Weight Watcher's Diaries Part Three
By Carol Daelemans

The Beginning of Week 2
This is supposed to be the start of week two or my first full week. I remember saying that one of the biggest hurdles would be fitting all of this into my real life. Well, that all came in to clear focus this morning. Today was supposed to be my first weigh-in, my regular weekly work out, my additional half hour of cardio and the day I had a piece of birthday cake over at mom's house. Six points and the cardio would have paid for that!

Reality check at 8 AM. My nine year old felt hot when she woke up and before the morning rituals were complete was making her illness known in the bathroom. In one fell swoop I now have no weigh-in, no work out, no cardio, no getting out of the house at all, and worst of all no cake! I went out and chatted with the bus-stop moms anyway. I pretended I was getting the newspaper just so I could at least get out and talk to some grown ups for a little while. Sad.

Weigh in Day, Late in the Afternoon
I managed to get my husband to watch the sick kid and the crazy toddler and I snuck off to the gym. What sort of a life do I have that I go to the gym when I get time off from the kids? I did my work out and then went in for my first weigh in. Now I had not really given it much thought except when several different people asked me, “Are you nervous? Don't be nervous" (Ahem, Kathleen Daelemans).

Turns out I was not ready to be disappointed. One pound. I lost one whole entire pound. Actually, barely one pound. I had to suck in my breath to make the scale show one whole pound lost. If I had not had to use the restroom I'm sure I would not have lost anything. Oh well, better luck next time. Don't even bother trying to make me feel better about this. As anyone who has done this knows, it's not others offering platitudes like, “Don't worry." “It takes time." “You will get there." “Baby steps!" Pah! The only thing that really makes you feel better is the next time when the scale finally shows some progress.

I'm not starving for nothing. I'm in this to see results and I know I will. Let's just say I don't think I'll need to buy my teeny weenie yellow polka dot bikini for this summer.

My First Big Challenge
My first big challenge is coming up. Next week is winter break at school so my husband and I are taking both girls and a cousin to Sandusky to the Great Wolf Lodge for five days and four nights. I know, I know. I must have lost my mind. This will be a test of my Weight Watchers on-the-road skills as well as my sanity. I'm not sure I'll pass either test. The hotel has a microwave and a refrigerator so I will be packing cherry tomatoes, carrots, and strawberries for me and the 3 year old. I have Pop Tarts and little boxes of cereal for the rest of the crowd. I'm not confidant that a week of restaurants is doable.

I'm going to try and get the Weight Watchers On-the-Go tool that you can put on your Palm Pilot. I have an older Palm that may be just inside the requirements. Since I'm not so good at figuring out all the points without the help of the computer, I'm sure the Palm will come in handy. It's really nice to have the computer to compare meal possibilities and see if something is going to be too expensive to make for a meal.

I wish there were more resources for restaurants. It's great that Weight Watchers has so many restaurants already figured out and I'm grateful to the restaurants that not only have low calorie menus but actual Weight Watchers information. It makes this whole process easier. I need all the support I can get.

I've reminded my family that it's nice that they're supporting me now but let's all remember that I'll need the same level of enthusiasm six months from now and a year from now. I myself may not have the same level of enthusiasm, but I'll try to fake it.

No time to worry much about a year from now. I just have to worry about making it through the next week. I'm not sure this “vacation" makes sense anymore but I figured a week away with the kids would be better than a week at home where they'd have nothing to do but fight with each other. Of course no sane person thinks a week locked in a tiny hotel room with three children sounds like a relaxing trip. Trying to get three kids to sit in restaurants for 10-15 meals sounds totally impossible. My husband and I will need a vacation after our vacation. Or at least a quiet meal together for just the two of us.