Janece Dreamin' Big!

Up for some Updates?

2010-03-13T00:11:00.002-07:00

First of all let me just say that the reason that I haven’t updated for so long is because I have been majorly busy!!!! I am nearing my last year of college and being a film major, people may think that you are just having fun… it’s a lot of work! Especially because I have been working on my Senior Project which is three Public Service Announcement Commercials. I honestly haven’t even checked the blog for a while and with… encouragements from those that live around me I decided to update right now. SO… don’t hate me cause I’m slow! I have actual valid reasons!

Feb 13^th 2010

Quote on the Board: Pepole who lose weight and keep it off carve out time to take care of themselves by moving more, eating right and staying connected to the plans they’ve made.” National Weight Control Registry

“What can you do to love your self more this week than last week?”

There are many things that we do that feel like they can be rewards or so forth that can feel like “my time” or “my treat” when in reality those kinds of behaviors just leave us with feelings of regret!

“Give up the struggle,” Janece said “Let it go it’s a choice I had to take responsibility for the drama that I am creating for myself.”

Janece talked about having a plan for the next year and by so doing “making a promise I have so much peace… I want us to make a plan… when you joined Weight Watchers you had a plan… you have to involve family and friends”

Loosing weight is not easy, and doing it alone is even harder! You need to have the support of those around you. I car pool with a friend that knows that I do weight watchers and I find him asking me sometimes, “So…. How many points is that?” When you involve the ones around you in your weight loss then you will have the support that you need to make it to your little and big goals. Janece said “We have to look at the bigger picture. The commitments have to be big… and they have to be consistent… plans of love for yourself will affect your family… are we going to slum it and be miserable or are you going to have a plan and turn it around?”

Feb 20^th 2010

Quote on the Board: being overweight is hard. Losing weight is hard. Maintaining weight is hard. Pick your hard!” Janece

“The mind is as important to weight loss as the body.” Janece started “Gunning for the scale every week doesn’t accomplish anything it only causes a week to week game with yourself…. We get stuck in the week to week mode… this is not about week to week its about next year.”

Playing the scale game is very dangerous because then you aren’t fully trusting the program, or trusting yourself. By letting the scale control your actions then you are only feeding yourself into the “dieter” behavior.

“If you stick to your behavior for a year you don’t worry about the week to week.”

Janece talked about how there is so much that we can accomplish in a year but we are so focused on what number comes up on the scale every week that we don’t allow ourselves to realize how well we have done in the last year!

“I used food to manage my emotions… Now I cant allow food to contol me…. Its an interesting journey. Its an amazing journey”

Feb 27^th 2010

“You are your environment.” - Janece

In this lesson Janece talked about triggers that could be allowing you to have bad habits. She told of a man who lost a lot of his weight but he couldn’t get past the last few pounds. He realized that his chair that he sat in was a trigger. It allowed him to eat snacks and not exercise. So he got rid of the chair and the last pounds came off

“Everything matters in your environment” Janece said

Changing things in your life that are enablers to the old you is moving past and moving up to the “You” that you want to be!

March 6^th 2010

Quote on the Board: Live your Life with no regrets. Ramona Rudert (recent Lifetime recipient)

Love you Boot Campers but I totally neglected to take notes on what was said!

The Boot Campers graduated from Boot Camp this week and talked about the hardest thing they had to do… the most proud and what they lost!

Way to go guys!!!

All right! All updated! All ready for bed…

Again sorry about the busy schedule guys! Hopefully I will be more on top of it in the weeks to come!

Staying Positive.... Become Your Own Coach!

2010-02-08T09:46:00.002-07:00

Quote on the board: "Lasting Change Starts on the Inside and Works Its Way Out."

Boot Camp Challenge: You are back on Sugar unless you made a personal committment to stay off!... BUT you only can have up to 5 points a day!!!

5K/10K Run/Walk is April 24th @ 11am. I believe it is going to be at the same place??? Cost is $5.

Staying Positive - Becoming your own coach!!

Janece started the lesson off by saying ... "You have to become your own coach. You need to be able to coach yourself in your head, and STICK the landing!
Someone in the class asked Jance "How long should we need her as a coach?" Her response is this... No more than 2 years. You need her until you get to goal maybe a year, year and a half at the most. After that, you shoulr be on your own. You still need to be in class, but not depending on her. If you are still depending on her, then there are other issues that you have not delt with that NEED to be delt with. And those issues are what is holding you back.
Is it possible to do this program and not do it perfectly?? Of course it is.
Janece asked the class if we watched The Biggest Loser. This past season on of the contestants got up on the scale in the beginning and they announced her starting weight. She looked at both Jillian and Bob and said "Help me!" Jillian siad, as cold as ice, "Can't do it for you, you have to do it for yourself!!" And that is SO true. Our leaders cannot do it for you! They can help you. They can give you the tools that you need, they can be there and give you support and guidence, but ultimately..... YOU HAVE TO DO IT FOR YOURSELF!!!!!
You have to find the positive in every negative situation!! Janece told us the story about her neighbor and how she could never have anything positive to say. Janece was going through her weight loss journey and every Saturday after she would weight in, she would go home and mow the lawn. The neightbor would come over and she would talk to Janece and Janece would tell her about her weight loss. Janece would hear such comments as " It won't last!" or " Studies show that it won't stay off" or "You look too thin". When Janece finally reached her 100 pound loss she thought for sure that this lady would be all excited for her!! Well... she wasn't. She again had some comment for Janece that was very negative. And Janece being the eternal opptimist that she is said to her ...." If you cannot come over here and say something positive, then I really don't want you on my doorstep." She has never been that way with Janece again!!! :)
If Janece had the capability to hook a tape recorder up to your head, what would she hear? Think about it! How hard are we on ourselves during this journey. Someone asked the Lifetimers how long it has taken them to stop the negative self talk? Some of the responses were:
* About a year
* It is a process in training, still working on it
* 5 years to finally look in the mirror and accept the change

You have to believe in yourself!!!!!!!

Have a GREAT week Everyone!!!!!!!!

Make Us Or Break Us....

2010-02-03T14:17:00.003-07:00

Quote on the board: "Face your past without regret. Handle the present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear." ~~ Thomas Monson

Boot Camp Challenge: 6pts of Protein a Day. Highlight somehow in your tracker. All Boot Campers must blog. Tell why you wanted to do bootcamp & what your experience has been so far.

Are we eating for Hunger or are we eating for Stress??

Janece asked the class, "If we only ate when we are hungry, how would that effect the scale?" Think about that for a moment... She then asked, " How do you know if you are physically hungry?" OR "How many of you know... but don't like the feeling?" She then asked this... "How many of you are emotional eaters?? and then asked "How many don't eat when they are stressed?" It was about half and half in the class.

What are the signs of physical hunger?
* Stomach growling
* Start thinking about food
* Thirst
* Food sounds good
* irritable, fatigue
Now, if you thought about getting light headed or getting a headache, feeling sick to your stomach.. These are signs that you have let the hunger get too far.

At what point should we eat? Rita talked about when she is really good, she plans out her day. She plans so well she knows what she is going to eat and also when she is going to eat. She eats her breakfast. Then, two hours later, she will have a snack, like WW popcorn. Then two hours later it is about lunchtime and she eats again. And so on... When she does this, she does really good and is never hungry. BUT!! When she doesn't plan, it DOES NOT WORK. She either over eats, or snacks on unhealthy stuff, like chips or cookies.

