle. Some we blow away with our fastballs and some take our garbage and launch it into the bleachers. We battle each week like an inning, hoping to save something for next one to come. Unfortunately, we don’t have teammates who can put up runs for us and still win. This game does not end after nine innings. We look to achieve our goal but know that we must take the hill again for a lifetime.

Like any great pitcher we fall into our routine. We know what works for us. Even though it looks the same we know each situation is different and we must adapt. What looks simple is not. We have to plan. We need to know each situation like each batter. We must learn their tendencies, their weak spots. We face a workday like that bottom of the lineup hitter knowing we can blow right by them. We battle the birthday parties like Ortiz in the cleanup spot knowing if we don’t hit our spot he will take us deep.

We come with different pitches. The fast one right down the middle is like our grilled chicken with salad. We try to go off speed once in a while mixing in our old favorites like fitting in pizza. Every once in a while we need to throw a curve and plan in a pitch for fun (like pancakes)

We want to always pitch a perfect game but need to realize that scraping out a win however we can is all that matters. I feel like right now I can react to a runner on 2nd facing a 3-1 count to a curveball hitter but my planning needs more work. I need to better see the pull hitter on deck and be ready to pitch around the first ballot hall of famer. Without proper planning I am using too few points early in the day, leaving myself very hungry later and even though landing overall under often I don’t want to do that. Time for an adjustment.

Play ball!

The WW lost in jumbled thoughts

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.”~ Marcus Aurelius

I thought I was going to write today about pivoting. Then I thought a non-scale victory would bubble up to the top of my list. Then a thought  popped into my weight loss consciousness after an exchange with a coworker. I think all these thoughts will make me think I am crazy and become thoughtless. So instead let’s gather them and make today’s entry a series of short thoughts

• “Pivoting is not the end of the disruption process, but the beginning of the next leg of your journey.” ― Jay Samit. I need to pivot. The last couple of nights I have successfully fought of my binge pattern. Victories for sure but I need to change behavior to not end up there in the first place. Short thought: I think I actually need more points at dinner.
• “I don’t design clothes, I design dreams.”― Ralph Lauren. I have blogged about not caring about fashion but admit that the ability to fit into clothes easier is a major force in my weight loss motivation. A non-scale victory this morning brought a single pair of pants back into my rotation. Hopefully, the first in a closet full. Short thought: Enjoy the NSVs, they matter more than the scale.
• “$%&#ing disaster”― Unnamed. This is the text I got to inspire the thought for this blog. A “details-not-important” crisis at work with a large team working round the clock to fix. A long exchange catching someone up followed by the above. I don’t know why but it made me think of weight loss and how people feel free to chime in. Short thought: Only you really know your challenges and how your solutions truly effect them.
• “Family is not an important thing. It’s everything. “-Michael J. Fox I missed a soccer game last night opting instead to go to my son’s sports awards. As I went, I felt regret of a missed opportunity for a workout. I felt disappointed that it may mean I don’t make my weekly target (especially since I forgot my fitbit yesterday). Once the event began I realized I was exactly where I should be. I can have another workout on any other day but those moments with our kids go by so fast. I was home early enough to pivot to a different workout and did not. Short thought: Be where you are supposed to be.

I think that is enough thoughts for one day.

The Weight Watcher and the Fearless Girl

I am the fearless girl. (ok…guy). I stand tall in front of the charging bull. I will not be moved.  I will not fall. The bull comes at me unwavering, undeterred. It’s strike is inevitable yet somehow never comes.  A moment frozen in time. The true symbolism in this artwork comes not from my journey. The bull was meant to show strength in the market. The girl celebrating a diversity fund has come to represent feminism.

On this day I see a different representation through the eyes of a Weight Watcher. The bull charges. He is the hunger. He is the binge. His attack can come at any time. I stand tall staring him down. I am ready. At least now. This moment is frozen in the mind of the WW. At any moment the house of cards can fall. When it strikes can we hope we can re-cement the statue to stand again.

I stood in this image last night. It had been a long trying weekend on plan. I had won. I returned home. No more eating out. This was supposed to be the easy part. Yet I heard the bull. He was coming. I didn’t care. Let him plow me over and I will dust off tomorrow.

