If you couldn't lose another pound for the rest
of your life and you had to stay right where
you are right now, would that be okay with you?
Yeah, I actually thought about it this past week.
I actually said to my husband, you know, like
I'm so close now, it's like I can almost taste
that goal that my doctor and I set for myself.
I said, but you know what? If I didn't lose another
pound, I said... I would just look. I said, I'm
so proud of how far I've come. And he said he
was also so proud of me. But I said, I'm so proud
of how far I've come. I've never done something
that big in my whole life for like myself. Right.
I've done things at work or for other people.
But like this was this was a very personal thing.
This was a great journey. I'd be OK with it.
And I think that would be appropriate. Welcome
back to Weighing In with Patrick. I am Patrick
Hall. You're about to listen to the third installment
of our conversation with Amy. We talk a lot about
balance. Some really good stuff from our friend
Amy. I really enjoyed our discussion, and I hope
you've enjoyed it so far. We are on several different
platforms, if you haven't heard, to listen to
podcasts. Apple Podcasts for one podcast. Cast
Addict amongst others feel free to leave a review
to share it with a friend whoever you think might
benefit from it we're going to talk a little
bit more about Weight Watchers and how we kind
of got introduced to it and what she makes of
it so far and I hope you enjoy it as much as
I did and if you would like to be on this podcast
please send me message at the inbox we knew it
Patrick gmail .com or you can find me at a meeting
Saturday's usually or three of my conversation
with Amy hope you enjoy it Your attention, please.
Presenting a new exciting radio program featuring
the thrilling adventures of an amazing and incredible
personality. Welcome back to the only podcast
dedicated to a local community of Weight Watchers
devotees. And now here's the podcast sherpa himself,
Mr. Fantastic Patrick Hull. Introduced to WW.
This is my third time. Third time. What do you
remember about the first time you walked into
a Weight Watchers meeting? I remember probably
underestimating the change I needed to make in
myself. I definitely said, I listened to some
people's stories and there were some people that
were being very vocal. This was back in like
Florida, but they're very vocal about. I can't
have this. I can't have that. But the program
works. So I was like, OK, I love ice cream. I
like sweets sometimes. I do like carbs. So I
was like, oh, well, this person's lost X amount
of weight. That's tremendous. That's what I'm
going to do. And while I still looked at points
and, you know, made a whole bunch of Weight Watcher
meals and stuff, I'd be like. oh but i don't
need the carbs in that meal that recipe they
had i'll just put all the stuff in a bowl now
i still do that today i do i make like i'll do
cook our own fajitas at home or whatever and
i'll put it in a bowl and i'll just be like it
starts with lettuce and then i pile stuff on
top but that's not how i eat every day and i
usually have just made sure like you know um
that that's just what I wanted to eat that day.
So when I first started, I said, I said no to
ice cream. I said no to, you know, a lot of stuff.
I lost some weight and then I hit a plateau probably
because I was depriving my body of too much.
So my body was like, hold on. Now we got to,
you know, like preserve what we have. And I got
frustrated and I stopped. And the second time
I came back, I. once again got into that habit
and I think some of it may harken back to and
I think I mentioned this a couple weeks ago when
you've had some type of eating disorder it can
be too easy sometimes to just be like none of
this none of that like it's just too easy to
just like slash out and that's what I I so the
second time around I was better I stayed in longer
but when I hit a plateau I still didn't go through
it I just I I you know all of a sudden I would
miss a week and then it would be like two weeks
and then all of a sudden I was done um and you
know mainly because my husband be like are you
gonna go because we're paying for it and I was
like uh you know I think I can do it on my own
like that would be my answer no I couldn't so
this time I was like a I'm not gonna say no to
anything I I will find different ways to eat
the things like I have ice cream once a week
but I still only have i i do the spoon out of
the container which i know everyone cannot do
but i that has worked for me because if i dish
it up i'll probably dish it up more with what
my eyes want not what i get full so i would rather
eat and i and everybody in the house knows okay
yep oh mom's having ice cream and they know that
i shouldn't have too much so it's like i know
i've got people watching me like um but i I decided
this time, like, I'm going to have the bagel.
Like, Sundays we go and we get the bagel sandwiches.
But I was like, I'm more intentional. I'm like,
nope, the cheese isn't worth it. I actually would
like the two slices of bacon, but I don't want
the cheese. The cheese, I could care less for
it anyway, so I'm not going to do the cheese.
And then I come home and I take half of it out
of the foil. So it's bacon, egg. plain bagel
take half of it out of the foil that's what I
eat with some black coffee and I put the other
half in the fridge and then I toast the bagel
and like nuke the ingredients the next breakfast
day and I've been doing that for literally this
entire time so I actually saw a member there
one time and she was like oh she's like so have
you figured out how to get this on the plan or
are you just like having a cheat day and I was
like well I guess if you call two and a half
years cheating I'm like I said, they need to
have a sign. I said, but, but January is always
the best month there because everyone's like,
I gotta be healthy. So I can just like walk right
up and order. I love January. Cause like they
have to have like a reduction in sales in January
because there's literally like I'm out the door
usually in the summer. And then right now I'm
starting to get like where I'm just in the door.