If we are not living the program, we are just living in the moment. Martha said that when she is working the program and also eating her protein, she doesn't get as hungry. Very important ot eat your protein. Not only to keep yourself fuller longer, but it also helps build muscles. it also continues to fuel your body.

Jim said that the first time you feel thirsty, is it really a thirst feeling? There are times when your body is sending the thirst signal to let you know that it is a hunger feeling. You need to learn the signals and how to react to those.

Janece has learned to ask herself "Oh!.. You are hungry??!! Do green beans sound good??" And if they don't sound good, she really wasn't hungry. If she can sit down and eat a healthy meal like chicken, rice and veggies, and be satisfied, she WAS hungry.

Janece asked the question.... What do you do when it is an emotional hunger you are experiencing??
Distract yourself!! Excersize, Deal with it, work it out, try to understand what is going on. These were some of the answers that were given. Janece then told all of us to make a list of 10 things that we can do to distract ourselves from emotional eating. Hang it on your fridge. Refer to it when you have to. If it doesn't work? Make a new list. Some of the ideas that were thrown out there to be put on the list were:
* Call a friend
* Go play an instrument
* Go for a walk
* Paint your nails
If you have other ideas, please feel free to list them here. It will be a good way for everyone to see what others do to avoid the emotional hunger.

There was a quote in the meeting that went along with this lesson.
"Frogs have it easy; they eat what bugs them." It may work for frogs, but if food is the response when we are bugged, it can trigger mindless eating that slows weight loss."

Have a great rest of the week everyone!!!!!

Commit to be Fit!

2010-01-29T19:33:00.003-07:00

Quote on the Board: “Commit to be Fit!”

Boot Camp Challenge: 6 weeks of milk boxes.

Dairy is an important part of anyone’s diet and its been proven that adding dairy into your regular diet that it helps you loose weight. Milk boxes equal one serving of dairy. This could be milk, cheese, yogurt, ect.

Janece started the lesson today by asking, “Who is good with exercise but not food control? Who is good with good with food control but not with exercise?” The two of these coincide. If you are only doing one then you are only doing half of the program and most likely will never get all the results you would like. Since most of us (yours truly being one of them) are not doing so hot and that exercise thing the lesson focused on that.

“If you think you can do without you can’t” Janece says. We all need to accept the fact that if we want to be skinny people then exercise will be apart of our lives. It is important for those of us who haven’t yet, make this a regular habit. Its not easy but its worth it, just like anything else in life. The harder things to go through are the most worth it.

But it can be difficult for us to get into the habit of daily exercise. That is why Janece suggests. “Start small and add a minute a week … its all about consistency.”

Its important to keep in mind that :

1. “Its worth it to be fit-“ The fact of the matter is that iphsycally, mentally, genetically it is worth the sweat to be fit.

2. “Its worth it to start-“ If you never start then you will never realize the potential that you have.

3. “It has to be consistent.” Without consistency there is no way to reach your goals

Okay so here I sit on my plane and I have mulled over this decision but I am making this commitment. I am committing to fit. Anyone that knows me knows that the bane of my existence is getting the sneakers on and taking it upon myself to go out and move. But I commit to all of you reading this now… I will be fit. I will move more. I will have the goals in my future. And I fully expect you to check up on me! Please do! So What will your commitment be this week?

Taking Responsibility!

2010-01-18T23:03:00.004-07:00

Quote on the Board: "Accomplish your dreams or live in Drama... the choice is yours" - Janece

Boot Camp Week Two Challenge
No Treats, Desserts, or Sugar Drinks! Its hard but the results are worth it. If you are on Boot Camp get on the comments and tell us some ideas that have helped you with the challenges!

This weeks lesson was all about taking responsibility for your actions, for your weight gain/loss, and for your life! "We have to take responsibility for the choices that effect our weight." Most of the time when we are struggling at the scale it is because we are not taking the full responsibility for the choices that we make every day. Such as making sure you double check the points on some items that you eat, Portion Control, Exercising how long and what kind. Sometimes our worst enemy when we are trying to loose weight is our own laziness and complacency. When people first start out at Weight Watchers I am amazed at their weight loss. For instance a man in Grantsville this week lost 11lbs!! How fantastic is that?!? Now will he get that number every week? Probably not. But there is a reason behind the loss. When you first start Weight Watchers you watch your food like a hawk. You measure everything. You exercise faithfully, and it works.

But something happens to us... we get over confidant, maybe think that we are doing so well that we don't need to track. Think that we can eye how much a cup of cereal is. Guesstimate on portion sizes. So why do we do this? Because in the back of our head there is a nasty little something that whispers, "you don't need to track." "Didn't you like the dessert? Don't you want more?" or even what Janece recently heard "You deserve it--- its who you are."

We need to recognize that little voice and tell it to shut up! The way to do that is by the choice to prove it wrong, and prove to yourself that you are worth it. Janece said "I have a choice to make... and I wasn't going to label myself." We need to choose to have our weight off and it is not easy!

Janece suggested that everyone write this down on your Tracker. "When I choose to go over points, I choose to have Drama and sadness in my life." She went on to add "I want you to make a like of Things I want to see you taking responsibility for:

Tracking 7 days a week
Measuring
Portion Control
Exercise
Planning
Sleep
Job Stress

"It is not easy to change your life path" but if you don't no one can. "You have a choice to sit in that chair (at Weight Watchers) this year and loose 5 lbs or sit in that chair this year and loose 50 lbs... is it worth it? YES!"

Janece ended by saying "I'm choosing it (weight loss) not to be a battle." What will your choice be?

Procrastination... procrastinaaaaation... is making me late!

2010-01-15T22:22:00.007-07:00

OK OK sorry! I have been busy with school and other things. So I decided to take quotes that I had written down in my notebook and post them. You will get a proper post for this Tomorrow!!!!

Dec 26th

“How Long has it been since you have been at a healthy weight? Were you able to appreciate it? This time losing the weight for me is completely different… So why do I feel so at peace? Because its do-able … the fight (between food and myself are gone.) I believe it’s worth it… I stepped out of the game… at some point you have to step out and say “What weight makes me happy?” I am not going to put myself in the ‘I must’ and ‘I have to’ mind frame, and I know that its coming from stepping out of the game. Make your own rules that make you happy… getting to goal isn’t going to make you happy in you are playing the game. Hit happiness don’t hit goal. You need to overturn the negative that’s in your head. So what makes you happy?”

Jan 2nd

Quote on the Board: Today we look FORWARD to all we will become in 2010!! – Janece

“We need to look forward not backward… even if you gained, its better than if you hadn’t been here. You have to have rewards, set goals of what you want to achieve.”

Jan 9th
Quote on the Board: “Staying satisfied -- the secret of success”
BOOT CAMP II begins

Here are the rules

1. Track.
This is a must. And something that everyone should be doing anyway, in order to lose.

2. No going Over or Under points.
Going over points is just as detrimental to your body as going under. If you are going under your daily points you are cheating your body out of the nutrition it needs.

3.Be at the Meeting
Because of the Holiday season participants are only allowed one excused absence. Other than that you need to be to your meeting every single week.

4. Be on time.
Be on time to your Weight Watchers meeting every week. If you are late you are out!

5. Keep your Tracker with you.
In order to stay in Boot Camp it is required that you have your tracker on you at all times! If Janece sees you at Wal-mart and you do not have your tracker with you. You will be kicked out!

