Weekly Meeting Topic: Shaking it up on WW (and links to my guest blog posts for Fred Flare)

Tonight we talked about boredom on plan and shaking things up. It's probably obvious, but boredom can be dangerous because it can lead to us slipping back to previous behavior, and we don't want to do that. Everyone in the room contributed to the conversation when the leader (who I really like) asked us what we do to prevent boredom. Here are some ideas that may help or inspire you:

Food Boredom - It can be easy to eat the same foods all the time, but eventually you may get tired of them. Fortunately, I love trying new foods and recipes, and that's an easy fix for this problem. Lately I've been experimenting with different vegan products, but have also been treating myself to different kinds of pears and apples since they're in season and there's an abundance of variety right now. I have not been disappointed with any of them yet! And I love trying new recipes - I sometimes look for them on the WW website, but find a lot of good ones in Real Simple magazine, and the NY Times website (this one sounds awesome!). I also have a great new Vegan cookbook I've been 'reading' (thank you, Sherry!) and I can't wait to try some of those recipes! (And to my Greenpoint friends, I am even considering hosting a brunch with this book! Vegan, of course. That's right, I might actually allow people in my apartment!)

Activity Boredom - If you're bored with your workout routine, don't let that be an excuse to stop working out. Find something new! As most of you know, I recently incorporated some running into my weekly workouts, as well as the Total Body Conditioning (strength training) class. I still do my other workouts because I still enjoy them - Punk Rope, pilates, cardio machines and bike riding. (Wow, I never thought I'd do that much activity in a year, let alone a week, go me!)

So if you're getting bored with your food or activity choices, it's probably time to think about what you can change to shake it up. Sometimes it's all you need to feel motivated and excited about your journey again!


And here are my weekly follow ups-

What did I accomplish this week?

• This week I tracked 4 days. Not as good as last week, and not as good as I wanted to do, but better than I was doing over the last few months. I am still working towards making this a daily habit.
• I managed to take my vitamins 6 days this week - I think that's a record for me! I'm really trying to make this a daily habit too, and I'm off to a really good start.
• I gave the chocolate section and the peanut butter section in Whole Foods the stare down last week. Not only that, but I told them they had no power over me and I was not going to fall for their delicious charms! (Fear not, I said it in my head, no one saw the crazy...) Again, instead of eating chocolate on the walk back to work, I had a delicious and refreshing seltzer, which I really look forward to now!
• I created a spreadsheet to track my activity and the associated statistics from my new heart rate monitor (I love that thing!). I burn way more calories than I realized, especially biking! I'm still collecting data but I will share it eventually.
• I finished reading The End of Overeating recently (awesome, highly recommended!) and started reading another new book, Skinny Bitch, which I LOVE. I should review them in future blogs... if I ever get around to it.
  
• A co-worker gave me a box of Boo Berry cereal (my all time favorite cereal - I even have a Boo Berry tattoo) and what struck me after the fact was that I had no emotional reaction to the gift. I realized that I am not even tempted to eat it! It's simply a box with a cute cartoon ghost and some non-food contents inside. That's amazing progress and shows how far I have come in thinking about food and what I am willing to put in my body - The artificial food ban that I began in May has been one of the most profound and surprisingly easiest rules I've implemented. I never thought I could keep a box of that in my house without wanting to eat it!

What do I want to work towards next week?

• I will track at least 5 days, but try for 7.
• As for my upcoming 5K this Sunday, I hope to complete it in 40-45 minutes.
• I want to have a day this week where I "tweet what I eat". I think it will keep me on program, the same way photographing my food for a blog does.
  

And on the topic of my Weight Watchers journey, I just want to mention that I've been guest blogging over at Fred Flare recently (because keeping up with three of my own blogs just isn't enough for me!). Here are two of my weight-related posts - It's Never too Late to Feel Great! and How a Glamour Girl Dresses for the Gym. Check them out if you can, and also check out the rest of super-cute Fred Flare. They're Bitch Cakes approved!

Have a fantastic week, everyone!