And like, cause I wake up early just to go and
get it for everyone in the house and I bring
it back. Because nobody else, they all love it,
but they don't think it's worth waiting in line
for. But like that to me is. So I was like, okay,
we'll do it. But I know how many points and I
put it in. So that second attempt with. with
ww what was going on that you were like i'm gonna
try that again it was one of my co -workers we
kept going up to toronto for work together and
she had started she had rejoined weight watchers
and she was like just do it amy you know you
need to do it she's like i'm gonna harass you
until you sign up and it worked because i was
like okay you're right and she's like I know
you can afford it just do it and I was just like
because you know that's often my excuse will
be like oh I don't want to buy all that stuff
because that's a lot of money if I'm not going
to wear it you know there's always and she was
just like I know you can afford it they have
plans like you're going to do it and I was like
okay so I did it because I was sort of intimidated
I guess but like knew I needed to and then this
last time around I had all of us I would well
not Katie but all of us My husband and I had
definitely got into some probably comfort food
and bad habits during COVID because I just had
the kidney removal. We were being even more cautious
than probably a lot of people were because we
had to for my own kind of benefit because I was
still trying to be careful personally. I had
snuck into the whole comfort food thing. I was
like, I'm going to try making bread. I'm going
to, and you don't just make like half a loaf.
No, you make a, and I was like, I'm going to
start. I was like, you know what? If we have
shortage of things, I'm going to learn how to
make our own buns. So I started making our hamburger
buns. I was going to try to make bread. I was
doing everything. I was like, while I was working,
I was like, Susie will make her here. And like,
while I did always cook from scratch, there were
definitely things I would, you know, buy it,
you know? And I was like, I'm going to make stuff.
And then we'd all look forward to sweets and
dessert. So I ended up by gaining like 40 pounds
from when COVID started. Because I knew my weight
because of the surgeries and stuff. And I've
been going to see the doctor. So from when COVID
started to 2022, when I joined in May, I had
gained 40 pounds. What did you tell yourself
as far as how that weight came on? Do you recall?
And by that question, I mean like... If it's
me, I'm doing backflips to not actually acknowledge
what I was doing. put it onto something else.
Yeah, I was, I think, um, so there was probably
anxiety around COVID, not like you would see
people. I had coworkers that lost parents, um,
in COVID. So some of it was just kind of anxiety.
So I would feed the anxiety. Um, some of it was,
well, of all the times to have like a organ removed
and this virus is going after people's organs,
like this is not good. So I think I was honestly
kind of anxious myself. Um, I think there was,
there was just a lot of stress. I also remember
being berated in public because I would wear
a mask and I was yelled at at a gas station and
somewhere else. And that kind of gets into your
psyche too, where you like go back home and be
like, okay, yeah, I'm going to just shelter in
place for a little bit. That wasn't fun. And
people didn't see me. I was doing grocery pickups.
Like a lot of people didn't see me for quite
a bit because I was doing a lot more virtual
situations of things. So that meant that I could,
you know, you're not wearing the tighter pants,
right? Everything's elastic waisted and all that.
And people aren't seeing you. So you don't notice.
Like I didn't notice some of it. Yeah. Yeah.
That was a weird time. It was. It definitely
was. But I think what I've learned is from that
and just in general, because we've definitely
had weird times since then, is it's okay when
you've had moments, because I did a few weeks
ago, where you're just like, it's a crappy week,
and I'm going to cry about it, and I'm going
to be angry, and I might have ice cream three
times in a week, and you know what? Okay. It
is what it is. But you know what? I didn't have
a whole bowl of ice cream. I didn't have a whole
pint. I still had my serving. I would have. But
I was like, it's okay. What's not okay is that
that turns into a trend. But it's okay to isolate
those situations. It's okay. I get obsessed with
this food or that food. Unhealthy stuff. That's
the only thing I can think of and think about.
And I'm constantly pursuing so if it's ice cream
yeah we we bypass the bowl and it's not one spoonful
it's all of them you know um breakfast cereal
sugary sweet savory you know you know all of
it it sounds like sometimes the emotional eating
can rub shoulders with you. Absolutely. I don't
know if that's ever going to go away because
I'm an emotional person and I don't always like
to show the emotion. So I will, I'll try not
to as much, but I think at least. anytime i do
dive into oh well that's something i just ate
or extra that i ate um i had that piece of garlic
bread that maybe put me over into my weekly points
you know my deal i i go but that's okay because
i didn't eat like an entire loaf of garlic bread
i i and i also remind myself that you know i
did slip into having more alcohol like like probably
four glasses or four drinks a week during covid
like when we're all and i go hey but you know
what i know people that would probably just turn
to a bottle yeah and i not so i would rather
know that what i do turn to on occasion i can
recognize but i can give myself the grace because
it's not a habit yeah say i've dipped into it
and i'll get out like if it ever becomes more
and i think i've told my husband that if he ever
sees something become a trend to be like oh honey
i see you're eating like ice cream every night
or i see you doing this and you want like i said
you can call me out for it now i'm not going
to pretend that i'm going to be like okay that
i'm not going to get mad or whatever but like
i need that and he said the same thing he's like
if you ever see me like he's looked back at old
pictures and he's like how could how could you
let me get like that and i'm like Yeah, I guess
I kind of just overlooked it because I don't
necessarily see somebody's weight as defining
them. So I do have to like, you know, I try to
be good there too. Not because I think it happened,
but, you know, I know that Courtney and I at
different times had struggled with, I need an
eating partner right now. And you're not really,
you're like working a healthy program, but I'm
going to see if I can kind of throw a monkey
wrench into that. Did any of that stuff? ever
come up between you and your your husband my
husband's done a lot of different he's done a
lot of different programs because he he's um
cycled off and on where with road bike cycling
you really need to be in like things so he'll
he'll not just go through a program to get him
to peak physical fitness it'll also have like
a food program with it um but a lot of those
where you you would think like oh good that could
rub off well no because He makes this weird like
smoothie thing that's got cottage cheese in it.
