MARQUETTE - The Healthy Weight Journal 5 Focus on Fitness group members used their March 18 meeting as a time to examine how they're doing three months into the program.
While the focus is on changing lifestyles by diligently monitoring nutrition and exercise, group leader reminded participants that it is still important to monitor their weight weekly.
"What I want to do is desensitize that number," Marlor said. "Our country is hung up on numbers, however you need to know your weight because it is a health indicator.
"A person can be at a normal weight and unhealthy due to lack of exercise, or they can be overweight yet fit, although that is unusual."
Marlor advised participants to find that middle ground where they feel good and are healthy.
"You have to try to keep a handle on it, although it can be difficult when we are in the habit of having family come first," she said.
When told there was an option to stop the program a couple weeks early, and would they want to, the response was unanimous:
"I don't want to stop," said Susan Divine.
Barb O'Neill's response was, "We've got the experts working with us; how about forever?"
Marlor also reiterated the importance of logging food intake. Group comments included:
"I've got to have that structure," Helene Pytyck said. "I look forward to working out. Seeing all your faces provides motivation to stay with the changes."
"Logging keeps you honest," said O'Neill, who found the logging challenging on a recent trip to Finland. "I couldn't read the labels, so I didn't eat it."
Marlor commended the group for keeping FOF a priority, saying she has had inquiries from others in her profession asking how her program is doing so well - and beating the expected 30 percent attrition rate.
The group also took a stab at an awareness exercise called Walk the Clock. Using the meeting table as a clock, four people each walked quickly around clockwise, stopping at different "hours" as they described their activities of the previous day.
The result was a better understanding of how different and varied each participant's obstacles and stresses are. One participant related a day filled with work, home and family demands, leaving little time to bolster personal success. Another spoke of a day filled with work, social and church obligations, and plagued by an out-of-control car sale disaster which would have raised anyone's blood pressure.
When Marlor asked the group how they perceived those days, the responses included "overwhelming, tiring, chaotic," "heightened sense of urgency" and "no time for yourself."
A third person's day demonstrated a whirlwind schedule, but also illustrated a wise use of resources: using her watch timer to remind herself to have a snack at the appropriate time to avoid getting overly hungry, family member support and assistance with proper meals, and multiple exercise opportunities.
The group response to this day included "very organized," "got lots in" and "sense of accomplishment."
The exercise helped participants focus on which parts of their day they're in control of, and which are in control of them.
Marlor reminded the group to "watch out for delaying meals. If you're too hungry, it sets you up to overeat and skip exercise.
"Backup plans are really important."
The group's next education meeting will be Wednesday.
