How's That Working For You Part 2

I thought I would focus this post on the first couple of things I've started doing differently, and how they relate to my weight loss efforts.  Stay with me on some of these - there's a link, I swear!

     First:  I quit playing most of my Facebook games.  You know the ones - all the various "Villes" and such, that require large numbers of friends/time/money to maximize.  I realized that whatever pleasure I was getting from playing them was overshadowed by the amount of time they were taking.  They bordered on obsession, and so I stopped playing them, blocked the apps and "unliked" them. 
     The Benefit:  Time to do other things.  And to get my sleep cycle back on some sort of normal track.  I stay up late playing, then get to sleep late, then wake up late feeling fuzzy headed and crabby.  I was losing lots of time to be productive and focused, and there seem to be lots of studies linking successful weight loss with adequate restful sleep.  I do miss some of the games, but now my online time is more focused on the other productive and enjoyable things I can do...like working on my photos from San Francisco, learning how to coupon more effectively, blogging (both reading and writing), recipe research, and finding weight loss support.

     Second:  I've started "meeting shopping" for Weight Watchers.  The leader that took over my regular meeting just isn't doing it for me.  I've started looking at the meetings as a waste of time, and they leave me with a bad taste in my mouth.  I wasted a lot of weeks sort of marking time, because of the notion that this would only last through the summer and then a new leader would come in.  But marking time is wasting time, and it seriously messed with my head.  So I finally went to a different meeting last week, and will be attending two other meetings this week to shop around for leaders (although I REALLY liked the leader from last Saturday - she may be tough to beat, plus, it's the meeting time most convenient for my husband, who's at Lifetime but still attends weekly).
     The Benefit:  Obvious.  I left the new Saturday meeting feeling much more energized, and like  I'd really gotten something out of it.  I felt that the leader was well prepared and had a plan, and she managed the member participation effectively.  Frankly, I can't afford to feel demotivated and unhappy by my meeting - it's too important a part of my success. 

     Third:  I finally called the landscaper about some overgrown shrubs that need to be removed and in some cases replaced.
     The Benefit:  Harder to see, but it relates to my state of mind.  I do use a landscape service for lawn maintenance and such, but like to do a lot of the other outside work like small landscape projects and pruning myself.  But the things that need to be done are beyond my capacity, and the overgrown state of things mirrors my own feelings of being overwhelmed and out of control.  This is a project that has needed attention for over a year, and I've always come up with reasons not to get to it.  So it nags at me as being just one more thing I'm not taking care of.  I bit the bullet and picked up the phone (mostly because the power company can't get to the meter anymore and has started estimating my usage - never a good thing).  Having the consult yesterday has helped me feel more focused and in control, much like my shrubs will soon be!

   That's all for now... there's a couple of other small changes I'm working on.  Mostly these involve some cleanup and organization projects that have been nagging at me for a while. Small steps so far, but I'm already feeling the effects.  Now I'm off to cross off the next thing - calling the salon and getting my hair did!  Much like my shrubs, there's some serious pruning needed!