True Confessions - Fat Church, Food, and Alcoholism.... :)

You know how I frequently refer to Weight Watchers as Fat Church?  Well, I looked through my archives and it looks like I never told you why.  I hope that my more religious readers do not get offended.  I mean NO harm!

I'm sure for the most part it's obvious.  There's the prayer before you get on the scale.  The weekly sermon done by your leader.  (Even the occasional guest pastor.)  The collection is the weekly items they are pitching.  The Bible is your Getting Started Guide and you refer to your various Commandments -- the Healthy Guidelines.  I won't go super sacrilegious and try to figure out who our God is, so I'll wrap up with saying further that WW is actually most reminds of Catholic Church because there is confession!

And this is what inspired this post tonight.  Food confessions!  What woman in America does nohet do this?!  It is the most satisfying thing ever!  There is nothing more that I like than to share with my closest   friends that food confessions.  When I tell them about something horribly decadent that I did and I expose it to another person, it just makes me feel better.  Usually they will share something they did.  Or they'll just say, "I was so HORRIBLE!"  Like having a strawberry daiquiri is the highway to hell or something.  Isn't it great?  Don't you feel so much better when you hear that other people are just as crazy as you?!  Then what inspires me to get active and work harder and do better is these same women that I have shared these stories with will then tell me about all of the awesome active things they did to counterbalance that food weakness.  It's really, truly inspiring.  They will always minimize what they do, but trust me -- it's more than I do before 5 in the morning!

This is what I like the best about good Fat Churches.  They're not all built the same, you know.  It's all about the pastor and the congregation.  I've recently been dabbling with trying to find another meeting to go to.  I usually go Wednesday nights.  But just going to one other meeting and I knew that I just really like the Wednesday night group a lot.  Our leader is really awesome.  She really has been there, she really does understand and she really is an example of what you can accomplish if you just believe (faith!).  She makes sure that we discuss the weekly topic but in a way that really incorporates group participation.  But best of all, she encourages confession -- even if she does tease us a little about it.  We confess some of the more audacious things we have done and our perceived failures and she gives us encouragement to do better, be better and we feel recommitted.  The group has clearly known each and been losing together for a while.  And I confess to feeling like an outsider, even though I've been going for more than 16 weeks.  Granted not religiously to this meeting, but enough so that I keep waiting to pass the threshold and feel like an "insider."

So, in honor of this tradition here is my food confession today...  We had a potluck at work today to honor our friend Wanda who is moving on within the company to even more exciting ventures.  (Good luck Wanda!)  There was so much good food and I indulged in some tastes of everything.  Amazing pork barbecue, baked chicken, pumpkin soup, pumpkin muffins -- even I baked!  (Muffins that were 2 PPV's each, thank you very much!)  I calculated my points for everything (ugh, hard confession -- 13) and my BFAW and I walked for a long time after to work off just a tiny portion of our indulgence -- and our work frustration!  (Not truly frustration, after all -- I did just get promoted!)  Then tonight, Scott wanted pizza for dinner and I didn't have the creativity to disagree, so I went along and had two slices.  He DID get me spinach and tomato, like I like but that was 9 PPV's.  And then after dinner, I'm trying to get better about drinking moderately during the week...  (Hard confession -- I have had wine Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week.  Which means I've only been on the wagon Monday and tonight, but baby steps right?)  Where was I?  Oh, tonight after dinner.  I got the munchies, so I had an apple with 2 tablespoons of sunbutter.  (How much do I LOVE sunbutter?)  That was 5 more points.  Needless to say it was a robust day.  I did spend it trying to make good decisions, but I'd be lying if it feels that way now.  My stomach feels thick and I just feel so bloated.

It's going to be ANOTHER indulgent weekend.  I'm going to be looking for ways to fit activity in between and try to minimize the damage.

Wish me luck, but no matter what I'll confess it all here!

hugs,

Heather