6. Weekly Challenges
Every week Janece will be assigning a challenge. In order for you to stay on boot camp you must complete the challenge not just for one week but for the duration of Boot Camp. Challenges will build upon themselves.

7. Signed trackers.
Every week you must have Janece sign your tracker to make sure that you are on track. If you are not going to Janece's class and attending Weight Watchers at another location then save your trackers for all eight weeks. At the end of eight weeks mail your trackers to Janece and after reviewing them she will mail you your certificate.

Janece will not be focusing on Boot Camp as much there will be 5 minutes of every lesson that will be devoted to Boot Camp!

“Plan to be satisfied… When you are doing the program you come up with alternatives, but it takes time… You need to have goals. You can’t miss you have to make the commitment”

Here are some pictures from the 5k/10k on New Years Day!!

The E-- no wait just kidding....

2009-12-21T20:41:00.003-07:00

We began with an announcement about the 5k/10k run walk. It will be on January 1st at 11:00am. Its a casual race but fun! What a great opportunity for us to start out the year with a bang. I will be getting the details from Janece or Mickey so that I can post a map for all of you that are not familiar with the Grantsville area (like me!)

Janece started and talked about her goal to not eat treats for one year. She said that when she started that he kids said "You can't make it past two weeks." She said "I have planned to eat some of my favorite things but now the day will just be another day... I have gained a huge perspective on addictive behaviors, and the peace that I have gained in that."

As we know this is the end of the 10th week of Boot Camp and Janece said that there will be a special Boot Camp that will be during the holidays. The people that will be in boot camp for the "break" are:

Tess

Kim C

Truly

Sarah

Sheri

Taco

Anna

Deborah

Marylyn

Debbie

Johann

And anyone that reads the blog that want to try being on boot camp.

The holiday boot camp has the same rules, tracking everything and then the three challenges that are suppose to be followed are Exercise 5 days a week for 30 min., No using the scale at home, and no Carbonation.

Anyone that would like to meet on the 26th at Janece's house for a meeting to check up and get some inspiration.

After the holidays there will be a New Boot Camp that will begin January 9th. If you would like to be in the new Boot Camp then you will need to write a letter and mail it to Janece by January 6th. As a reminder Janece's address is: 375 Lake Side Dr. Stansbury Ut 84074

Janece said that there have been unbelievable things that happened. Janece asked all of the recruits to stand and say what was their biggest fear

Denise: “I didn’t know that I could make it… overcoming self-defeating behaviors.”

Myn: “The week before started we restarted our total body transformation. So doing both was going to be difficult for me.”

Chris N: “I wasn’t worried about finishing because I was already committed.”

Sydney: “I can do hard things as I thought about it, I was thinking about Boot Camp ending. “What do I want to do” but I thought I don’t want to change that.”

Cheri: “I knew that I could do it, but I have to do this because I might get out of control."

Amber: "I miss my scales they are waiting for me with spotlights."

Rita: “I was afraid of the carbonation because my friends were not supporting me in everything at first.”

Robin: “The scale, but I feared eating by 7pm because I would have been eating on the way home.”

Karalee: “My hardest thing was what we weren’t going to do, the “its all about me” motto is very hard for me. I felt like I was being selfish.”

Megan: “The peer pressure of failing and exercise because I am not a fan of it.”

Tracy: “Failing at it I didn’t want to let myself down.”

Katy: “Commit to it because I didn’t want to let myself down.”

Kim C: “Hardest thing was eating after 7pm even though it was not on the list.”

Colleen: “Being honest with myself and my tracker, I get stressed so much. I get surprised with what is in my mouth”

I think the reason for this was so that we could see that we all conquered that fear. Then Janece threw us all a new one... If you would like to graduate from Boot Camp this week then do it. However if you have gotten this far then you can continue the Boot Camp throughout the Holidays. You will have to keep doing ALL 10 Challenges and it is an all or nothing deal. Make this week what you want it to be, the best gift that you have gotten all year!

so Deal or No Deal?... Its up to you and not all Boot Camp members are staying on throughout the holiday because it will be a challenge. Lets see if you can do it though and let all of us know so that you can get the help you need!

A gift to yourself

2009-12-14T22:07:00.003-07:00

Quote on the Board: "The Holiday Season is about you feeling great about yourself, not to abuse yourself with over eating :D "- Janece Garrick

Did you realize that overeating is abuse? It is no matter how good that death by chocolate cake is, no matter how good your mother in-laws potato salad seconds are... it is not as good as getting to goal!

By not trying during the season you are setting yourself back. Janece put it this way "I'll enjoy Christmas and New Years' then you have Valentines day then you have Easter and suddenly its April. Is it worth it?"

"How are you thinking differently this year?" What are the precautions that you are taking in order to be successful? How can you change past years? Breaking the pattern is one of the biggest steps that you need to take in order to get to goal and what a great opportunity that we have to grab the holidays by the horns and show everyone what we are made of. Not just everyone. Show ourselves what we are made of. "Its better to stay on..." Janece says "What is the shift? How do you come to that shift? How do you go from enjoying the whole cake to just a piece?"

"The people who have a hard time during Christmas are those who are still on the beginning of their journey. That has got to change someday why not now?" You need to find the reason that you want to get to goal or even find the reason to start! "Its hard when you are not already going.... you can choose to keep the cycle going or you can choose to be different" And what a great and difficult choice that is. When you make that choice it will be the beginning of changing your life.

Janece said "I'm not playing the game anymore, its no longer a connection of food and emotions... It took a lot of years but I am not playing the game, I am choosing to live my life." You have to keep thinking "It will come to me if I never give up" But you can't expect it to hit you like lightning and all of a sudden have this vision and BOING! Your are ready. That is not how it works. "When you are ready it will happen," Janece says "you have to have a mind shift. It's crazy, but something has to happen in order for you to achieve your goal."

WEEK TEN CHALLENGE
There are a few things to do which for some of us (yours truly) can be very difficult.
Make a list of 25 things that you have learned about yourself.
Make a list of 50 things that you love about yourself.
Make a list of 25 reasons that you want to get to goal.

Remember those of you that are doing Bootcamp away from Grantsville mail in your trackers and lists and recipes so that Janece can give your your certificates.

Remember you are fantastic and that you are able to do this you are stronger than you think you are.

((Sorry that this was late but I have caught up two weeks))

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLS!!!

2009-12-07T21:03:00.005-07:00

Quote on the Board: Life begins at the end of your comfort zone! - Neale Donald Walsch

Janece began this week with with one question "How many of you are struggling right now?" Its the holidays as we have been reminded the last few months we are in the battle front and there is just a few more weeks left and we are out of dodging the baked good bullets in this fight.

But some may not have this thinking Janece said that there are times where we let our mind drift into thoughts like "Christmas is coming why should I get going (on Weight Watchers) when I will probably just mess up trying." When thinking this way there is a movie quote that comes to mind "Never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game." -The Cinderella Story

You can't think that you are going to fail before you even try! Janece said "If you can't be perfect be something" She continued about her journey. "Its not about the weight anymore, I'm not happy if I don't track, if I don't eat right... It feels good when your in control... If you can't do everything, do something!"