So, you know, I have an issue with that. Pray
for him. But yeah, so he we've had off cycles
where he was going hardcore. Yeah. But I also
try to remind myself, well, that's great because
he's going to do that. And, you know, he knows
kind of how his body adjusts to it. And he's
trying to get to a certain poundage because that's
how he wants to be in his. cycling gear but i
have a i have a daughter a teenage daughter and
i don't want her to look and be like my mom dieted
her whole life now i don't know how she feels
i always tell her like weight watchers is not
a diet but you know she very well could try to
see it that way um because you know there are
things that i'll say no to or yeah this isn't
good timing because i've already planned out
my day and but um I was just like, no, I don't
I don't ever want to be like hardcore or whatever,
because and I would try to bring it up sometimes
to be like, hey, I'm doing this. And here's why.
Just so she could understand. But then I realized
that was rubbing off. She was great to tell me
that it was rubbing off that she was like, it's
great that you told me, hey, I'm counting out
these things. Did you know they're only like
two points if I count out this many goldfish?
She's like, but mom, did you realize that like
if I just wanted to eat? goldfish on my own i
don't want to have in the back of my head oh
but like 14 of these i don't know how many but
like whatever is two points and i was like oh
so here i thought i was doing something good
i didn't realize that that was making her like
over think food where she wouldn't because she
knew you know what to eat and when to eat it
and all that like she's been very sensible right
about it And it's not a question of somebody's
worth or it's not a moral decision necessarily,
right? Like sometimes we just, I just want to
eat this. There's no morality in it. It's just,
hey, I got a sweet tooth or whatever, right?
Yep. Actually, I got the little nerd clusters
today at the grocery store. Re -sealable bag.
But I know that if I have a sweet tooth, I would
rather eat one or two of those. Yeah. It will
hopefully help with the sweet tooth. And I won't
let myself. And if for some reason I was like,
oh, man, that bag got finished way too soon.
And I don't think I tracked all of those. Either
A, I would notice it when I go to weigh in next
time. Or B, if I didn't, that will be. And I
literally told my husband, hey, open that bag.
I bought that bag. And he was like, okay. And
I do that for a reason. Yeah. Because if he's
like, wait, are you opening a new bag? Like,
I want to have that. Like, I thought you just
bought one. I want that to play in the back of
my head. You know, as you were saying that, it
struck me that you are an anomaly in the following
way. You are the only person I have ever met
to this point in my life that I can recall who
has made the transition from a stainer. to moderate
her I'd rather moderate than have to abstain
like if somebody said you could never eat ice
cream again or you could never now maybe it's
because of some composition where I can but I
think it's I can be a very anal person. I can
be very detailed. So I try to put that part of
my brain in charge of those things to say, okay,
how many clusters come in a bag? Okay, if I divide
that up and I allow myself to have one or two
a day or when I need it, that bag better last
me this long. And if it doesn't, I can't buy
another bag until this date. Well, I mean, you
had to teach yourself that. We were talking about,
was it last week we were talking or the week
before we were talking about neuroplasticity.
That's the definition right there, right? If
you can unlearn something and learn something
new to replace it, that is neuroplasticity. Wow,
that's really something. And I'm not saying it's
always perfect. Like we do keep some stuff in
the house. Oh, yeah. But I allow myself to then.
I usually like for, for sweets, I can't have
anything after dinner. Cause I somehow get heartburn
now. So it's like, I can't, so like, that's a
good thing. I can't eat in front of the TV at
night because I literally will be like having
a down a whole bottle of Tums. So, I mean, there
are things like that that help with that, but
yeah, I think, and I don't know if this is good,
but if I were to like overindulge because of
a weakness or whatever, I would likely internally
sort of beat myself up over like, Cause I'll
regret it like an hour later, like, Oh, my stomach
hurts or whatever. And then I'll just be like,
why did I do that? But I then try to change that.
Why did I do that into a, come on, you're better
than this. Like get on the treadmill. Do you
ever answer that question in your head? Like,
this is why I know exactly why I did it. This
is what was going on. I don't, I don't think
I answer it, but I do think that I always say
to myself. OK, well, if you ate four instead
of two, well, then you better not be having some
for a couple of days. Right. You're talking about
balance. You've used that word. We're always
going to have those negative thoughts. And the
trick isn't to not have the thought. The trick
is to balance the thought with something that
is true. Yep. And also meaningful. Yep. Right.
