Two people just asked for help but the Weight Watchers leader went right on

I sat in my usual Weight Watcher’s meeting this morning and looked around at all of the new faces.  These folks were all brave enough to walk into a meeting and admit they needed to do something about their weight.  As I looked at their faces, I remembered my very first meeting.  I didn’t know what to expect.  I had heard about Weight Watchers but for some reason had never talked to anyone who had been a member.  I wondered what concerns were going through their minds.  Were they excited, nervous, determined?  Perhaps they were there because their family had urged them to do “something” about their weight.  Doctors may have sent some and others may have had the same revelation I had when I saw the scale creep closer to the 400 lb. mark.  I knew I needed to change my life if I wanted to continue living my life.  Here we all were in the same meeting.  We all have issues with food!

Today’s topic was portion control.  I smiled when I typed that because if we didn’t have issues with portion control we wouldn’t need to be at a Weight Watcher’s meeting.  We talked about how we manage portions and were given an index card and a crayon to score how well we do on a daily basis.  On a 1-10 scale, I wrote down an 8.  This surprised some folks who know how long I have been a member and how well I have done but I was being honest.  There are days and/or some foods that still cause me to have portion control problems.  Here is just a sampling of the foods I have problems with: homemade chocolate chip cookies still warm from the oven, Baskin Robins Rocky Road ice cream, a pound bag of peanut M&Ms, a full size bag of potato chips, HOT McDonald’s french fries, movie theater buttered popcorn, and pizza!  Do I know what a portion of these foods are, absolutely, but portion control is still, and probably always will be an issue for me when dealing with these foods.  Do I over indulge in them because I am hungry?  Nope!  I LOVE them and so I find myself eating them with reckless abandon until I find myself uncomfortable from eating far too much.  So you might ask, Didn’t you realize you were full?  Hmm, did I notice I was getting full; that I was full?

This is where today’s Weight Watcher’s meeting failed at least two of its members.  You see on two different occasions two different members said the exact same words; “I don’t know when I am full.”  The leader went right on with her class.  She didn't even pause.  I was sitting in my chair silently screaming, “I understand.  Me too!”-she kept going.  I have a theory as to why this happened.  My leader earned her Lifetime after losing 30 pounds.  Thirty pounds is a nice bit of weight but doesn’t compare to the weight the two who spoke up have to lose, that I had to lose.  I think she went on because she didn’t understand how someone can’t know they are full.  Tonight I want to say to those members who sat silently in that meeting feeling ignored that I heard you and I understand.  I am sorry I didn’t speak up in class and tell you that, so I am saying it now.  I am just like you.  Even after reaching my goal there are still days when I don’t know I am full until I am so full I feel sick.  Next time I will not be silent.  Next time maybe I will be the leader and we will stop and talk about it and I will understand.