Janece shared a letter that she received from Denise about her list of goals. Here are most of them (the ones that I could write down and read my writing. I am not quoting these because I don't know what the exact words were.)
I crave happiness... Janece then asked to this "Does achieving our goal solve all our problems? NO!"
I will read over my goals at least twice a day.
I will pre-plan every meal.
I will be in control of my portion sizes
I will eliminate sweets and high calorie foods
I will try a new recipe every week
I will finish eating by 7:00 pm
I will eat more vegetables than fruits
I will have my home life assist me in my goals
I will not eat just to eat
I will not eat because of loneliness
I will write keep a diary
I will find things that I love about myself
I will be an example to myself
I will get 8 hours of sleep.
I will not let my emotion control me
I will reach out and help others in their journey
I will avoid all trigger food
I am going to do it!
I will find new hobbies
I will ask for divine inspiration.

"Weight wreaks havoc on our lives, its a huge deal and it weighs on our lives it weighs on our souls." Janece said. "Forgive yourself Love yourself."

One of the class members even said "If I had a friend that gained weight would I still love her" Of course we would. So why is it so hard for each of us to love ourselves? "There is peace in happiness in what we do" Janece said by changing your life and learning to love yourself again, achieving your goals you will gain that peace and happiness that you are yearning for.

WEEK NINE CHALLENGE
Pick your own goals (2 or 3 goals that you can get from Denise's letter or some that you make your own.) Then Blog your goals here. Mine is to find things that I love about myself. And to keep a diary Now to clarify I am not keeping a dairy for everyday cause I know I won't be able to do that but I will however write at least once a week. My goal to find things that I love about myself is an extremely hard one for me... I even broke down in class about it. For some reason I can love every person around me but its very hard for me to have that same love for myself.

2009-11-29T16:52:00.003-07:00

"Control your emotion or it will control you."- Unknown

To all of you who survived Thanksgiving CONGRATULATIONS! What a great and wonderful accomplishment! If you may have slipped a little, that's okay now is the time to get back on the horse because we are only past the first hurdle and there is still a long way to go in this holiday race! Remember we are having that 5k/10k run/walk on New Year's Day keep working your butt off (quite literally) so we can see you there.

This week is a great lesson, and one that I really needed. Janece had four quotes on the board "You're not over weight." "You don't need to diet." "I made this just for you; aren't you going to eat any?" " Its the Holiday season- can't you splurge just once?"

Janece asked us if there was anyone in our lives that has said this or something like this to us? I know that there are so many times where I have people tell me that I'm just fine... well I don't want to be just fine. In fact there are somethings that we can say if ever those phrases are said to us. For example if someone were to say "I made this just for you..." think about that for just one second.... this person made this food item lets say its brownies... so this person made a whole pan of brownies, that could easily feed twenty four people just for you? No they didn't! Granted, they may have thought of you in the process which is very nice and very sweet and its the thought that counts really. But if that person had made those brownies just for you don't you think that they would have made just a serving instead of twenty four servings? If they are your real friend then they will understand that you are working hard at your weight loss and they won't be offended if you decline. Just explain to them what you are doing and chances are they will respect you for being strong in your determination to loose the weight!

"Think back," Janece said "to the last time that you emotionally ate... What caused it?" Some answers in class were Stress, Kids, Work, School... the list goes on. Janece explained that there are sometimes where we have something emotional happen and we eat... not because we are hungry, no its to fill an emotion. Janece said "This can go as far as 'weigh in's are over oh good I can go eat' or 'this is so hard all I want to do is go and eat" there has to be a change that takes place somewhere inside of us. "I'm the one who would love food too much but I don't think that way anymore.... What changed? There are two things..."

1. Maturity Level - Janece explained that when she was at goal she still had that stress and that it was difficult, but this time around something has changed and that its not as stressful because she has taken that emotional attachment to food out of her life.

2. Self Love- This is an important part of your journey... (one that the writer of this blog still needs to fully learn) Without self love you are going to reach out somewhere for that comfort. Comfort food is and emotional attachment to food. It is vitally important that you remove that thought process because as much as you think that pint of ice cream is loving you its not! Comfort food is not comfort merely an emotional way that you have taught your brain to release an emotion, and that is not healthy. We need to gain this self love so that when we are faced with emotional trials in our lives we don't count on that food being there. We count on knowing that our decisions not to have that food will make you emotionally stronger. Janece said "That can change. That doesn't have to be that way.... and boy, is it a lot better on this side of the fence. I don't want to get to goal and have that (emotional) hold on me again... believe to dispel your beliefs... You can do it, you can, and now it doesn't snowball anymore... its not an emotional issue its a choice of 'what would you like to do?' Its changing your core!"

We can do this! YOU can do this! Its about change. Is it going to be hard? Yes, but what things have you faced in life are you truly grateful for that weren't hard work? Plus you have help we are here for you! Lets make that change and start that change inside yourself this week!

Oh and don't forget you guys on Boot Camp...

WEEK EIGHT CHALLENGE
Filling in milk boxes 2 boxes will do the job. Dairy such as milk, yogurt, cheese, ect.. will do the job!!

Thanksgiving and giving and giving and giving ....

2009-11-23T17:07:00.002-07:00

Thanksgiving and giving and giving…

Quote on the Board: “This is one thing you can control – When you eat and what you eat.” – Christopher Sheehan

To start out we had a briefing on what the Challenge is this week.

WEEK SEVEN CHALLENGE:

Fruits and Vegetable Boxes, make sure that you are having the required servings every day! Pretty self explanatory, the boxes are servings of fruit, not points.

So this week was about Thanksgiving and how to survive! (…and you can survive!)

First things first, grab a paper plate and divide it into eight sections. Turn it over and write on the back your daily points, now add about half of your weekly flex points “This way that you can have leftovers and do the same thing the next day and still stay on the program.” Now add any workout points if you are planning to work out that morning. Now minus any points that you will use for breakfast, (and lunch if you are having an evening thanksgiving.)

Turn the plate over to where you had divided the plate into eight sections. Write all the foods that “…makes Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving to you!” After you have all of your sections filled put the point of that specific food next to your selection!

Here is the list that was made in class:

Turkey White Meat: 2 pts – ½ cup

Turkey Dark Meat: 3pts – 1/2 cup

Remember that Turkey is a filling food and the Set point value is 5 points that way you can have as much turkey as you want for 5 points!

Mashed Potatoes: 2pts – ½ cup

Green Bean Casserole: 4pts – ½ cup

Stuffing: 3pts – ½ cup

Gravy: 1pt – ¼ cup

Corn: 1pt – ½ cup

Candied Yams: 4pts – ½ cup (this is with the marshmallows and all)

Plain Yams: 1pt – ½ cup

Carrots: 0pts

Broccoli: 0pts

Cauliflower: 0pts

Celery: 0pts

Pickles: 0pts

Cranberry Sauce: 2pts – ¼ cup (but check the label)

Cranberry salad: 4pts – ½ cup

Frog Eye Salad: 4pts – ½ cup

Potato Salad: 5 pts – ½ cup

Rolls: If you are able to grip around the roll easily it is 2 pts. If your roll is too big to put your fingers around then it is 4 pts

Butter: 1pt -1tsp

Margarine/butter substitute: 1pt – 1Tbsp

Veggie Dip: 2pts -1Tbsp

Olives: 1pt – 10 olives

Pumpkin Pie w/whipped cream: 7pts – 1 slice

Pecan Pie: 9pts – 1 slice

Fruit Pies: 9pts – 1 slice

Cream Pies w/ light fluffy cream: 5pts- 1 slice

Cream Pies w/ dense cream: 7 pts – 1 slice

Seven Layer Dip: 1pt – 2 dips

This is your perfect plan for this big holiday and this is how you can stay in your points and have a Happy Thanksgiving not a bloated one! As Janece said its all about “Staying on track having everything you love without the remorse.”

