Success can be contagious

I can say from experience that losing weight with the help of other people is so much better than going it alone. Sure, I could go about trying to lose weight on my own, but now that I know that I don’t have to go it alone, I don’t want to.

Do you know what the best part of being a part of a weight loss group is?
I’ll tell you.

It’s the standing ovations that you get after losing so much weight that it’s hard for people not to take notice.

I’ve been fortunate myself to experience what it is like when everyone around me was standing, clapping, and looking at me and telling me things like “Way to go Gretchen!”

I had that just a few weeks ago after having an 11.1 pound weight loss in one week.

That was the week I turned things around for the better after having struggled for a while.

Though I had been having difficulty for a while before then, I never gave up.

I got my head together, got prepared and then strategically launched my turnaround.

So far things are going well.

Down about 30 pounds or so from my highest weight of 418.9 pounds, I’m starting to feel better, walk better and I’m really getting my act together.

Week after week when I walk into my weight loss group meeting, when I tell everyone that I’m doing well, I’m greeted with praise and smiles. My mood is instantly lightened and I’m reminded that all the efforts of the previous week have been worth it.

Yes, they were worth it. The efforts tracking my food, getting my food and eating it right — those efforts have been worth it.

So have the efforts I have put forth to fit exercise into my lifestyle.

I used to hate exercise with a passion. It was the bane of my existence.

The problem is that when you hate something that is good for you, it doesn’t leave much opportunity for you to gain the benefits of that good thing, especially if that hate leads to one completely avoiding that thing.

That’s what I did. There were times I would avoid exercise completely. I didn’t consciously think, yes, I am going to avoid exercise today. Subconsciously though, I’m sure that thought was there somewhere, right along with all of the excuses I would come up with to support it. Of course those excuses were thinly veiled behind what I would call legitimate reasons for that avoidance, but were excuses nonetheless.

Now those excuses are melting away as I am buoyed toward achieving my goal.

There’s something about seeing the rewards for hard work that makes it all seem worth it.

I see those rewards most clearly when I reach meeting day for my weight loss group, TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly). Encouraging words from fellow TOPS members, the clapping, the occasional winning of contests and challenges — it makes it all fun and rewarding. And even when I am not the one that does the best that week, it’s nice to see someone else succeed. Somehow seeing others succeed sometimes helps boost my own motivation by reminding me that my goals, while big, are still doable.

I think that’s the point though. It’s why like-minded people come together in a group to pursue a common goal. While one’s own success comes from one’s own efforts, the mind-sets that lead to success, I think that they may be contagious somehow. Sort of like someone mirroring a smile of another that has just walked into the room, I think it’s possible for one to see another’s positive attitude and mirror that in one’s own life if they choose to do so.

That’s why I think weight loss groups are such a good idea. One person can lift both the mood and the outlook of another, often without even realizing it. The process goes on, seen only if one looks, but felt nonetheless.

Thank you to my fellow TOPS members for lifting me up when I needed it, helping me to chug along in my efforts without stopping for the first time in my life. You’re helping me to change my life! A shout out goes out to Janet Seaberg, a fellow TOPS member who was the most recent recipient of a TOPS group standing ovation. Janet has done really well since having joined TOPS recently. Good job Janet! I’m rooting for you!

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If you want to follow my weight-loss journey, read about it occasionally in my column, “Healthy steps” or you can watch my weight-loss journey unfold and show your support by liking the page https://www.facebook.com/GretchenGetFit on Facebook or following me on Twitter @GretchenGetFit. Contact the writer at gbalshuweit@thedailyreview.com.

Healthy steps is written by Gretchen Balshuweit, news editor and now health and wellness page columnist for The Daily Review in Towanda, Pa. as she pursues her own journey to health and wellness in hopes of losing a total of 200-250 pounds of excess weight.