Helpful. We were talking earlier about plateaus
and what were. kind of go through our heads and
if you couldn't lose another pound for the rest
of your life and you had to stay right where
you are right now, would that be okay with you?
Yeah. I actually thought about it this past week.
I actually said to my husband, you know, like
I'm so close now. It's like, I can almost taste
that, that goal that my doctor and I set for
myself. I said, but you know what? If I didn't
lose another pound, I said, I would just look.
I said, I'm so proud of how far I've come. And
he said he was also so proud of me. But I said,
I'm so proud of how far I've come. I've never
done something that big in my whole life for
like myself. Right. I've done things at work
or for other people. But like this was this was
a very personal thing. This was a great journey.
I'd be OK with it. Yeah. That that idea has served
me very well. Right. It almost kind of takes
away the pressure. And so it's not a, I have
to do it. I got to lose more weight. It's, you
know what, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing.
And if the weight comes off, wonderful, fantastic.
If you're in a spot where you're feeling good,
you're feeling healthy, like you said earlier,
I've only been, you've only went down to clothing
sizes. The first thing that I thought to myself,
and I'm relatively confident, anybody who hears
this and has seen you, they'd be like, that cannot
be true. You don't seem like it's only been two
clothing sizes. I mean, you just seem so much
more fit and healthy. Right. And I don't, I hope
that doesn't come across as. No, I call it my
cheerleaders. Like I'll come in sometimes and
be like, you know, maybe I've had a stressful
week or whatnot. And I just love having people
be like, Oh, Amy, you look so great. Oh, Amy.
Wow. You just keep losing. And I'm just like,
thanks. Cause I don't always see it in myself.
And sometimes it is just that clothing size where
you're like, but it's only been two, but then
you're like, Oh, but it's been a lot of pounds.
So I don't always see it. in myself and so to
have other people comment especially since i
work at home i don't see people a lot so like
weight watchers is the only time i see people
i know otherwise it's like you know grocery store
whatever it's like random people and nobody's
coming up to you so it is kind of like i i like
to hear it because it i think it excites me to
be like yeah this is working this is good what
do you think has been the biggest single barrier
maybe not just now but over the course of your
life uh biggest single barrier to you feeling
like you're in a state of wellness my brain not
feeling like i'm worthy what you're thinking
yeah i have to have i have to feel my worth i
have to know my worth and then feel the worth
because for many years i knew the worth but i
didn't feel it and i feel like those those aren't
always connected So like a willingness to believe
something about yourself. Yeah, believe in myself.
Just really just to believe in myself. You can
get lost in what you're accomplishing at work.
You can get lost in how you support your family.
It's, you know, because you're like, oh, those
are all things and people recognize and all that.
But you can so easily forget yourself. And I'm,
I'm really good at doing that. I'm, I'm, or bad,
but it's, I, uh, where I just, I'm a people pleaser,
but I have to remember I'm also a person. You're
not nice, but you're kind. From Boston. Okay.
We eat a chatter the right way. So outside of
WW, if there was one of the, one of the diets
that you. tried over the years that wasn't necessarily
sustainable but you're you kind of enjoyed it
is there one that stands out like if only i could
do that long term i'd probably go back to it
but i know it's mediterranean i don't even have
to think about it if honestly because it was
balanced yeah um It, I, I think that the Mediterranean
had, it was like lean protein. You still could
have some pasta. It focused on certain types
of vegetables. It was probably the most well
-rounded of anything I did. And it, I mean, there's
a reason some people have found success because
there's literally a group of people that eat
that way. It's harder for us to eat though. I
think the Mediterranean, because we. You can't
say like, oh, we'll just eat this pasta because
they do it over in Italy. Well, because our things
have so many more preservatives and everything
else in them. But if you could isolate that,
yeah, I would. That made me feel whole, I guess.
Yeah. What is the secret sauce in your weight
loss success to this point? What's the one thing
that you're like, that part has been just. If
that goes away, I don't know where I'd be. I
guess finding balance. This time around, I didn't
gain 40 pounds overnight. I wasn't going to lose
40 pounds overnight. So it was not just finding
the balance in it's a journey. Let it be a journey.
Be okay in that journey. And also just the balance
in the food. So if all of a sudden there were
no point system tomorrow, like the whole app
crashed, everything was gone, what I could still
take away from this is you can have everything,
but be mindful, moderate what you do, and give
yourself grace. I've noticed that when there's
an issue with the app, lots of folks, for lack
of a better word, kind of freak out. yeah i mean
i did just because of like all of a sudden i
lost a streak i can literally couldn't put anything
in the app and it's like i like those little
like you know here's a little gold star today
sure um but i yeah i already to me it didn't
I actually got off tracking the whole rest of
the week because I tried again later that night.