Janece even mentioned how she would bring her measuring cups to Thanksgiving and that it bothered some of her relatives, but remember its YOUR journey not theirs! If there is anything that is not on the list that you need to know the points on, leave it in the comments and we will make sure that we can find how many points it is!!

GOOD LUCK and remember YOU ARE WORTH IT!

Tradition! Tradition!

2009-11-15T21:33:00.003-07:00

Quote on the board: "Tradition is a guide and not a jailer" - W. Somerset Maughan

Last week the challenge for the Boot Camp was to not weigh yourself except for at your weekly meeting. Janece talked about how this made some people stressed out. "Stress and sleep can affect your weight loss... its crucial to your weight loss that you have sleep." Some people tried to do extra to ensure that they would not gain. Some exercised more, or lowered their daily points just in case they would gain. When you do this you inadvertently sabotage yourself because you are not following the program fully. "Trust the program," Janece says "Trust what you were doing, look at your last big loss and follow what you were doing then... Some peoples bodies are more sensitive to different things than others, trust that it will continue"

So this weeks challenge...

WEEK SIX CHALLENGE
Five days a week 7 hours of sleep. "This means that you need to be in bed, lights off, trying to sleep, no television on, no computer, and no reading." The only exception is if you have a baby at your house, but you still need to do the best that you can! Sleep is important because its the time that your body has to adjust to everything you put it through, such as stress, both physical and mental.

On to the lesson (and to all my bloggers I am sorry I don't know how long this one will be my notes a little limited.)

"What are some Holiday traditions that you have in your family that may not be the most conducive to your weight loss?" some answers that were given were... Baking, Carmel, Toffee, Fudge, Eating out (due to being on the go all the time.) Making gingerbread houses, Watching football, sitting and playing games for long periods of time, Taking a thanksgiving nap, making plates of candy.

"Now," Janece started "Think of how the heavy you would handle those traditions and think of how the fit you would handle them differently?" For example, growing up my whole life we have a tradition on Thanksgiving... Eat, Wait/Nap/Play card games then eat pie and play bingo. The past couple of years as we grandkids have gotten older, we have found that time that we aren't doing anything we figured out a fun activity to do. Thanksgiving Picture Scavenger Hunt. You may be confused at how this would change anything, but racing against your family going to find the items on your list such as going to a complete strangers home and asking them if you can get a picture of their turkey sure beats a nap or a card game any day! Also our family has become a little more health conscious so we have a constant veggie platter available for everyone to snack on.

"Tradition is a good thing," Janece said "You need to make changes so that its not so toxic but more active..... Active verses 'I feel rotten anyway I might as well enjoy the food... this whole thing is going from caterpillar to butterfly things have to change" Janece explained that if we keep our same habits and traditions then we are putting ourselves into a destructive cycle. We need to keep our motivation and drive going throughout this season of endless eating and chocolates galore!

As hinted in the comments last week, Janece said that Mickey and Tracy have come up with an idea for New Years Day. A great way to keep up pushing yourself and keep moving forward is a 5k and 10k run or walk. More details will be coming but here are the ones that we know. The course will be in Lake Point and we will beginning at 11AM. I personally would like to urge EVERYONE to do this. It has been a goal of mine to do a 5k because I have never done one but I will be attending! (And I live in West Valley so all of you that don't live in Grantsville can follow my example) Janece even made sure that I knew to tell everyone on the blog that you are invited to come. It would be a great unifier for all of us that are here on the blog meet and accomplish this!

So now we have something to work towards and drive our exercise! Have a fabulous week and lets show the holidays what we are made of!!!!

Motivation and Validation!

2009-11-07T13:06:00.005-07:00

Quote on the Board: " People often say that motivation doesn't last ... well, neither does bathing. That's why we recommend it daily" -Zig

Today Janece started out with a question. "Why do we have fear about the holidays?" Some answers were that its easy to dig into the chocolate, that its an emotional attachment to food and to memories. But the emotion that we have to keep in mind is Motivation.

"Motivation is an emotion! You cannot sustain one emotion 100% of the time. It is impossible for you to stay sad all the time. Its impossible for you to be happy all the time. The same goes for motivation! Your motivation will ebb and flow and that is natural" It is ok for you to have a week / weeks that you don't feel motivated we all go through it and you are not alone in that department! In fact if you were motivated all of the time then you would be alone (but on the bright side you would be constantly motivated and you wouldn't need anyone around!)

So what do you do? "How do you handle the weeks that you don't feel motivated is crucial." Its important that when you don't feel motivated that you have resources to turn to. You are able to come onto this blog and read posts and comments that can help you push yourself to do what you set your mind out to. You can turn to a friend or family member that knows what you are doing and ask them for help. Remember that taking care of yourself also involves the emotional side of you! Here at this blog there is such a community that is ready to help and lift others up as soon as you ask for it. We are all here to help you. Even the people that you look to that seem so self motivated have their down times.

"The important thing to remember," Janece says "is that it will come. Even when you are not motivated you need to remember that motivation will come." Janece talked about how she was on the phone with her friend Hils and how she was not feeling motivated. Hils told her to call her back in 48 hours and see if there was a difference. Janece explained that in 48 hours she was practically bouncing off the walls. "You have to learn to move forward in the down time."

Janece said "There are three things to keep in mind to stay motivated in the holidays."

1. "Set Realistic Goals"

Janece said "We want to lose 20 lbs in four weeks, but what is realistic" When we put ourselves to expectations that are too high then we in turn can get ourselves into an emotional self destructive cycle. We set the goal to high then come down on ourselves because we didn't make that goal. "You have to be in for the long haul..." Janece said "This is something that is not just for the holidays but something we have to keep in mind all year."

2. "Continue Tracking"

"You can't lie to your body." If you think that the tracker is there for your leader to check up on you then you have it all wrong. That tracker is there to do what it says it will do... keep you on track. You are more likely to have a loss when you track then when you don't track.

3. "Attend your weekly meetings"

Attending the Weight Watcher meetings is the best motivation that you can have in your weight loss. You automatically have a connection with the people at your meeting. Whether you be in Grantsville, West Valley, Bountiful, Draper, Salt Lake, Las Vegas, or Timbuktu, You are on the same journey that the person sitting next to you is. They have had the same motivation and lack of motivation. "You may have three weeks on and three weeks off" Just remember that you are not alone in this.

For those of you that are on Boot Camp...

WEEK FIVE CHALLENGE:

No Weighing on any other scale other than at Weight Watchers meeting. (This does not mean you can go to Weight Watchers everyday and weigh yourself.) The reason for this is because when you are weighing yourself everyday you are not trusting the program and you are not changing behaviors. Janece said "Focus on behavior! Focus on the Program."

Just as a treat I have added a video that I think goes along with this lesson really well called Validation! Its about 14 minutes if you have the time to watch but it will make you smile I promise you that! (remember to click pause on the music before watching the video.)

A Spooktacular Week!

2009-10-31T10:25:00.006-06:00

Quote on the board: "To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art." La Rochefoucauld

Janece mentioned this recipe in the comments so I thought that I would post it here it was also on the board.

