Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Make My Meeting Move

I'm still plugging away at my weight loss. I'm down another 1.6 pounds (that's three weeks in a row, 1.6, 1.6, 1.6... ) for a total loss of 27.2 pounds, thus far. And I'm edging closer to getting out of the 190's. I'll be happy to kiss those good bye!

So, Beth, our meeting leader, was profuse in her appreciation of her Monday Meetings yesterday.

"I wish all my meetings were like this; you guys aren't afraid to laugh. Or talk."

"Or correct your spelling!" Pipes up Al, from the back of the room. We do that, too.

She goes on to tell us that in her other meetings, she has to practically carry the whole thing herself, or enforce participation by giving people handouts to read out loud. I confess myself tempted to get her schedule and go to one of her other meetings, just to see if they're really that bad. (There's the cynical part of me that wonders if she says the same thing to all her meetings, as a sort of ego boost. We're "better" than the other meetings....)

Yesterday's theme was Actunity.

Thomas and I always sit in the front, so while we're waiting for her to finish off the weigh ins, I'm staring at the display pad.

What the HECK is Actunity? It took me a few minutes to figure it out, but I had it before Beth started up the meeting. It's a portmanteau for "Action Opportunity." We talk about Move More a LOT in our meetings. Beth was actually pretty frustrated with this meeting topic. "We just talked about activity what, three meetings ago?" she says, putting her hands on her hips. "I was talking to one of the other leaders about this and said to her 'what am I supposed to say, we all know about parking further away.'" She looks out at us. "Ok, I need some suggestions... what activities do you actually do? Does anyone actually park far away from the meeting?" More than half the meeting raised their hands.

"But," Al pipes up again, "it's only 'cause there's never any parking spaces nearby!" We laugh. It's true... there's never any good parking out in the lot. (Of course, it's also true that Thomas and I tend to walk over to the Food Lion after the meeting and back with whatever interim groceries we need to tide us over til Wednesday. Last night, tomatoes and bananas. And the popcorn seasoning that our regular grocery store doesn't carry.)

So, we discussed our activities. Again. We're not talking about going to the gym... gym rats are fine, Beth says, but a lot of people don't like to do that. We're talking about little things. Tiny, really.

She told us a story about one of her members, years ago, who was so heavy that she couldn't even stand. And how she started really small, playing basketball with her son in her wheelchair. Her son would bring her the ball, and she'd throw it. And he'd bring her the ball, and she'd throw it. And after a few months, she could stand, and throw the ball... and eventually, maybe two years later, she was actually managing to move around the court with him.

One of the ladies in our meeting takes her son to the park, and kicks a soccer ball against a wall while he's on the monkey bars and swings. Another girl dances while she's doing the housework. (Ok, I confess, I do this too... I've been known to play air guitar in the kitchen with my broom...) Al and his wife square dance. I sweep the porch. (Hey, that's hard work! And the lawn care guys are so courteous and are constantly refreshing the cruft on my porch to sweep back off!) William walks to the downstairs bathroom, while he's at work, taking 2 flights of stairs down and back. Judy does wall-pushups while waiting for her popcorn to pop.

So, what do YOU do, to Move More?

12 comments:

Slenderella said...

Hurray on more weight loss! Interesting topic at your meeting. Perhaps I should sweep my patio more often, or vacuum the stairs. Heck if I cleaned my house more regularly I might lose more weight and have a clean/tidy house to boot!

Lainie said...

Great consistent weight loss! I wish I could do that--been a while since I've lost consistently--hope to leave the plateau soon. You are an inspiration!

Anonymous said...

Our meeting leader last week pointed out a couple side benefits to parking far away-- saving gas and reducing stress.

I don't know how bad it is by you, but here, finding a space close to the store is a fiercely competitive "sport". I've seen cars (heck, I've been IN cars) that prowl up and down the rows for nigh on 15 minutes, looking for a spot close to the store. Mind you, I'm not talking about holiday shopping here-- this is for regular trips to the mall or grocery store. Being able to just sail into the lot, park in the sea of open spaces at the far end, and pocket my keys goes a LONG way towards making up for the "inconvenience."

And I just purchased a pedometer... hopefully counting my steps will encourage me to take more of them. ^_^

Felicia said...

CONGRATS on your loss!! Just think where you will be in no time 1.6lbs at a time. That is AWESOME!!

Keep up the amazing work!
*huggles*
=0)

Anonymous said...

Way to go Lynn! You're doing a great job. Oh, I love the Air Guitar idea! I really enjoy tring different activities with our every day life. Toddlers always have a way of providing great inspiration.

I'm a gym rat, but being on vacation has me trying to step out of the box. I was doing squats and lunges in a kiddie pool and purposely forcing myself to run around in the water. It was surprise at how fast I was getting winded!!! The little ones definitely wore me out. Oh, and the best one was placing them on my lap and bouncing across the pool on my bottom and using my abs to create the movement.

R.Shack said...

1.6, 1.6 1.6

wooohooo! you're awesome!

I like that Actunity... thanks for sharing!

Cammy@TippyToeDiet said...

What a great weightloss "rut" to be in! I hope it's contagious!

My favorite "move more" action is walking to the grocery store when I need only a few things or some forgotten item. It takes 30 minutes round trip, and I often combine it with a trip to the dry cleaners and the pharmacy as well.

Holly said...

I do squats in the kitchen while I wait for the toaster/kettle/microwave! haha

Anyways, congrats on your loss this week! You'll be at -30lbs before you know it!

Erin said...

When I started this journey I invested in a ball and some dumbells, the kids love playing with them and I like helping them. I usually use my ball at my desk...like right now while I'm typing...and while watching tv, it might not be real exercise, but it has definately improved my balance!

Also I do squats in the kitchen while cooking and while giving the kids a bath

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on the loss! Your consistency is absolutely fabulous. I mean, you just don't get any better than that.

I used to - and am going to start again - do a little exercise routine every time I went to the bathroom at work. (A LOT, since I drink a ton of water!) Wall pushups, squats, jumping jacks, whatever you have room for. It took me about two or three minutes every time I went...and added up to a LOT.

I also do crunches or some other kind of ab work during commercials when I watch TV or during slow parts of a movie. I figure if I'm going to be lying there watching it, I'm already in start position, might as well make it count. :-)

V.

Journo June aka MamaBear said...

Wow, I wish I could lose 1.6 every week! Congrats!

I do squats while squeegeeing my shower door. While watching TV, I like to sit on my shaper ball and do crunches. During commericials, it's a good time to go up and down the steps a couple times.
Path to Health

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