I still couldn't track. And I'll be honest, I
wasn't great at tracking that week because of
that little hiccup. Really? But it didn't influence
anything because I am a planner. So I grocery
shop on Saturday mornings. I know what I'm going
to eat or the whole family will eat every single
day. We already have it. Yes, there's times where
my husband will be like, forget it. Let's just
go out. And I'm like. okay i think i can do that
but i i try not to dip into the weeklies so that
if we have that moment i know i have my weekly
to dip into um but um yeah i it didn't bother
me i will say it like it probably set me back
just from a routine but i already i already had
in my notes app all the food i was going to make
right for breakfast lunch and dinner because
i'm a creature of habit there's The streak that
is cataloged on the app, but it sounds like in
your head you're still tracking. Oh, yeah. I
can literally pull up. I don't ever delete them.
So I can pull up on my phone. I have probably
years now. This is, it goes all the way back.
Every single week, all the meals, it literally
goes, even holidays. Wow. So there's probably
embarrassed here. There's probably years. How
much data is that using on your phone, I wonder?
I have no idea. I just put Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday. Friday is always leftover for me, so
I don't have to do that. I just know I'm going
to eat one of the leftovers. And I have like
I have cheeseburgers on there because I'm going
to make my own and I won't probably have the
bun, but I want the meat. Yeah. And I'll question,
do I want the cheese? What type of cheese? I
do have some fat free feta. Like, do I just mix
it in my burger so I get it that way? Because
then it's only one point. Like, so I'll have
that on there and I'll have a salad with it.
So like if you were to look at it, you might
not easily be able to be like, oh man, yeah,
I could tell she's on Weight Watchers. No, because
I made sure, but my lunch that day would be leaner
because I know I'm going to have, you know, some
ground beef that's like 90%, you know, fat free.
Weight Watchers, we both agree for each of us
has had tremendous value. However, we both, I
think, can acknowledge that it's not for everybody.
Yeah. Right. Can be, I think, but it's maybe
not for everybody. If somebody wants to know,
like, what are the three best parts of WW? If
there are three right at the top of the list,
what are they? WW is great because. So first
thing I'm going to say is community. That's why
I didn't like the virtual meetings. Like I'll
go to them when I miss a meeting and I need to
have a meeting. For me, it's community. I don't
know that all the members realize when they greet
me or they. they just say like wow like you look
like this or oh my gosh amy like you know if
i take off my jacket or whatever that literally
has made my day sometimes that's like the best
thing that's happened that day or that week and
they don't know it and that's fine like they
don't need to know it but so community it sometimes
the self -esteem boost i get from walking in
there is just amazing um so that's probably like
the number one thing the number two thing is
Weight Watchers it's a lifestyle I mean you make
it what you want to make it and there's people
like I know you've said there's certain things
you don't want to have right and then like but
for me I knew this time around I wanted to be
able to enjoy everything I want that piece of
cake when I want it I'm going to plan for it
and I'm a planner so it allows me to combine
my planning with their technology so yeah I like
that kind of the flexibility but the rigidness
at the same time I guess You like the flexibility.
You like the structure, though. Yeah, yeah. I
mean, those are almost two separate things. I
like the flexibility of being able to have what
you eat, but knowing that there's structure there
that you have to fit within that type of mold,
like your points or whatever, to make it work.
Flexibility, structure, community. Folks who
aren't part of and never have been a part of
a WW community, what have been some of the misconceptions
out there that you've heard people mention? Well,
I've definitely, I've heard before I even joined,
I remember some coworkers being like, well, how's
that different from like Overeaters Anonymous?
Isn't it just a bunch of like fat or overweight
people sitting in a room, basically telling you
how to cheat at your diet? And I was like, I
don't know, I guess I'll have to figure that
out. And I go to the meeting and I'm just like,
wow, there's people of all different sizes and
shapes and ages that have different backgrounds
and where they are in their journey. That's what's
great because, you know, you can learn something,
some recipe or whatever from somebody that you
never thought you would. I know that one of the
things that caused me to want to do this podcast
thing is that I really do enjoy talking about
process of how somebody loses weight and then
the process of how somebody figures out how to
maintain that weight loss. And even all the stuff
that happens before it, right? The roller coaster
ride. I like to talk about very particular aspects
of that stuff. Is there anything about that,
would you use the broad topic of weight loss,
that if given the opportunity to talk about it,
you will definitely talk about it? Well, I mean,
I definitely, I've mentioned in meetings, I am
pretty open about being on a weight loss journey
and that I do Weight Watchers and that it is
a journey. It is not like, oh yeah, I joined
Weight Watchers and I lost all this weight so
quickly. When I used to have to travel for hockey,
I would tell the people around me that I was,
hey, yeah, I'm going to be I need to try to find
something that's in my points or whatever. And
people would be like, oh, I did that for two
reasons. One, because I knew that a lot of the
there were other people that were like, I need
to eat healthier. So maybe they could have learned
something from what I chose. And two, because
then they're going to be like, oh. you know like
i couldn't just go if i was like i just want
those fries and that greasy burger with the bun
and a milkshake and bubble like i couldn't have
done that because now i've just admitted to all
these people that like so there was like that
helped me honestly because people would be like
oh amy what are you gonna get so you know but
i also wanted to prove to them Because sometimes
they'd be like the salad, right? And I'd be like,
actually, no, because there's way more points.
I think that that salad is going to give me.