A snack……wait a minute I had enough daily SP cover that. Fine I can ruin this another way. Small snack of cheese and crackers since dear wife was there but  full intent to open the floodgates once she went to bed. It was going to be on.  I’ll track the snack. Sure I was into weeklies but only by 7. I couldn’t wait to get started. I was going to fill myself until I burst. I was going to let the bull trample me with a smile.

And then it happened. Like the statue he stood still. I would love to say I stopped him in his tracks but I’m not sure what really happened. I realized the hunger was gone and only the desire burned. I stood tall. I stared him down. I won….for today.

I will forever stand in front of this charging bull fighting my all or nothing mentality but for one day I managed to not get trampled and today I feel better because of that than I would have in the moments enjoying the binge. At least someone took the statue of the urinating dog away.  (I’ll avoid analyzing that imagery)

Run, WW, Run 3

Welcome to the weekly update of Run, WW, Run my virtual cross country journey. This was my 2nd full week and the 1st one where I really pushed. When I last last left you I was at a bank in Brookline headed towards my alma mater Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

I end my first day on Rt 9 looking at the sunset. I promise myself I will watch a sunset sometime  during the week but the weather has been so lousy there wasn’t much to see. I’ll be on this road most of the week.

A bit further down the road I see a police car wondering if I will get pulled over only to realize I am on foot :). I have way to link to the police other than to police my own behavior and that will have to be good enough.Another interesting thing on Google maps at this spot is if I cross the street it changes from day to night. This makes me think of looking at things from a different perspective. I’ll let this blog be that tie in and carry on realizing that I need better plans as I move to keep this fun.

A quick stop at Mathworks (makers of Matlab that we have used at work). WW is full of math but this week I have been trying to come closer to target as I have been a bit low on points and feeling it.

My next stop is at the Fun & Games video arcade an old favorite from when I was a kid.  My brother and I used to go there all the time with an old baby sitter. I make sure I get some Xbox in this week to pay tribute.

Next I find myself at a comic book store and I realize that the stops and the places I have seen along the way have started to take a common theme. They all make me think of my son. He loves video games and used to play Magic the Gathering at the local comic book store. I passed Framingham State (on his short list of colleges he is looking at). One of the stops is near a tuxedo shop (He just had 2 proms). This has been an interesting week for him. He has struggled with his grades not because of his abilities but because he is not very organized. I spent a lot of time arguing with him and then ultimately helping him with some organizational strategies and follow through. He’s a great kid and one of my great joys in life and one reason I am on this journey.

My next sop is a bit in the middle of nowhere with only a Billboard in view. It’s a Cumberland farms coffee add demonstrating versus Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks. It makes me think of the challenge of deciding what is SmartPoint worthy and what is not. I also think if I should switch morning coffees. I am Dunkin man and have made my daily trip there every day this week.

A stop at yet another shopping center makes me realize I have still not taken a shopping trip to get the snack foods I need. My wife has done pretty well helping me out but I need to get there soon.

As I went into the final day I used the map to see how far I had to go to goal. I was still 7.1 miles away and realized my fitbit activity wasn’t going to get there. It was raining and at the end of work I had only about 2.6 miles in. This RWR challenge is working because I ended up at the gym because of that and got some elliptical in. Realizing I was not going to make the distance on the elliptical because I am not in that good shape, I switched to the exercise bike to get the rest of the way. In the end I not only made my goal but got a bit further down the road.

It was nice to see WPI again even virtually. Actually as part of the college search with my son went through the campus a couple of weeks back (funny how things work out).

This week I set a VERY aggressive goal to make it to Six Flags. The main reason is that we are heading to Cape COd this long weekend and it is my favorite place to ride my bike so I expect to get lots of miles in this way.

Hopefully I can find some interesting stops along the way and turn those into reality.

Run, WW, Run

The WW learning from the termites

From just the mention of the word your skin beings to crawl. You can feel them crawling up your back only to look and see nothing there.  You know they are there but can’t see them. They aren’t interested in you just the taste of your beautiful home but you can’t stop the heebie-jeebies. Welcome to the world of termites. Sure I could could go on and on about the giant inconvenience and cost I am dealing with but this is a weight loss blog. So how can we learn from termites on our weight loss journey. Let’s give it a shot.

