Get the grannies their sports bras! There is DDR to be played
January 24th 2007 19:11
Today I went to my second Weight Watchers meeting. The last time I went in the evening, where the room was filled with stay at home moms like me, young professionals, middle aged moms (and a dad) and a few older people. The meeting was as expected, cut and dry, and to the point. We sat, we listened, we went home. Good enough for me.
Today, I decided to go in the morning at 8 am. Tony had to get our taxes done, and since he didn't have the appointment until 9:15 I decided to just suck it up and go in the morning. Plus, I would weigh less since I wouldn't have a whole days worth of food in my stomach.
I get weighed and walk into the meeting room and there is a sea of grey before me. I am quite literally the youngest person in the room at the ripe age of thirty. I inwardly groan as I envision talks of diabetes and choleterol, and bowel movements. I sit down FAR away from the grey heads, in quiet defiance. As if I didn't want to catch the old. I do notice one girl closer to my age, if not the same age, but that wasn't enough.
The meeting started like some weird infomercial. The speaker literally runs out saying "Hey!! EVERYONE!! " and goes on this spiel about how she was sorry she missed the last meeting because of a sickness. Everyone breaks into big gummy grins as she enters the room like some cracked up Ron Popiel with a vagina, here to take the hard earned money from these old people in exchange of a rotisserie machine.
I again, inwardly groan, and think "Hmm I could just leave." Yet, I don't want to be a quitter at the second week. So, there I sit. The speaker goes on congratulating people with weight loss, and recognizing the newbies from the week before. All of a sudden she turns to me and says "And I see we have a new person here today" she walks over and shakes my hand, and introduces herself (Martha) and I reciprocate. She asks me how I've done this week, and I told her I had a loss but it would have been more if I had not had a Bday party ths weekend. She was so warm and friendly, and I was completely taken aback by the fact that even though there were quite a few people there, she was able to recognize the fact that a new person had come amongst them. I chalk it up to being the only one without blue dyed hear and continue on with my silent loathing of the old people, swearing I would start going to the evening meeting starting next week.
The topic for today is exercise, and she starts talking. All of a sudden I realize that this woman is not talking down to us. She is talking to us as if, she's right there with us. Weight Watchers is run by lifetime members that have managed to lose their weight and keep it off. So, often they seem to have a bit of a smug attitude. Also, often times, when you look at their name tags, where their info is listed (name and weight lost) it's often a very low amount. Like 25 lbs. Not that 25lbs is nothing to sniff at, its just that for me, I don't like being coached by someone who can't possibly understand my struggle of having to lose almost a hundred lbs.
Martha goes on about how she was thinking about how she could expound on this topic this week. She had to feed her sons animals, who lives on teh same property but, its a walk. As she's thinking, she gets in her car, and turns the key. All of a sudden she says, she realizes... Hello, she needs to WALK the eighth of amile to her sons house!! She gets her earmuffs, grabs and dog and goes. The point being, that sometimes we just need a little nudge to get going. HAd she not had this topic to discuss this week, she would have just driven to her sons house. She was very modest about it too, poking fun at herself for feeling liek the queen of the world for walking and eighth of a mile, but she was able to convey to us that hey, she gets it and you know what? She still struggles.
Then she asked us if we have ever done, or know of any different ways to exercise. Something out of the ordinary. No one really knew anything, so she said her son lost fifty pounds by playing Dance Dance Revolution. We all get to talking about it, and all of a sudden I see these Granny Grey hairs looking excited. One woman who was clearly my mothers age, said she played DDR all the time, that her family was a big gaming family. We all made jokes and discussed different way to exercise.
AS the meeting wore on, I realized that I got myself into a pretty funy group. As we were leaving, one older lady asked what was the game that was being discussed. We told her and she wrote it down, and said she was going to go get it right now. She had to be in her sixties at least!!
I left there feeling good about the meeting. This was by far the most fun, and welcoming group I have ever encountered at a WW meeting, not to mention educational. I felt bad for judging these women so harshly.
On the way home, I got to thinking about why I felt so negatively about these older women. WHat about them made me so judgemental? The only thing I can think is that they are me. They are me, but in the bodies they should be in, where as I am in a much younger, and should be healthier body, yet I probably suffer from the same ailments as these women. Diabetes, high blood pressure, weight issues. I think being in a room full of younger people makes me forget that I'm not there for any other reasons other than to look aesthetically pleasing. The older women made me face that yes, I am a thirty year old with health problems of a sixty, and that this goes much deeper than fitting in a size nine jean for me.
I look forward to the meeting Wednesday. I've already told Tony I'd like to be a member of this fabulous group, and that he may be late on those days. I've never felt that good about myself leaving a meeting. I wasn't sitting around and comparing myself to this person or that person. I wasn't thinking "Why is SHE here?" THose are ugly thoughts, thoughts that will never get me where I need to be to be a healthy individual.
Maybe we can start a DDR group and all get together and dance our hearts out together, my big floppy boobies in sync with theirs.