I think I'm actually going to do the grilled
chicken sandwich and ask for them to like hold
the bun back. And they were like. oh and then
they and they'd be like oh but you're gonna do
like a salad on the side right and i'm like you
know it's been like a really busy day i'm tired
i'm actually gonna do the fries but i am going
to only put like 10 fries on the plate and i'm
gonna put the rest on like a communal plate if
anyone else wants any so they could see that
like i was being honest you know what is it that
i wanted when i wanted it but it helped having
people aware around me what What does that WW
idea of lifetime mean to you? It means never
giving up on being mindful and never giving up
on yourself. Great. That's wonderful. That's
really beautiful. Do you notice anything that
people who have hit lifetime, what seems to be
common amongst the folks who have hit lifetime,
if you've noticed anything about that? Yeah.
I mean, cause you're an example for me there
too, with, I would say that. It doesn't mean
it's just a cakewalk the second you hit lifetime,
that it's still the journey, right? I think that's
been the biggest thing. I think I thought years
ago that, oh, I just need to hit lifetime. And
it's some like magic little ribbon. You like
jump over and you're like, I'm here. And it's
like sunshine and roses. And while that may be
the case, because maybe you found an easier,
more solid path in life that just second nature
now. So maybe. There are so many blessings from
hitting lifetimes, so many things you've learned.
It doesn't mean that the learning is over. Yeah.
If I've learned anything throughout the many,
many times I've tried to lose weight, you touched
on it. It's that once you hit that particular
goal weight, if you turn off the machine, all
of it. You shut the whole thing down. You can't
be surprised when you get that same result. And
so I remember talking to myself very kind of
early when I felt like I was getting. That moment,
you know, the momentum, like when you feel it,
right? Like there's something different about
this. I was starting to think about, I'm going
to have that moment where I get on the scale
and I'm going to hit the number that represents.
Now I go into that, you know, several week maintenance
phase, right? And what is going to be my headspace
there? What am I going to tell myself? And I
had to start thinking about that's just another
way in. Just another way in. And I got to make
sure that as one of our members, who we haven't
seen in a long time, said, you know, you got
to get your rear end in the seat. You got to
get in the seat and stay in the seat. That support
element. Every time I hear from somebody who's
brand new, I'm like, yeah, I remember that. That's
really helpful for me to remember. Right. And
keep coming. Because that's one thing. Since
I am close, I hope by summer maybe I'm there.
But I will definitely keep coming. Because to
me, the sense of community and continuing to
learn is so important. You're going to be the
very first guest on the Weighing In podcast who
is going to be subjected to the lightning round
of questions. Don't put too much thought into
these answers, whatever comes to mind. Do we
have sound effects like... Okay. Favorite meal
regardless of points? Mac and cheese, homemade
mac and cheese. Favorite zero -point food? Oh,
gosh. Crab legs. Favorite point -friendly snack?
Goldfish. Most helpful cooking or food prep hack?
Planning and measuring. Stainer or moderator?
Moderator. Most memorable words you've heard
while in a WW meeting? When you told me that
I, when I had a plateau that that meant I could
maintain. That was probably some of the most
powerful that I had heard. Wonderful. Thank you
for that. Favorite form of exercise? Walking.
Scale or non -scale victories? That's a good
one. That's almost like a 50 -50. My brain needs
a scale victory, but my happiness probably needs
a non -scale victory. Like you fit into those
genes you hadn't fit into. The happiness that
that brings. Gotcha. Best compliment you've ever
received? You look amazing. Who inspires you
the most? Wow. I think it depends on the day.
Sometimes it's somebody in Weight Watchers that
just says something that's so inspiring. And
it's like a word or phrase and I just take with
me the rest of the week. Sometimes it's my daughter
for just kind of all the stuff that's going on
and the courage that she has to kind of like
figure out what her path is in life. And sometimes
it's my husband for just. Always just being there
and kind of having that best friend to walk through
in life. It's different. If both were available
and you knew you would like both equally, would
you prefer on Saturdays a 7 .30 or a 9 .30 meeting?
Oh, 9 .30 is way too late. Someone is thinking
about starting WW, and they ask you what you
think about being a member. What do you tell
them? Do it. Take the chance on yourself. I'm
thinking of allowing the current person in that
chair to suggest or put a name forward for the
next person who should sit in that chair. And
without using surnames, who would you love to
hear from? I would love to hear from one of the
ladies that sits with their back against the
wall. Yes, and just so you know, I'm trying.
I'm trying to convince them I might even have
a panel podcast if I can get all of them back
here. I call them my cheerleaders. They don't
realize that, but when I go home, I say, my cheerleaders
said something so sweet to me today. Yeah. Nancy.
And I think we were talking about Nancy and Doro
back there. Yeah. Oh, there's, there's multiple.
There's about four of them. But I won't name
names. I have been asking a lot of questions.
Do you have any one question for me? If you could
do, if you could change anything that got you
to where you are today, what would it be? Nothing.