They can do a lot of damage but work very slowly.  So does the WW.  We constantly have to remind ourselves that WW is our nest and we will be here for a while (for life really) We didn’t get fat in a day and can’t destroy this “house” that quickly.

They work much better in numbers. This WW knows he cannot do it alone. I already look to both my family and to the Connect family for support.

The termites diet is not as boring as you might think. Sure they eat mostly would but they do get to treat themselves on fungus from decaying trees as well. Our trackers should be full of simple foods but we can work in the things we love. Sure we have to have some things we don’t like sometimes but at least we aren’t termites equipping themselves with microorganisms so they can digest cellulose. (It’s gross…Google it)

Each termite has a job… Workers, soldiers, reproducers and even some whose role is to branch out and start new colonies. This is where I wish I could pass some of things off. You take care of the workouts and the tracking while I handle the eating part. If only it were that simple. We can’t sit back like the queen. Instead must balance all the roles and manage each day.

We want them out…now. But need to make sure they stay gone. Once again proof that a quick fix isn’t always enough and that we must monitor.

You’re going to want a professional. Hello….that’s why we are WW members.

The weight loss journey can feel like a pest, even an infestation at times. All we can do is face it head on. Deal with the problem, work with a pro, repair the damage and move on…until the next thing. Accepting that there is always a next thing is the hardest part. Another challenge, another expense another day as a WW.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The WW and the return of the Count

A couple of years back (on the old WW blog site), I nominated Count von Count for the WW spokesperson. It didn’t work out because puppets don’t have weight problems. My muppet friend returns today, however, to do some..well..counting (of course). You see I have for a long time been stuck on the number 1…. “Day 1″ to be exact. How many times have I repeated Day 1? More than I can count…ah, ah, ah. Yet today the Count bellows “2, ah ah ah” and the best part is that it isn’t Day 2. It’s “Week 2”.  And the numbers keep flowing… I counted 11,617 steps yesterday and 8 SP for breakfast today after 7 days tracking everything and on plan, and most amazing

11.6 lbs lost

As WWers we count everything especially the days until we get to where we want to be. But for today I will take a simple 2 as the number of the day and celebrate. Ah, ah, ah. Wouldn’t you agree, my bats? Ah, ah, ah.

Run, WW, Run Update

Welcome to the weekly update of Run, WW, Run my virtual cross country journey. This was my first full week. When I last last left you I was doing some grocery shopping in Revere headed to the beach to dip my toes in the Atlantic before trekking west. I set a simple goal for the week to make it to Fenway Park to catch a baseball game.

My first stop along the way was Kelly’s roast beef right on Revere Beach. Another nod to nostalgia and a pretty good sandwich. In keeping with my theme I actually did stop at a different Kelly’s during the week and planned the sandwich in. It backfired a bit making the weekend a struggle but we journey on. Quickly across the street for a dip in the Atlantic I can finally say I am going coast to coast. The day ended in a residential area next to a painting truck. I thought about starting a project but it was a nice week and I didn’t want to especially since I am doing some painting this weekend in prep to sell my Dad’s house.

I ended the next day at a place called Super Burrito. A couple days later I made sure I went to the local Mexican place (It’s not reach since it is in my regular lunch rotation). The funny thing was yesterday at lunch we were talking about places to eat and someone recommended Super Burrito to me. Strange coincidence.

Just down the street from Super Burrito is a martial arts studio. Not too far because I forgot to wear my fitbit that day and it was one of my more active days. I had hoped to make it to the gym to see if there was something I could do there with a martial arts theme but Dad duties got in the way. The son I needed to help with his homework does karate so I’ll count that. 🙂

Next I finally made it into Boston. Not much walking on purpose more tracking this week but I am trying. I ended under the Zakim bridge with Boston Garden in the distance. The Celtics are in the playoffs so that has been a regular habit this week. (Controlling the snacking during the games can be tough).

