Gotta Hit a Meeting

Gotta Hit a Meeting

Written by:  Amy at her kitchen table waiting for meatloaf to cook 10/01/14

Last Thursday I had to face the music.  I had to find a Weightwatchers meeting and go to it. I’ve been putting it off and putting it off and finally, I had to go.

Have I mentioned yet how amazing food tastes here?  Everything, down to the butter just tastes better.  Every bite of food you take tastes exactly like it should.  Want to taste what a carrot should really taste like?  Well, go to the store, every single carrot will taste exactly like you think—no duds in the package.  The food here is also very fresh and without the truckload of preservatives.  I’m looking at the ingredients lists and only see words I know and can spell.  So, every morsel you put in your mouth is a treat for the senses.  And, the bread!  The bread!  I could go on and on about the bread here.  The kids eat bread by the loaf.  They just can’t get enough.

So, with all that good food, I’ve been indulging a little.  Thursday it was time to pay the piper.  It is important to me to maintain the weight loss of the last year.  Since Weightwatchers helped me get it off, I feel good about continuing to have their support while keeping it off.  One of the ways they keep up on their members is to have them weigh in every month.  I looked online and found a Weightwatcher meeting in Drogheda.  I chose a time that worked for all of us and had Ker and the girls drop me off on their way to go to some stores and the library. 

At the Drogheda meeting, I was very welcomed by the meeting leader.  She talked with me for a while to hear about my weight loss history and then helped me through the check in process.  She explained that they do not use the word PointsPlus, instead they use ProPoints.  Other than that, everything I’ve been doing is going to be the same. 

The check in/weigh in was remarkably similar to my meetings in Oregon.  The only difference?  I was weighed in stones.  I had to find out that 1 stone is equal to 14 lbs.  (I’m not sure what that says about a culture that they would use a stone as a measurement of weight, but there ya go.)  After the weigh in, I perused a magazine filled with good tips, tricks and recipes. 

The room slowly filled up. Just like at home, people come in, weigh in, greet each other, and get settled.  I have really missed that.  There’s something so awesome about being a member of a group of people trying to do what they can to be healthier.  The way that they support, encourage and push each other is exactly the way it is at home.  After attending a couple of meetings other than my regular one at home, I realize that I lucked out at home.  It looks like I’ve managed to luck out in Drogheda as well. There was even a 6-month-old baby!  Well, he was there with his mother, but I got to sneak peaks at him through out the meeting.  Next meeting, I’m hoping to get to hold him for a minute. 

Anyway, the topic of the meeting was coffee shops—what to do, what to avoid, what to order.  This was a very great topic as I have seen how seductive the coffee shop/tea shop/bakery is here.  The things they put right next to the register are truly scrumptious.  My favorite?  A fruit scone with clotted cream and jam with tea.  Yum!  So, I got some useful tips and tricks on how to avoid falling for the buy one get one/make it a meal deal/supersize thing that is so freaking popular.

The theme of the month over here seems to be non-scale victories.  It’s not something we focus on very much in the states.  People went around the room naming some ways they felt victorious this last week that had nothing to do with what the scale said.  I couldn’t even come up with one.  It looks like this is something I need to work on.

I really enjoyed the meeting and plan on going back tomorrow.  Even though I don’t have to.