Today, I decided to go in the morning at 8 am. Tony had to get our taxes done, and since he didn't have the appointment until 9:15 I decided to just suck it up and go in the morning. Plus, I would weigh less since I wouldn't have a whole days worth of food in my stomach.
I get weighed and walk into the meeting room and there is a sea of grey before me. I am quite literally the youngest person in the room at the ripe age of thirty. I inwardly groan as I envision talks of diabetes and choleterol, and bowel movements. I sit down FAR away from the grey heads, in quiet defiance. As if I didn't want to catch the old. I do notice one girl closer to my age, if not the same age, but that wasn't enough.
The meeting started like some weird infomercial. The speaker literally runs out saying "Hey!! EVERYONE!! " and goes on this spiel about how she was sorry she missed the last meeting because of a sickness. Everyone breaks into big gummy grins as she enters the room like some cracked up Ron Popiel with a vagina, here to take the hard earned money from these old people in exchange of a rotisserie machine.
I again, inwardly groan, and think "Hmm I could just leave." Yet, I don't want to be a quitter at the second week. So, there I sit. The speaker goes on congratulating people with weight loss, and recognizing the newbies from the week before. All of a sudden she turns to me and says "And I see we have a new person here today" she walks over and shakes my hand, and introduces herself (Martha) and I reciprocate. She asks me how I've done this week, and I told her I had a loss but it would have been more if I had not had a Bday party ths weekend. She was so warm and friendly, and I was completely taken aback by the fact that even though there were quite a few people there, she was able to recognize the fact that a new person had come amongst them. I chalk it up to being the only one without blue dyed hear and continue on with my silent loathing of the old people, swearing I would start going to the evening meeting starting next week.
The topic for today is exercise, and she starts talking. All of a sudden I realize that this woman is not talking down to us. She is talking to us as if, she's right there with us. Weight Watchers is run by lifetime members that have managed to lose their weight and keep it off. So, often they seem to have a bit of a smug attitude. Also, often times, when you look at their name tags, where their info is listed (name and weight lost) it's often a very low amount. Like 25 lbs. Not that 25lbs is nothing to sniff at, its just that for me, I don't like being coached by someone who can't possibly understand my struggle of having to lose almost a hundred lbs.
Martha goes on about how she was thinking about how she could expound on this topic this week. She had to feed her sons animals, who lives on teh same property but, its a walk. As she's thinking, she gets in her car, and turns the key. All of a sudden she says, she realizes... Hello, she needs to WALK the eighth of amile to her sons house!! She gets her earmuffs, grabs and dog and goes. The point being, that sometimes we just need a little nudge to get going. HAd she not had this topic to discuss this week, she would have just driven to her sons house. She was very modest about it too, poking fun at herself for feeling liek the queen of the world for walking and eighth of a mile, but she was able to convey to us that hey, she gets it and you know what? She still struggles.
Then she asked us if we have ever done, or know of any different ways to exercise. Something out of the ordinary. No one really knew anything, so she said her son lost fifty pounds by playing Dance Dance Revolution. We all get to talking about it, and all of a sudden I see these Granny Grey hairs looking excited. One woman who was clearly my mothers age, said she played DDR all the time, that her family was a big gaming family. We all made jokes and discussed different way to exercise.
AS the meeting wore on, I realized that I got myself into a pretty funy group. As we were leaving, one older lady asked what was the game that was being discussed. We told her and she wrote it down, and said she was going to go get it right now. She had to be in her sixties at least!!
I left there feeling good about the meeting. This was by far the most fun, and welcoming group I have ever encountered at a WW meeting, not to mention educational. I felt bad for judging these women so harshly.
On the way home, I got to thinking about why I felt so negatively about these older women. WHat about them made me so judgemental? The only thing I can think is that they are me. They are me, but in the bodies they should be in, where as I am in a much younger, and should be healthier body, yet I probably suffer from the same ailments as these women. Diabetes, high blood pressure, weight issues. I think being in a room full of younger people makes me forget that I'm not there for any other reasons other than to look aesthetically pleasing. The older women made me face that yes, I am a thirty year old with health problems of a sixty, and that this goes much deeper than fitting in a size nine jean for me.
I look forward to the meeting Wednesday. I've already told Tony I'd like to be a member of this fabulous group, and that he may be late on those days. I've never felt that good about myself leaving a meeting. I wasn't sitting around and comparing myself to this person or that person. I wasn't thinking "Why is SHE here?" THose are ugly thoughts, thoughts that will never get me where I need to be to be a healthy individual.
Maybe we can start a DDR group and all get together and dance our hearts out together, my big floppy boobies in sync with theirs.
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Summer Banks
Romance Writers
Comment by Ash
Flashes of memories
Comment by DuskDevi
Rugby World Cup 2007
Brilliant, funny and so sooo honest as always.
Good luck and good power to you...
You have our support and best wishes.
Dusk
ps. is DDR like a Wii game or something?
pps. vintage everything can be good and not so good. It's all in the ageing process...vinegar or wine....
Comment by Anonymous
The funniest thing I've read in a long time!
-T.C.
Comment by Dina