Eggs Scrambled in a Mug
1/2 c. egg beaters
1 wedge laughing cow (cheese swiss cheese flavor)
dice up cheese and stir into eggs. Put mixture into large mug. Microwave for 35-45 seconds, stir and microwave for a minute.

There were a ton of fabulous finds that were brought to class. Progresso Soup, Fuse (drink), yoplay delights, devinchi vanilla flavor, however I am not going to share the point value so you can all go and discover how great these finds are for yourself (that and I didn't write the point value down for everything cause there was a ton of stuff! ;) ) If you have a fabulous find please share in the comments or in the chat box!

So today is Halloween and the beginning of the hardest season if you are trying to be a brave little toaster in this sea of endless treats! A philipino friend of mine once said "The 'BER's' is when you (gain weight) because you celebrate all the holidays, SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER, DecemBER." Janece gave some great ideas for today and for the left over Halloween candy. The first thing to remember is to have a plan! If you are still putting off buying candy maybe buy something that is alternative, such as glow sticks, little packs of play-dough. If you do have trick or treaters in your house this can be a very hard challenge for you. Janece gave an example. "When I was first doing Weight Watchers I told my kids (then around 7 or 8) that they can have the candy, but they would have to hide it in their room. And if I found it I would throw it away... I found it and threw it away. The next year they hid it a lot better."

Halloween is the first of many holidays. This is your first big test. If you can get through this you have the first of many big temptations! "Prove it to yourself ... Stick with what you are thinking now!" One of the class members said "Every week there will be an excuse not to do Weight Watchers" You have to make that decision every single day! Be that person that you decide to be in the morning! "All of us have the morning person," Janece said "in the morning we say 'today I am going to ... (fill in the blank) and by the afternoon that morning person is trashed."

"If you don't follow through then you will always let yourself down... When you push yourself you become a happier person... Its worth it to rise to the occasion...Who decided that you were (only) good enough to go half way? You did. I want you to hold yourself accountable. Hold yourself to a higher accountability than you have in the past." I know that when I am doing what I need to I feel better about myself even when I am completely stressed out with my schedule.

So this week's challenge is....

WEEK FOUR CHALLENGE
Protein Boxes!!! The Challenge is to fill in your protein boxes. Which means have at least four points of protein a day. Janece said to make two more boxes and cross them off as soon as you have the points of protein. As a reminder Protein is: Meat, Fish, Dry beans (this includes beans that were once dry as well), Soy products, Nuts, Peanut butter. This does not include any dairy products (cheese is not a protein!)

So for this Halloween scare away those pounds by resisting those treats!

Just as a reminder. One of the members in Grantsville asked if they can comment on the blog even if they are not doing Boot Camp... This blog is not a "boot camp" blog!!! It is here for anyone and everyone that reads it. Whether you are doing Weight Watchers or not, whether you are on boot camp or not. You are welcome to make your opinion known. My only rule is have respect for each other, which frankly no one here has a problem with. I update about the boot camp for those that are doing boot camp away from Grantsville but the majority of this blog is to make sure everyone gets the lesson! So PLEASE comment, chat in the side box, and most of all have fun. Have a great week. - Megan

The Clock is Ticking!

2009-10-24T10:07:00.004-06:00

Quote on the Board: "Only you can be in control of your journey and that means realizing when you're getting bored and actively troubleshooting the problem" - Janece

This morning we started with a report on our Boot Camp! This week we introduced exercise, and personally I will say it was hard. I did it but it was hard. I am not a fan of going to the gym every week and I still have that little voice that likes to eat at my doubts that I have about myself but I did it and I plan to keep doing it.

Janece said that she wanted to give the lesson first this week and then add the next challenge, so here we go.

Have you ever felt like you do the same thing over and over? Do you feel like a rat on the stationary wheel? Do you repeat the same kinds of things that have worked for you in the past just because it had a good result for you once then 'it must work again'? When we do this there are a number of things that can happen. We can get bored with doing the same exercise and eating the same food day after day that we tend to give up. Sometimes your body will even adapt to what you are doing and you have a harder time at loosing the weight than you did before.

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." -Albert Einstein

"So why do we do it?" Janece asked our class. Some answers were that its easier, or that we have such a comfort in what we do that its sometimes hard for us to get out of that way of thinking. "By saying 'it worked once it should work again' you are lying to yourself" Janece says. When we have this mental and physical repetition the most common outcome is a self esteem crash. "You will constantly do the same thing until you realize that your pants are to tight again." It's a vicious cycle that we get ourselves into... "How fast does repetition get to you?... How do you prevent it?"

Tweek little things in your routine every week/every other week. How can you do that? some class members threw out ideas. Try a new recipe, make a new grocery list, mix it up in your exercise. Try different foods. There were some members of the class that were laughing just a bit as Janece was explaining this and Janece questioned them on why they were laughing. "We need this lesson," they replied "I have been eating the same thing for a while and so last night we went to Burger King." She explained that she had the points but that she could have chosen a better choice than that. Another class member talked about how she has a personal trainer and how she changed her workout every two weeks to keep it fresh and to work different muscles.

Janece brought it all back to one point. "What it comes down to is time. Are you going to take the time to change it up?... its like getting a college education... if you slack and not do the homework then you are not going to get that 'A'. Janece talked about one of our boot camp members who was using her one and only excused absence for that day. The member had called Janece and explained that there were three members of her family that needed to get three different places and that she had to take them. "If this sounds like you, something has to change." Janece reminded us all of that commitment lesson that she gave where she committed us to talk with our families about the change and how it was 'all about me.' She checked in on Colleen and how her family was dealing with the change. Colleen had said that her 13 year old was not happy and that her daughter had a difficult time with the change in doing chores. Colleen said that she told her daughter that she could help but that it wouldn't be helping her daughter know that she can do it by herself. We all noticed that Colleen's tone was a lighter one than the week before (hmm... wonder why that is? maybe its because the leader is always right.)

"You have to make the time to change! You have to make the time, you have to make the commitment, and you have to make the focus to change... but the payoff is worth it." Janece said "How crazy was your week? And how could it have been better if you made this a priority... I want you to plan your meals, plan what time specifically you are going to exercise... have a planning meeting with your family. I want your time and I am taking your time... your time is now mine. So this weeks challenge is..."

WEEK THREE CHALLENGE
This week its all about changing it up and time. Every week you are in Boot Camp you have to try one new recipe once a week. Write down that recipe and bring it to class. For those of you who are not going to Grantsville every week, as a reminder you need to be keeping your trackers for every week and then at the end of boot camp you will be mailing those to Janece and she will mail you back a certificate. She decided that she wants all of you to mail in those recipes with your trackers at the end of the ten weeks. We will be collecting them all and then we will have a "Boot Camp Recipe book" be sure to include the point value for the serving size. Janece also said that we will be required to bring in a packaged "fabulous find" to give ideas to everyone else. Those who are not going to Grantsville, I think can post here in the comments of what your fabulous finds are (for now unless I hear otherwise from Janece.)

This will be a great challenge for all of us to get out of our comfort zone and to try new things. Another class put up a sign in the room that says "We are people of action. We do hard things." LETS DO IT!! keep up the fantastic work. You are all an inspiration/motivation for me everyday!

Me, Myself and You?

