"Get Thee To A Meeting"

I joined Weight Watchers in July of 1999 and weighed 371 pounds. I lost 100 pounds by my June 25th birthday, 25 more the next year, and then I spent three years maintaining my weight at around 245 pounds. After five years, in 2004, I unceremoniously quit. I just stopped showing up. No one called me. No one asked, “Hey Ellen, where the heck are you??

I started gaining the weight back, almost immediately. I wasn’t answering to anyone. I didn’t have to weigh in once a week and I felt I had “dieted” long enough. I DESERVED to eat whatever I wanted to now.

By December of 2007, that faulty logic got me back up to 338. I knew all the right things to do but I just wasn’t doing them. I wasn’t accountable to myself or to anyone else. Some people, addicts like me especially, need to be accountable; MUST BE accountable to function.

I think Alcoholics Anonymous, and the 12 step programs it spawned, are God-inspired. God knew that man couldn’t live alone so He created Eve. He knew man couldn’t worship alone so He created the “church”. He knew man couldn’t recover alone so He created the “self-help” group.

I believe the phrase; “Get Thee To A Meeting” is in the AA Big Book. Once you join AA you are considered a LIFE MEMBER. You are NEVER CURED. It is the same for those of us with food issues. We are never cured, that is why “diets” don’t work.”

Pray it Off, is a Weight Watchers meeting WITH GOD. We talk about the reasons we overeat. It is confidential. There are small group discussions to talk about WHY we overeat. You MUST hand in a food log EACH week before you weigh-in. You MUST call if you can’t attend and give a valid reason. In other words YOU ARE ACCOUNTABLE. Once a Pray it Off (PIO) member, always a PIO member; for we are never “cured”.

If you are finally sick enough of being fat to do something about it. Get thee to a meeting. Join one, or start your own. If you need help starting a Pray It Off style meeting in your area, just email me.

Please feel free to comment on the blog entries – comments are wanted and welcome!!





Study Shows Attendance at Weight Watchers Meetings Strongly Linked to Weight Loss and Health Improvements

Article By: Karen Miller-Kovach

A study shows that attendance at weekly meetings is valuable for weight loss and other healthful changes.
The study found significant decreases in body weight and improvements in health measures for the people that took part in the highest percentage of weekly meetings.
Study Design
As part of an ongoing clinical trial, 42 overweight and obese individuals were randomly assigned to lose weight using the comprehensive Weight Watchers approach.
Attendance at weekly meetings was recorded for 24 weeks. The participants were then separated into four equal groups based on the percentage of meetings they attended. The participants in Group 1 attended an average of 30 percent of their meetings; Group 2 attended an average of 52.09 percent of their meetings; Group 3 attended an average of 65.5 percent of their meetings and Group 4 attended an average of 82.4 percent of their meetings.
Those who attended the most meetings had significantly greater weight loss compared to those who attended infrequently. Greater improvements were also seen in fasting glucose, fasting insulin and insulin resistance (condition in which the body doesn't respond properly to insulin and is often precursor to diabetes).
Why the Results Are Important
"Research shows that consistent attendance at meetings is a critical success factor for safe, healthy, effective weight loss as the impact on these health markers clearly indicates," explained James M. Rippe, M.D., associate professor of medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine and founder and director of the Rippe Lifestyle Institute. "The potential impact of these findings is significant because of just how safe and effective this method can be, without having to resort to more serious measures (surgery) that could have negative effects on some patients," said Rippe.

Group Meeting Photo From - http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/business-communications-icebreaker-3.jpg