My unofficial membership began when my aunts and uncle proposed a little family weight loss competition. Aunt Patty photocopied her Points slider and made one for me out of a manila envelope (back when Points were based on calories, fat and fiber, and eTools didn't even exist!). She taught me the system, and so our competition began. I think I managed to lose around 20-25 pounds during my first run on WW. Not bad! (I might even still have that homemade slider back at my parents house - mental note to look for that the next time I go home!)
Once I went away to college and actually had money to afford my own official WW membership, I started attending meetings at the local center at Penn State. I cannot even remember if my leader was male or female at this center! Shows how much of an impact they had on me. Though I must say, it was during this time that I was most successful on WW, having removed nearly 50 lbs from my 5'8" frame! Oh the glory! I remember the amazing compliments that my college friends would offer me - definitely a highlight of my life!
Then I moved to Virginia in 2006, slowly regaining those 50 lbs, and started attending meetings in Fairfax, VA. My WW leader there was Wayne. HILARIOUS guy and was so incredibly popular among the NoVA WW's that I eventually quit attending the meetings because I couldn't stand the crowd. He was like a WW celebrity - women falling at his heels for attention with their own weight loss quips. He had great information, but I was never able to form a connection with him, most likely due to the shear number of people attending his meetings. However, I knew I needed to form some connection with my leader in order to hold me accountable. So, eventually I quit attending Wayne's meetings in Fairfax.
At one point in 2007, I actually cancelled my WW membership. I decided that there was no sense in paying for it if I couldn't keep myself committed. But then, once I returned home from a 3 month hiatus for work in Kansas City, Joel and I decided we would do WW together. I started attending meetings again for a short duration, this time at a church in Arlington, VA. The leader there was nice enough, but before long I quit attending (I don't think I ever knew her name!). The people attending this meeting just wasn't doing it for me and the leader was just so-so. I think around this time Joel and I both lost approximately 30 lbs but started slacking off thereafter.
Then I moved from Arlington to Alexandria in 2008 and decided to start attending meetings at another location once more. This time I attended meetings at a center in Springfield.....with Wayne (again)! By now I felt that Joel would be enough to hold me accountable, so I no longer felt the need to connect with my leader. Wayne sure was hilarious just as he was in 2006, but again, his meetings were packed! So, instead of attending his meetings, I started attending Mary's meetings on another night. Another nice lady, but she wasn't cutting it either. I wanted Wayne's enthusiasm and knowledge combined with Mary's attendance level. This time I hung in there for a solid year, but once I moved to Waldorf, MD in 2009, I all together gave up on attending meetings. I never felt like they were providing that much of a benefit for me and so I became strictly an eTools member.
I stayed as an eTools member for about 2 years. Then, Joel and I moved back to Alexandria from Maryland in 2011.
Has all this moving annoyed you yet? It sure did for me!
A few weeks after moving back to the Old Dominion, I decided to start attending meetings again. I made this decision for a number of reasons, but mainly so that I could try to make some friends. I was also at my heaviest weight ever (in the 260s), and I needed a boost. I wanted to start fresh with WW, get the crash course in PointsPlus (which had just turned over from the previous Points system), and reinvigorate my weight loss journey. A woman of persistence, I was willing to give meetings another go despite my experience, because I was determined to find a leader I could connect with and learn from. He/she just had to be out there!
Enter Sharon.
Sharon, with the shining smile and bright eyes, greeted me warmly as I weighed in at the Alexandria center for the first time in July 2011. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she was this location's leader. From Day 1, Sharon was exactly what I was looking for in a leader. Not only was she enthusiastic about WW, but she had a ton of knowledge and experience to share. She was always very willing to talk with you one on one and it was clear that she had personal connections with her members. Sharon had immediately introduced me to another member who was around my age, sharing this member's success story with me. Sharon's positive energy and warm demeanor always kept me coming back, despite the snail's pace at which the weight is coming off this time around. Sharon, hands down, was the leader I had been looking for all along.
Last week, during my Wednesday meeting, with about 5 minutes remaining, she told us she had an announcement to make. Being the morbid person that I am, my mind shot to "she has cancer!". Thankfully I was wrong, but the news still wasn't good. Sharon informed us that June 27 would be her last meeting with us as our leader. As she had tears in her eyes, she shared with us that her and her husband were going through a divorce and that she had to take time off to focus on her, her daughter and the sale of her much-loved home. By this point, many of the members had tears running down their faces, me included. Sharon went on to say that she had gained back a considerable amount of weight due to the emotional stress she was experiencing. She said she no longer felt good about projecting the WW principles to us, whenever she wasn't even capable of following them. I'm pretty sure none of us were judging her on this! Still, many of us expressed our support and concern to her at the end of the meeting. I left the center with an extremely heavy heart.
The irony in this story is that Sharon had weighed me in for this meeting, and I had told her that I didn't want to know my weight because I had just returned from our honeymoon. She flashed her trademark smile and expressed genuine happiness for me as I shared our quick story with her. Then, 30 minutes later, she shares her news. But, that is the kind of person she is. Despite the crap she has going on in her life, you would have never known. Sharon was always smiling, always encouraging, always positive.
Last night was our last meeting with her until hopefully this fall. She promises to come back to our meeting site at some point this summer to attend as a member, not a leader. Her only request for us last night was that we pray for her. She specifically said: "Don't feel bad for me. Be glad for me. I am going to have time to change my life and my daughter's life for the better. All I ask is that you pray for me."
I wanted to share this story with you so that you can pray for Sharon as well.
How do you feel about your WW leader/Jenny Craig consultant/other well-being consultant?
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My Awesome WW Leader Updated at :
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Friday, June 29, 2012
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