2009-10-17T09:57:00.007-06:00

Quote on the board:" If you think taking care of yourself is selfish, change your mind. If you don't, you're simply ducking your responsibilities." - Ann Richards

"You need to take care of yourself first. If you don't care for yourself, you can't take care of someone else." - Kathleen O'brien

So week one of Boot Camp is down and all of the recruits seem to be doing well. In review the challenge this week was No Soda Pop or anything that is carbonated! Janece asked Rita (who is our 14th member) How the week was. "It was good" she commented "It was really hard. I had a horrible headache... but it was good." If you are experiencing headaches from going off of soda, its completely normal. Your body is just reacting to the new carbonation/caffeine free you. Its worth it don't give up!

Janece said that she had a good reason for starting off Boot Camp with no carbonation. "I wanted you to be free of that so that your lungs weren't being constricted." Janece wanted us to all breathe a little easier is because...

WEEK TWO CHALLENGE
Exercise 30 min a day, 6 times a week. Someone in the class asked if this was "just 30 min of activity points?" the answer is NO. You have to challenge yourself. Don't just go on a leisurely walk, really break a sweat! (personally this challenge scares me because I have the hardest time with exercise. I don't know why, its just something that I struggle with!) I will be making a list on the side bar of all of the challenges so that we can all see what we are doing. So remember thats no carbonation AND Exercise. If you have ideas of what you do to deal with the temptation of carbonation or tips of exercise. Leave them in a comment to help everyone!

Alright on to the lesson!

Janece started by bringing up Colleen to the front of the class. She put a sign around her neck that read. "It's all about ME" and asked, "If you went home with this sign on how would your family react?" Colleen said that her husband would say "Its about time." and that her 13 year old would say "Gimme that!" Colleen mentioned that wearing a sign like this all the time would make her feel nervous. Janece challenged her. "How does doing everything for everyone else feel?" Colleen said that it made her feel annoyed and that it felt like others were ungrateful for the things that she does for them.

In contrast Janece asked her husband Greg, "When I put on this sign on how did it make you feel." "Nervous" He replied "...because you decided to quit your job, stay at home and go to Weight Watchers... but there were so many health problems that you had at the time, that it was a relief." In 2001 Janece left her job and decided to put on that "Its all about me" Sign. "It was a sacrifice for my whole family... we all had to sacrifice because of my decision. But at the end of that year how had things changed Greg?" "We were 150% better and happier family... you played your role" he said. Your role is NOT to do everything for everyone else. That is NOT your responsibility! Sacrifice brought everyone happiness. But some may say that you are being selfish. Janece said that there is a difference between being selfish and taking care of yourself. "When you are being selfish you are taking away from someone else," She said "When you are taking care of yourself you are adding to others lives."

Someone asked what if Greg and Janece had the "Its all about me" sign on at the same time how would that work? Janece said that when you are both in the same frame of mind then you do things together. "You work together toward your goals, You work together on the budget, you work together in disciplining the kids... when both of you are on board you become unified in more (aspects) in your life. When you get on the right track your whole life does."

One person gave and example of the warnings on an airplane. "The warning always say put on your oxygen mask first, then help your children... My husband and I use this (analogy) all the time." She said that if there is a time where her husband notices that she needs a minute he will just mention the words 'oxygen mask' to remind her that she needs to help herself first. Many others in the class brought up examples of when you do things for others how will they learn to do anything for themselves?

One of the biggest points that Janece brought up was "If you don't feel worthy of wearing the "its all about me" sign then you need to change yourself." When you have self worth you are able to do more to take care of yourself. You are only able to serve others when you have your needs already met. Putting yourself first is even the theme of this blog. If you read the caption underneath the 'Janece Dreamin' Big' it says "a place to make yourself first!"

"Start somewhere," Janece said (though it sounded more like a plea) "Start fighting for yourself."

Janece talked about her friend Hils (who I know reads this and I believe is in Draper) She asked Janece what her rules about being her friend were. Then when they sat down Hils gave her rule. "I will not be a friend to anyone who is not progressing positively in their life... If they are negative then I have to leave them." (to read Hils clarification of this rule see the comments) Helping yourself is the only way that you are going to be able to help others without hindering your abilities as well as theirs. So this week put your progression, your weight loss and yourself first.

Semper Fi

2009-10-10T09:50:00.006-06:00

Quote on the board: "Today at least twelve people will enlist in a better future! Are you going to join them?"

Reminder: Don't forget about the Lose for Good campaign and bring in food donations into your Weight Watchers!

Boot Camp has officially begun! But just because you are not in Janece's class doesn't mean that you are not involved. Janece and I talked about how we can really have those who aren't in Grantsville into Boot Camp, but we'll get into those details a little later.

First off the rules...
1. Track.
This is a must. And something that everyone should be doing anyway, in order to lose.

2. No going Over or Under points.
Going over points is just as detrimental to your body as going under. If you are going under your daily points you are cheating your body out of the nutrition it needs.

3.Be at the Meeting
Because of the Holiday season participants are only allowed one excused absence. Other than that you need to be to your meeting every single week.

4. Be on time.
Be on time to your Weight Watchers meeting every week. If you are late you are out!

5. Keep your Tracker with you.
In order to stay in Boot Camp it is required that you have your tracker on you at all times! If Janece sees you at Wal-mart and you do not have your tracker with you. You will be kicked out!

6. Weekly Challenges
Every week Janece will be assigning a challenge. In order for you to stay on boot camp you must complete the challenge not just for one week but for the duration of Boot Camp. Challenges will build upon themselves.

7. Signed trackers.
Every week you must have Janece sign your tracker to make sure that you are on track. If you are not going to Janece's class and attending Weight Watchers at another location then save your trackers for all ten weeks. At the end of ten weeks mail your trackers to Janece and after reviewing them she will mail you your certificate.

The Boot Camp will last until the week before Christmas, which is the kind of motivation that we need going into the holiday season. As mentioned before every two weeks participants will have a rank advancement. Janece selected a few participants but anyone can do choose to be in it, but you have to follow the rules.

There were first eleven people selected to be in Boot Camp. Janece said that by sharing the part of their letters that it would help inspire all of us that are choosing to be in Boot Camp. Here are their inspiring words.

"In past holiday seasons I always let myself slide, especially Christmas. Let me tell you my birthday, wedding anniversary, and Christmas are all about a week apart from each other in Dec. Not to mention all the extra parties and Kalem's birthday in Nov. We start eating at his birthday and don't stop until the New Year begins." - Sydnie

(written on the back of the envelope) "This is late, I realize, but I'm still hoping for a chance with the focus group. My printer at home decided not to work and I've been working to get it fixed. Finally I just emailed the letter to myself and printed it at the Library." - Katy (talk about dedication!)

"If you allow me in your program I will be dedicated, charismatic and a real trooper." - Chris To this Janece said "I am interpreting 'real trooper' as saying that I won't hear complaints."

