The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly…

I debated whether to post about this or not…but I have decided that it is worth mentioning…even if ever so briefly. Let me say that by doing so, I hope that there’s no hard feelings. This is just my opinion about this particular subject. I welcome your thoughts, as well…but not to the point of being cruel. I guess that it's a fine line, actually...I can handle the truth...but I don't believe that one should be nasty or ugly about anything--no matter how truthful.  There's always a "better" way to say something, I guess...



So, if you have been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know that I am an active member of Weight Watchers. (And by active, I mean that I have never come close to my goal weight (yet)…but I do believe in the plan and continue paying my $39.99 membership fee every month. I believe that his plan works…I have seen it, and I think that it most closely mirrors what I am looking for in a weight loss plan (most especially now, with Points Plus!).


Anyway, my membership has always been active…though my actual participation has not. Late last summer, I thought that I knew best and could do it on my own…but then I began missing the members that I sit through the meetings with on Saturday mornings…I missed the leader’s pep talks…I missed being able to celebrate when another member reached a milestone or Lifetime…those sort of things. I think that it’s kind of like group therapy (no disrespect to anyone who actually is/has been/will be participating in group therapy…after all, therapy comes in a wide variety of forms. I certainly don’t mean to make light of any serious or deeper topics that are discussed in such sessions). Anyway…I am pretty sure that I have always been supportive of the members in my meetings (and even other meetings when I couldn’t get to my regularly scheduled meeting for one reason or another). I have learned a lot from the folks in those meetings…recipes, exercise tips, and just general points of wisdom. On Saturday morning, that came to a grinding halt!


One lady, I will keep her anonymity here, was talking to my friend (and co-1/2 marathoner), Kim when I arrived. It was just a lighthearted conversation and Kim just generally brought up the fact that we are signed up for the Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville, on April 30th and that we were starting to train for it…because we wanted to do well (and by do well, I just mean finish under our own power not on a stretcher and not crawling). This lady (and I use this term loosely, because really, my grandmother and Mom taught me that a lady would never do this…because a lady knows that if she can’t say anything nice, she shouldn’t say anything at all!) looks at Kim and says, “Aren’t you too big to do that?”. In all honesty, I think that we were so shocked by her response (and for the record, Kim will be your biggest cheerleader in whatever it is you want to do…so you want to start underwater basketweaving? She will help you find a location and be the one right there cheering you on…I know, because she’s done it for me on so many occasions!). So, with all of our own self-doubt and wondering what were we thinking…we now have this psycho-hosebeast who has decided to take the miles out of our Asics…the wind out of our sails. I sat through the meeting—fuming. I know that she had her own reason for saying what she did…and maybe it’s just curiosity (in her defense, if you can call it that, she is a tiny petite (maybe 5’1”, if that tall) lady…so maybe my 5’9” stature was too much for her to comprehend…I don’t know. After the meeting, heading toward our cars, we discussed that sometimes folks need a filter. I mean, I know that I might not agree with a lot…and we are certainly all entitled to our opinions…but I really think that the lady should have maybe just said something along the lines of “that’s interesting” or “wow” or whatever…And maybe that’s what her comment meant…but I took it along the lines of how are you going to get your fat a$$ 13.1 miles anywhere, if not in a car? Maybe I am a bit too sensitive…

So, for clarification…I am not too big to go 13.1 miles. If I set my mind to something, train and prepare, I can do it. No, let me correct that…I WILL do it!!! (And for the record, I did a half marathon in October of 2008…so I know that I can do it!).

Okay...time to go and see if my filters need to be changed...

Have a great one!