I wouldn't change it. I wouldn't, not a single
thing. Only because I have to operate from the
idea of because it's happened, it is meant to
be. And so I am not, I am the person I am today
because of all of my screw ups and they are many,
all of my successes and they are few, but the
conglomeration of experiences that I've had over
the course of my life and the people I've, I've
bumped into like without all of it. You know,
just the fact, you know, we were talking about
genealogy stuff earlier, right? And just the
fact you and I exist at all is a miracle when
you think of how difficult it was for hundreds
and thousands of years for people to live past
like the age of 40. Yeah. Yeah. Or how many kids,
you know, how many moms lost infants immediately
after birth, right? It is a miraculous that we
are here at all. So, you know, sure. I would
love to change some stuff and take some things
back since I've said and done, but you know what?
You got to live with it and make the most of
it. Thoreau again said something about regret
and to regret deeply is to live afresh. right
so you take those regrets and you you fashion
them into a big ball of joy that i'm still here
and i can make right that makes sense it does
yeah i respect that yeah all right would you
think you'd ever do this again would you ever
uh come back for a an encore discussion sure
wonderful well i gotta tell you i really enjoyed
our conversation i hope uh I hope that this was
a comfortable experience at the least. Really,
I really appreciate you being willing to do this
and sharing your stories. Very meaningful and
very powerful. And if, and you don't have to
provide anything, but if somebody wanted to reach
out to you. what is the best way for them to
do it? Meeting, email, phone call? I would say
find me in the meeting. I'm always open to talking
and I also can like meet up outside the meeting
if people ever wanted to. All right. And I'm
always, I would be remiss if I didn't ask this
question because I'm always trying to do this
a little bit better. Is there a question that
you're surprised I didn't ask you? No, I honestly,
so I came into it and I made sure I had not listened
very recently to any of the other podcasts. That's
why you stumped me when you did ask because I
was like, oh, no, it's been a bit because I didn't
want to have any preconceived notion coming in
here of what you might ask. So what do you think
would be a good question to ask somebody? Oh,
no, you were so good with your questions. I was
nervous. I even told the chiropractor this this
morning. He's like, oh, what are your plans for
today? I told him, I was like, oh, I'm coming
here for this. And then I said, I'm like, he's
like, oh, that's going to be great. And I'm like,
yeah, but I'm so nervous. Like, and he's like,
why? And I'm like, because what if I don't know
what to say? What if I say too much? I overthink.
I overthink. Well, to anybody who's listening
that has that same concern and have a one word
answer, editing. Thank you so much again. And
if anybody's listening, if you know me, when
you ask, so how was your week? Usually I can't
be quiet. So no surprise. Well, thank you again.
Thank you. It was a real pleasure. Have a great
weekend. Thank you. That wraps up the three -parter
with Miss Amy. really fantastic insights from
her during this time. And well, during this conversation,
you know, there's something that kind of sticks
out in my head that she said at some point, something
that she likes about Weight Watchers. I think
it was kind of what I led off with in episode
two, which was What she likes about Weight Watchers
is that it provides the flexibility to be balanced.
The flexibility to be balanced. I've been thinking
about that. I don't think I hear a lot of folks
out there in the internets, social media, talking
about the interplay between flexibility and balance.
and i guess that is kind of what balance is right
you know you you have to be somewhat flexible
in how you address your current momentum so if
you're going too far this way you you got to
figure out a way to bring it back the other way
you know the fact that yeah she's she's pretty
cool with not having to you know if she doesn't
lose another pound she feels good about where
she's at and she'd be all right with not losing
another pound you know i just wonder how many
how many people actually think about that and
we're always in such a huge rush to just get
the weight off it's not going to solve all your
problems it's not going to make your problems
go away by hitting your goal weight problems
don't go away because you become a lifetime member
things get messy again in a lot of ways because
that's when that That voice in the back of your
mind says, yeah, you can take, you know, take
it easy. Go and enjoy eating way more than you
should, more frequently than you should. Or by
should I mean than what is healthy and optimal
to maintain a weight. And so we drift and we
lose that flexibility of, hey, you know what?
I got to find my points again. I've got to start
tracking. When I track, my weight stays where
I'd like it to be. Or if I'm in weight loss mode,
when I track, my weight seems to be coming off.
We lose that flexibility. We lose that flexibility
when we're gaining weight. We're not flexible
in how we're thinking about what we're, what
are we doing? How did this weight come on? Or
what am I not doing? How did this weight come
on? What do I need to do in order to banish it
from my body and from my mind? And, you know,
one thing I kind of got from Amy through our
conversation, and we spoke, you know, though
the editing may not bear it out, we did speak
for close to two and a half hours. You know,
this is an individual who has overcome a lot.
