I get warned (lyn)

So today marks three weeks of Weight Watchers.  I arrive at the meeting optimistic, since I now weigh myself every morning.   I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t resist.  I’m told I’ve lost another 3.2 pounds, 8.6 pounds in 3 weeks and I feel very proud.  The class begins with Steve, our wonderful leader (funny, irreverent, and informative) asking how the week was.  One woman bravely confesses that she finds herself waking in the middle of the night and going into her kitchen for a slice of bread, or piece of chicken.  She claims she needs it in order to get back to sleep.  Steve ponders this revelation, and asks the class for ideas.  I offer no insight beyond a suggestion of Ambien, and feel immensely grateful that I do not share this problem.

We digress to other topics, and I get some great tips for 2-point snack ideas.  The class concludes, as it does each week, with people announcing any celebrations.  “I lost 3.2 pounds, “ I say, and everyone applauds, Steve gives me a star, and I feel like a schoolgirl again who just got an A on her paper.  But then someone shouts out, “Wait.  Didn’t you lose over 3 pounds last week too?”  I respond that yes, I had.  And the class wants to know how.  So I tell them that I follow the program exactly, stay within my points, exercise a bit, and have a supportive blogging partner.  At this point someone says, “Oh, I’ve read the blog.  It’s great.  Very funny.”  She even mentions M’s entry on Costco.  And then everyone seems to want the address for the blog.   So I give them my email and ask that they write to me and I’ll send them the link.  I am beyond thrilled.

I come home an hour later expecting to find 10 or more emails from my classmates.  I find none.  Maybe they’ll come later.  I hope so.

I excitedly enter my new weight on WW’s  “weight tracker” and I get a pop-up message I hadn’t seen before.  Wow, I think.  Another little pat on the back.  But that’s okay, I think.  I’d pat me on the back too if I could.  But it’s not that.  It’s a warning, telling me that  “you’re losing faster than is recommended…., If you lose more than an average of 2 pounds per week over a four-week period, this could pose health risks, such as heart irregularities, anemia or loss of muscle mass. Please slow your weight loss; your doctor can help you do this if you’re not sure how, or ask your Leader for ideas.”

You’ve gotta be kidding, I think.  A warning for performing, I thought, so successfully?  And a push as to where to go in case I try to loose less weight a week and can’t?  Maybe eat that chocolate chip ice cream cone or piece of pizza or slice of apple pie or French fries that I haven’t had in 3 weeks?  And add a delicious looking home made muffin from the bakery around the corner for breakfast each day?  Or add some wonderful pastry from Agata for a nightly dessert?   I’m confident that I can solve this problem of losing less in a week without consulting a health care or Weight Watchers professional.

But this is a problem I don’t want to fix.

When my barely worn “old” clothes don’t fit because they are too big; or when my mother tells me that an old friend of hers sees me and doesn’t recognize me because I’m too skinny, that’s when I’ll reconsider this warning.  Until then, I’m going to keep on doing what I’ve been doing, and smile with pride for having this problem.