Why?

Why start this blog?

Why now?

First, let me introduce myself.  I am Terri.  And I am a lifetime member of WW (Weight Watchers).  I reached my goal weight in 2008, after losing 72 lbs.  I am currently over my goal weight and working on getting back to my goal, back to me.

I also recently resigned as a Leader/Coach for WW.  I had worked for WW in 5 different states and for 10 years.  I loved working in meeting rooms, now workshops.  I was inspired every single week.  Every. Single. Day.   And I miss it.  I miss the members.  I miss the inspiration.  And I miss the accountability.

So here I am.  Writing this blog. 

Why am I writing now, so many years after reaching my goal and lifetime status?  I want to share my journey of losing weight.  I want to share my journey of maintaining (when I get back there).  I want a place where I can reflect on this journey and the things I learn. 

And I want accountability.

As a leader/coach, I had accountability with my members, with my co-workers and with myself.  I was never perfect.  I still struggled then and struggle now.  And I have successes.  But the accountability helped me to get back on track when I had an off-track day…. or week….. or month. 

I also wrote a weekly email that I sent to the members who attended my workshops.   And now I miss writing that email as much as I miss coaching workshops.

I don’t know if anyone read those emails.  I don’t know if what I wrote helped anyone, but I still wrote it.  The chance it could help someone was only part of why I wrote it.

I realize, now that I am no longer writing that weekly note, that those emails were as much for me, as they were for those I sent it too. 

You see, in writing those emails I was able to reflect.  Reflect on my own journey.  Reflect on that week’s topic and how it had impacted my journey previously and how it applied now, where I was at on my journey in that moment.  That weekly email also gave me an opportunity to mull over the questions I asked in the workshops and the answers the members gave me.  It gave me time to answer the questions myself. 

And I miss that.  I miss the reflection.  I miss learning from my members.  I miss the aha moments those workshops gave me and how I reinforced what I was learning when I wrote those emails.  For me, writing has always been a way to express how I feel and a way to sort through the mess in my head.  Writing helps me to reinforce the positive and get rid of the negative.

So, this blog is inspired by those emails.  It is a place where I can share my thoughts on not just the topic for the week, but also the things I learn from members in the meeting I attend.  It is a place for me to share where I am at on my journey and where I want to be.  To write and reflect on what I am doing, how I am changing and how this journey continues to evolve for me. 

And it is also an accountability tool.  By writing my journey, by sharing my successes and challenges, by sharing my Perfectly Imperfect Journey I am finding accountability.  Writing it here for others to read means I WILL do it.  I know I CAN do it.  The real question is will I?  And with the help of this blog, I will!

You will see as you join me on this Perfectly Imperfect Journey, that I am honest and open with my struggles and my successes.  And I am not perfect….. Who is?  We grow and change in the imperfections of our lives and by stepping outside our comfort zone.  So, this is about being real.  About being healthy.  About losing the weight I have gained over the past very tough few years.  About changing the way I think about food and about me.  And so much more. 

This is about remembering that I am worth it!  And that the journey does not need to be perfect to be effective.

I hope you will come along with me, laugh and cry with me, celebrate with me, and share in the challenges, realizing that we are not alone on this journey…. Someone else gets it!  And together we can reach any goals we set.

We just have to start. 

So here, right now, my accountability starts.  I went to my workshop this morning and weighed in.  I had not stepped on a scale in a workshop in months.  I knew what it was going to say because I weigh myself at home every day.  But it was still hard to step on that scale, in front of someone I knew…….

I am starting this blog and continuing my journey right here, right now.  I am currently 26 lbs over my goal weight.  Wow, THAT was hard to write.  But it is the truth.  It is also the last time I will be at this weight.  I CAN and I WILL lose this 26 lbs and get back to where I am healthy and happiest, on my Perfectly Imperfect Journey!