And she has maintained flexibility in how she
has thought about experiences, where she's at
with her health. She's maintained flexibility
in spite of those items on the I have to deal
with this stuff list. Cool stuff. Where she's
at now, you know, I get that. comments I made
to her is you know I haven't I've never really
met anybody that was able to go from abstainer
to moderator and managed it pretty well but I
shouldn't be I shouldn't be surprised after listening
to to her talk about her life and her experiences
and how she has adapted And, you know, regardless
of whether or not she already hits a lifetime,
she's a lifetime member in my book. 20 different
diets at least, she said. Get discouraged a lot,
especially if those plateaus hit, right? Remember,
everybody that comes in Weight Watchers, I think,
I just have this feeling. And maybe I'm just
projecting because this is how I, I think that
I think when we walk into Weight Watchers for
the third, fourth, fifth time, I think we are
starting to believe we're starting to figure
this out. We're starting to look back at, okay,
I made this decision before and, and derailed
my efforts. And now I've got to, now I'm coming
back again. it's really kind of boils down to
having to, you know, step forward and engage
this process and to be flexible in our thinking,
you know, you know, nobody comes back into Weight
Watchers, I think, and becomes successful. And
by successful, I mean, you know, They lose the
weight and for the most part they keep the weight
off long term. But I don't think anybody comes
back for the second, third, fourth time without
some change in how and what they're thinking
about what I need to do next. This is how it's
going to be different this time. And so if you're
back for the second or third time, and maybe
you're feeling, well, you know, obviously there's
going to be a fourth and a fifth time. Okay,
fine. Big deal. And when you come back for your
fourth time, you're going to make it farther.
And when you come back for your fifth time, you're
going to make it farther and you made it your
fourth time. And you're going to piece together
your solution. You're going to figure out the
cheat codes for those barriers that have presented
themselves over the years for you as it relates
to losing weight and keeping it off. It is a
process. It is not an event. It is a process.
And the people that have the best outcomes keep
trying. They keep trying. Give up. Maybe there's
big gaps in between efforts. I mean, I had years
between efforts where I just ballooned, just
got so heavy. I think I was up, I think the heaviest
I was ever at was probably about 315. And you
talk about hopeless, man, I'm never going to
figure this out. I mean, this is just going to
be me for the rest of my life. I'll never figure
out. How to slim down and stay slim. And that
seems to be somewhat of a common theme for just
about everybody I've spoken to. Not just with
a microphone in front of my face, but at meetings,
when I listen to people. You're going to figure
it out. As long as you keep trying. Have that
sort of scientist. The light bulb was a result
of 10 ,000 solutions that didn't work. Back to
the drawing board. We're going to figure this
out. We could say that for every major invention.
I was listening to Neil deGrasse Tyson talk about
who he thinks is the greatest science mind ever.
And he didn't even hesitate. He was like Isaac
Newton. Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity,
the laws of motion. He figured out why the planets
move the way they move. And the reason why he
could explain it is because then he went and
invented calculus. I need to invent math. particular
type of math that almost nobody can do to explain
why these planets in our solar system move the
way they do. Why they move in an elliptical ellipse
pattern. And he didn't give up if it was difficult.
He didn't give up if All right, this calculation
doesn't make sense. Ask the hell with us. I'm
not doing this anymore. He kind of kept at it,
obviously. I'm oversimplifying it. But that's
calculus. We're just talking about dropping some
pounds. And you're going to figure out how to
do it for yourself. And you've already taken
the major step, which is you've decided on a
plan for you. And now it's all about tweaking.
What is helpful? What is not helpful? Get rid
of the stuff that isn't. Keep the stuff that
is. Move forward. Don't get discouraged. Well,
you can feel discouraged, but do your best to
also encourage yourself when you become discouraged.
Don't look over your shoulder or wait for somebody
to come up next to you and go, oh, you can do
it. You've got to be that person. You've got
to be the person that consoles you sometimes,
right? You've got to be the person that motivates
you and inspires you. It doesn't always have
to come from outside of yourself. You listen
to Amy's story. You know, she is a practitioner
if she is anything. And by practitioner, I mean
her insights in this. things that she has come
to believe to be true about the world around
her and more specifically about the world within
her it's because she has practiced she's practiced
how to think better thoughts she's practiced
how to take a negative thought and kind of turn
it on its ear apply that flexibility to balance
it out. And I would say she's a pretty balanced
person given everything that has impacted her
life. So that's my two cents. I want to thank
Amy. I want to thank Johanna. And Bruce, and
I want to thank Rick and Kathy. And our next
guest, Martha Jean. But all the folks that you've
heard have taken upwards of three hours out of
a day to share their story. And, you know, I
haven't heard from anybody yet that was like,
oh, man. I didn't get anything out of that. That
was just, what a waste of my time. Not even close.
Everybody seems to respond pretty well to it.
And I think that is because we see each other
in their stories. We see ourselves. It helps
us kind of come together a little bit, right?
Yeah, hey, we've all been there. I get it. I
would like to have you on. I would like to sit
down and listen to your story and have you explain
it. And if you would like to do so, you send
me a message to the inbox, weighinginwithpatrick
at gmail .com. You can find me at the 9 a .m.
meeting on Saturdays at our humble WW abode over
there on Anderson in Rock Hill. I'm usually there
between 8 .15 and 8 .30 to weigh in and get a
seat. You can listen to this, obviously, on Apple
Podcasts and Podcast Addict and Spotify and I
think iHeartRadio. We're still on audio .com
for those who grew accustomed to using that particular
platform. But if you, whatever platform you're
listening to this podcast on, if you hit the
subscribe button when you come across our podcast,
you will be notified on your phone that, you
know, like when a new episode is available. And
I would prefer to have them up every week, but,
you know, hey, life happens. I don't have an
editing team. I don't have a production team.
do -it -yourselfer and I love doing it so from
my home office of the weighing in Patrick podcast
thank you for listening and don't forget no matter
what hang in there because you can do it