The next day the final push towards Fenway fell ridiculously short (0.1 miles). Had I realized that I would have kept moving. I did end in front of Jillians. Why not stop in for a beer and some bowling. Another amazing coincidence, the active day with no fitbit included a family trip bowling.

As I continued, I stopped Fenway Park for a game.  I got some exercise this week throwing batting practice for my son and watched a couple of his games. Since that was my target I turned towards my next goal. Worcester Polytechnic Institute my alma mater.  I ended the day in Brookline in front of the Reservoir. I had hoped to go for a bike ride around my local reservoir (another workout thwarted by life) so instead I look to my good health guidelines and realize I am not drinking water like WW recommends. I am working on improving that with this inspiration.

My final stop of the week was in Brookline at a bank (I will need some cash for the long virtual journey).  I was a very short distance from making it out of Brookline and adding another city. If only I had realized. Yesterday was supposed to be the big bike ride but as I said life got in the way. It was very hot which demotivated me to go workout and motivated me to install the air conditioners. I guess I can use that as my home project from above.

This week I set a more aggressive goal. I tried to move more but have more excuses than miles.  Sure 2 soccer games were cancelled, one gym trip killed (see my fault blog from early), homework and heat but I did show I can’t yet pivot. I do feel motivation to make it further. Especially as I leave the city and I know that large gaps in things to land on are coming.

I am happy with how many of the stops were able to inspire or at least echo my activities for the week.  I’m having fun with it.

Run, WW, Run

 

 

WW Smash

You’re making me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.  My blood begins to boil. I can feel the Gama radiation coursing through my veins. The cause of the anger doesn’t matter…only the anger matters. My shirt feels tight and begins to tear. My skin turns green. My pants begin to tatter and somehow turn purple. I am large, I am enraged, I must SMASH.  I fight to find my humanity. I fight to find Bruce Banner…I mean Mark Donahue. I fight the rage without my most effective weapon…..food. Last night I was angry. (It happens) It isn’t about the reason…it’s about the reaction, the coping mechanism.  In days past the HULK would calm himself over a tasty treat or ten. The fat and sugar in my system would offset the gama radiation and I would find my inner Dr. Banner again. Last night I wanted to eat away my anger but I fought it and managed to stay on plan. I realized I need to find a new outlet again. I can no longer drown anger, stress, fear, sadness, or boredom in cheese. On WW journeys past, I turned to soccer as a stress outlet to prevent the inner beast from emerging. When the stress comes I need look to writing, painting (a new one for me) or playing a game to slow the heart rate. Channeling stress to new outlets, maybe Stan Lee can create a new comic for me… The WW… with the power to fit into his pants. Then again if anger makes me built like Lou Ferrigno in an instant somebody yell at me ASAP.

Not the WW’s fault

Don’t find fault, find a remedy. ~Henry Ford

But DAAAAD…It’s not my fault.  As a father I can’t tell you how many times I have heard those words. As a WW I can’t tell you how many times I have thought them. It’s not my fault that someone brought donuts to work. It’s not my fault that I skipped the gym because I had to drive my son to the “insert random event here”.  The inspiration for this very blog came yesterday when it was not my fault I couldn’t go to the gym. I dressed for the gym…I told the family I was going to the gym…I even told the woman at my previous appointment that I was headed to the gym right after. Then she busted my bubble. It must be her fault….sure blame her. I had a laser procedure and was informed not to reheat the area which meant no hot showers and sadly no workouts. For once, it actually wasn’t my fault. I was dejected and that’s what really made me think. Sure I can’t do a full workout but it doesn’t mean sit in the couch eating cookies feeling sorry for myself. Don’t turn a workout into a disaster. That for sure would have been my fault.  So instead I took my son to watch a baseball game and pitched some easy batting practice after. Sure I didn’t hit my step goal or get a real workout in but it was my fault that I found some movement. It was my fault that helped keep me on plan for the rest of the day. It was my fault that I can write this blog after a positive day. It will be my fault when the negative hits too and I’m okay with that. I will accept responsibility for my actions and learn to pivot when life throws rocks at my plans.

Update: My soccer game for tonight just got cancelled. IT will be my fault if I don’t get a workout in anyway.