Productivity and obstacles

I am so frustrated! I spent all this time yesterday to burn a bunch of files to CD and make a label (my CD drive makes really nice light scribe labels but that's another story) and the library computers will not allow me to access the CD drive!

Oh well... that's what I get for being lazy. I was going to walk to the university again and decided I would drive to the library because it's easier. I guess later I'm going to be taking that walk after all. *grumbles*

Enough whining and complaining. This started out as a good day and it's going to stay that way.

I went to a Weight Watchers meeting yesterday. There's a lot more to Weight Watchers than I originally thought. I had resisted it for years because I thought all you do is count points. I got that idea from some snobby ladies in the cafeteria when I was working as a temp once. They used to sit at a big table and compare points, trying to outdo each other and prove that they were the superior dieter. I hated that so much that I swore I would never do Weight Watchers.

However, when I went to the DMV I noticed there was a Weight Watchers right next door, and since I am about 50 pounds overweight and since it *is* unhealthy to be almost 200 pounds, I decided to give it a try.

I had originally planned to go to meetings on Thursday nights because Dave passed away on a Thursday night and so Thursdays are always my hardest days. But for whatever reason when I sat down and actually made myself a promise, it turned out to be for yesterday, which was a Tuesday.

Anyway, I got there early because I still had to go to the DMV and get my license picture taken. I had already passed the test but their camera was broken last week. There was a long line at the DMV but since I was only getting a picture done, I was out of there pretty quickly. My license picture is embarrassing... I hadn't combed my hair and you can tell... but hey, now I'm a North Carolina licensed driver. Dave would be so proud of me for getting things done...

Back to the story.

After I had finished with my license, it was only 4:40. It said on the website to be at the meeting 1/2 hour early to sign in your first time. They weren't open yet and I was hungry... I debated getting Chinese food from across the street but I felt it was in bad form to eat fast food right before a Weight Watchers meeting and besides, there wasn't enough time.

It was raining a little and I sat down on the short brick wall outside of the meeting place. For a minute I thought maybe they wouldn't open at all and I would just have to go home having accomplished nothing. No such luck though ;) a blond lady opened the door from inside and said, "We're not quite ready yet," a minute later. I watched her go to her car, carrying bags of food. She happened to be parked right next to me.

Five minutes later I came in for the first time and got signed up. They weighed me. I was disappointed to find I was 194 pounds because I thought I had lost more than that on my own. (Of course I'm having my period so that adds a few pounds, but still...)

The meeting, however, was really interesting. The group leader, Debbie, talked for about half an hour about how sticking to the plan was like getting ready for another school year. Then she went around the room and asked who was "celebrating". Anyone who had lost a pound or more shared how much they lost, everyone clapped, and they got a gold star.

That was the whole meeting, then there was a orientation for newbies. First I had to sit and wait for a long time because this stupid lady wanted to go on and on complaining that she didn't know that the monthly payment option would automatically renew on her credit card. She canceled the service and wanted to go onto a weekly payment plan but she kept saying that no one is informed that the monthly charge is recurring, and Debbie kept telling her that she apologizes for this but she always tells everyone of that fact when they sign up. They went in circles for about fifteen minutes before the lady finally realized she had to call the 800 number and went away.

Anyway, at the orientation I learned what the Weight Watchers plan is actually about. I don't want to bore everyone with details... but there's a lot more to it than just counting points. You're supposed to eat 5 servings of fruits/vegetables per day, 2 servings of milk, at least 2 servings of protein, and at least 1 serving of grain. Plus eat only a certain number of points per day, depending upon your current weight. You're also supposed to set a goal for yourself--not your ultimate weight goal, but your first weight goal.

I get 24 points per day, plus 35 extra points for the week in case I go over. My first weight goal is to los 20 pounds, because then I'll drop down a point level (have to eat less points). It also happens to be about 10% of my body weight, at which point you get a keychain (kind of like getting a chip in OverEaters Anonyomous)

When I went home, I planned out my meals for today and found this diet was a lot HARDER to follow than I thought it would be. When I planned out meals so that I would have exactly 24 points, I had too many milks. When I fixed that, I had too many points... it must have taken me an hour to figure out what I would eat today.

I got inspired, though... as long as I was planning everything, I sat down and made an entire schedule for today. I've never done that, ever. Dave taught me to always write down what I need to do, but this is the first time I put myself on a time schedule. We'll see how it works.

This morning I ate my first dietetic meal: one piece of stuffed French toast, 1 1/2 cups of strawberries, and a cup of milk. That was a LOT of strawberries... I got full before I was quite finished, but I figured that eating when you're already full defeats the purpose and I'd eaten most of it, so...

In other news, I started making a list of places to submit my short story, Disillusionment. Dave had told me the day before he died that he had tried to read it but his computer wasn't working. He planned on reading it as soon as he moved out here. I think that's a sign, somehow. If I try to publish it I think he'll make sure it has God's blessing. Anyway, so far I'm only through the B's and I already have 25 possible listings. I want to have 25 submissions packets ready to go to the post office on Friday, although first I need to get all the way through making my list.

Chapter 2 of Elsie Worthing and the Hydra's Curse is ready to be submitted as soon as I can find a computer that allows me to use the CD drive (or my Internet starts working).

So it appears I have been busy...