"I think that boot camp will be extreme and that it will be really hard and difficult and that I will hate some and or all of the weeks but I know that if I don't at least try, if I don't at least put myself in this position then I will never be able to get to my all time goal" - Megan (yours truly)

"My paper might not be the best one you will get, but know that I am sooooo ready to start focus groups again... I don't know what to do without one... Who knows what might happen if, not only am I not on focus group, but I my chair also! This could be disastrous." - Amber

"I've talked it over with my husband , and he is aware of the commitment this would be, and he is ready to support me." - Tracy

"Why do I want to be in Boot Camp? Because I want to have a baby and the clock is ticking ....loudly.... I desperately want at least one more child but I and my husband agree that I owe it to myself to complete this journey." Karalee

"I came home early from a trip so I could attend Weight Watchers and hand in my letter to you." - Denise

"Being in the spotlight will really put the pressure on me to give this my all and help me finish the program and ger a new ME! It is easy for me to sit in the room and not have anyone notice me or my accomplishments or my downfalls. Being held accountable by not only Janet and Henrietta, you and myself is not helping me I need to be accountable by everyone in our class."
- Charity

"The last time that a challenge was made, you told me that I could not do it. I was crushed. I wanted to do the 10 pound challenge SO BAD!"- Myn

"When it comes down to this challenge and I know that you are only picking 12, if you have to choose between Amber and I, please let it be Amber." -Cheri

Janece let one spot stay open for anyone that wanted to speak up and be in Boot Camp. Two woman (who I am sorry I don't know your names yet) battled it out in a 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' show off. However Janece let them both on. Then one of the member of the class (again I don't know your name either sorry) mentioned that 13 is an unlucky number. She pleaded with Janece and the class of why she should be in Boot camp as well "militant Janece" let her in as well. So now there are 14 of us in class and I hope many more out of class!

WEEK ONE CHALLENGE!
Janece is doing all of the challenges a week before everyone else and she decided that the challenge will be ...... (*insert drum roll here*)..... NO SODA (this includes anything that is carbonated!) but that is not for this week only.... no soda for ALL 10 weeks!

After presenting all of this Janece said "I am expecting higher from everyone... You can do hard things, you can do this and you will prove it to yourself... you are much bigger than you think you are. You are bigger than this!"

So let's go and lose together. The reason I chose Semper Fi as the title of this weeks entry is because it is a military saying that means "Always Faithful" Always stay faithful to your goals and you. Remember its all about you! Lets do hard things and lets do them together!!

How Committed are You?

2009-10-03T10:49:00.008-06:00

Quote on the board:"This week your new mantra will be 'It's all about me!' it's time to recommit to Weight Watchers."

Janece started the class today by reminding people about the new "focus group boot camp" What this will entail is the same challenge of the focus group. Stay within points (not going over or under) be at the meeting every week, and completing the weekly focus group challenge. However... (insert the dun dun dun music here) The challenges will build upon the previous challenges. This means that if you had to exercise five times a week last week and this weeks challenge is to fill in your vegetable/fruit boxes then you have to do both in order to stay in the group. But it doesn't end there. You never know Janece because in one week you could be filling in vegetable boxes, water boxes, exercise five times a week, no caffeine, and getting seven hours of sleep... I know I'm scared too. But this is boot camp this is no walk in the park, "militant Janece is back!" and frighteningly enough I think that she is here to stay! The way you enter into this boot camp is by writing her a mailed letter. (Letters need to be to Janece by the Oct 8th No Later.) Janece's address is:

Janece Garrick
Atten:Boot Camp
375 Lakeside Drive
Stansbury Park Utah
84074

Since Janece is now "Militant Janece" she has rankings for the people that have been picked as soon as they complete two weeks they will advance to the new rank. The ranking system is:

Private
Sargent
Lieutenant
Capitan
Colonel

If you are not picked for the focus group it does not mean that you can't do the challenges. I think it would be great if we had some people that are not going to Grantsville tell us about their experience doing it. If boot camp seems to hard then do the challenges one week at a time and challenge yourself that way and comment here to let us know how you are doing, tell us what you struggle with because I guarantee you are not alone!

Alright on to the lesson...

Today's lesson was about commitment she said "I like to do a commitment class at the beginning of fall usually I do it just before Thanksgiving but I decided that we can do it for Halloween too." "How committed are you to Weight Watchers on a scale from 1-10?" When Janece asked this question I thought 10. But someone in class said "It depends on the day." Which can be true to all of us at one time or another. Janece talked about her theme being "It's all about me." and how she had to adopt this theme when she was first with Weight Watchers in order to first lose 100lbs. "If its not about you how hard is it to stay focused? It has to be something that is at the top of your list." She then gave a list of things for us to do this week which extends to you reading this right now.

1. Forgive Yourself
This is something I have a hard time with. Janece added this at the last of her lesson but she said that it should be at the first. I think of an analogy that was given to me a long time ago that went something like this. If you are driving where do you look? Do you keep your eyes on the rear view mirror? Why not? Of course the answer is because you'll crash. If you keep your eyes looking to your past then you will never be able to go forward. The rear view mirror is there as a reminder and a warning but its not our focus.

2. Have a Family Meeting
"What's keeping you from meeting with your family?" To be able to accomplish something this big you need support at Weight Watchers as well as the ones that are closest to you. Even if they aren't loosing weight, even if they are a twig and they eat snickers bars for breakfast lunch and dinner, no matter what the reason. Call a family meeting and discuss your needs and wants and how they can help you.

3. Clear your life of extra life clutter
Janece told us about how she turned off her phone and closed off anything that would be a hindrance to her weight loss. "If you can't make yourself on the top of your list then you won't succeed... its O.k. to put yourself first." One person commented about how she would volunteer in her first daughters 1st grade class to help read but she is not doing that for her 2nd daughter "Its not that I don't love my 2nd daughter as much as the first its that I love myself more now than I did before." Janece said "Sacrifice is a good thing... always!"

4. Set your goals
It has been studied many many many many times that those individuals that set goals are more likely to achieve them, but don't just set one. Set many little goals that lead up to your big goal! In WVC this week before she left Janece asked the group "Who rewards themselves for achieving their goals?" Not many raised their hands. It also important to reward yourself because then you have something to work towards along the way to your big goal.

5. Commitment Letter
One of Janece's favorite things she says is having everyone write a commitment letter. This letter should be "Why you will still be in Weight Watchers a year from today? and write your goals of what you would like to accomplish during the year?" Send the letter and a self addressed stamped envelope (preferably with one of those "forever stamps") and in one year Janece will send it back to you. Address these letters:

Janece Garrick
Atten:Commitment Letter
375 Lakeside Drive
Stansbury Park Utah
84074

So, today's question to ask everyone is "What is keeping you from being 100%?"

A New Era Begins

2009-09-30T18:53:00.002-06:00

So the reason that you are here is because you know Janece Garrick!!! (yay for you!)

Janece recently announced that she was not going to be a leader in her old areas and will only be available in Grantsville. While we are so excited for her in her new endeavorers, there are a few that will remain in their cities. This Blog is basically devoted to those who are not able to travel to Grantsville every Saturday and everyone else that wants to read.

I will be attending the meeting on Saturday mornings. Once I get back home I will write about what the lesson was, what the focus group challenge is, and any other tidbits of information that need to be added.

Janece has said that she would like people to comment so that she can check up on everyone, but with her being technologically challenged I will write it every week.

Who am I? Good question (who are we all... really....just kidding) My name is Megan I started Weight Watchers in January of 2009. I am 25 and I am a college student at Utah Valley University majoring in Motion Picture Production. I have lost 20lbs so far and have plans to lose a TON more (well maybe not a literal ton but you know what I mean!) I have completed 2 of Janece's focus groups.

For those that are planning to go to Grantsville it was requested that I add the address and Map to get there which is.....

822 E. Main Street #F
Grantsville, UT 84029

So here it is... get on me if I post late and the only reason that I will miss class is weather or filming and even then I will call Janece and ask her what she wants me to post! If you have any ideas about what can improve let me know! And lets kill this! Remember even if you can't see Janece every week YOU are the one that causes change in your life. Make yourself first in your life and you can't go wrong!

-Megs