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A wonderful quote greeted me first thing this morning:
We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. ~ T.S. Eliot
It describes my life as a Weight Watchers Warrior.
“Weight Watchers Warrior” is a title I decided to bestow upon myself this morning. I thought about “Weight Watchers Princess.” Part of me has always wanted to be a princess.
But “Weight Watchers Warrior” feels better. Stronger. A force to be reckoned with. It describes how my life as a Lifetime Weight Watcher and Yoga Enthusiast have merged.
Becoming a Weight Watchers Warrior
Weight Watchers has been integral to helping me discover how to best manage my often tumultuous relationship with food. Yoga’s warrior poses are vigorous postures that have helped me cultivate strength and steadiness both on and off my yoga mat.
I’ve been on my Weight Watchers journey for decades. I joke that I’m a slow learner. And at 51 I’m finally coming to accept that things take as long as they take.
My weight and food struggles began in preadolescence. I first experienced Weight Watchers in the early 1990s when I was 28-years-old. What a long and winding road it has been since then.
I realize that it’s far from finished because I’m not finished. There is no finish line. It’s time to slow down and enjoy the ride. To admit that I have no idea how life will turn out. To trust that it will all be fine. To stop trying to control the outcome and focus on the process.
I think it was Steve Jobs who said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward.” Try as you might, it’s not possible. Only looking back can you appreciate how the tapestry of your life has been woven. How choices, decisions and actions from long ago, that seemed inconsequential at the time, contribute in a significant way to who you are today.
For me these include things like:
- Stepping into my first Weight Watchers meeting.
- Traveling to Paris where I witnessed slim women indulging in beautiful real food.
- Taking cooking classes.
- Walking back into Weight Watchers after a long hiatus feeling like a failure.
- Taking my initial yoga class.
- Experimenting with new foods and recipes.
- Joining a gym.
- Leaving an unhealthy relationship.
- Asking for help.
- Completing yoga teacher training.
- Committing to staying an active Weight Watchers Lifetime Member.
- Starting a blog.
Looking back I can see how all these unrelated actions have helped me become a Weight Watchers Warrior, balancing my love of food and desire to be slim and healthy.
What are some of your past choices, decisions and actions that have propelled you toward your goals?
I love this post! It’s hard to accept that “it takes as long as it takes” because our diet mentality tells us that there is a beginning and an end, and if you don’t meet those deadlines you’re a failure. It’s so much better to acknowledge that it’s a journey that will probably never end for those of us who struggle with this. Accept and move forward. I sure don’t want to go back!!
Thanks, Melissa! I totally agree. Modern Diet Mentality is totally out of sync with the reality of lasting sustainable weight loss and weight maintenance. I love what you say about “Accept and more forward.” I don’t want to go back either. But it can be enlightening to look back and realize how far we have come even if we haven’t met all our goals yet 🙂
So true!