Thursday, January 15, 2009

Gran Torino and WW Question Answered

Randey and I had a little mini-date night yesterday. I say "mini" because we went to the early show and then picked up sandwiches from Subway on the way home so it really didn't seem too much like a real date. But hey - I'll take what I can get. Anywho, we went to see Clint Eastwood's latest movie, Gran Torino. We both were very moved by this movie. Heck, I think everyone in the theater was. It's basically the story of how a man, totally disconnected from any real human emotion, finds friendship and feeling almost against his will. It depicted a man incredibly alone and lonely, and determined to remain that way, until he finds himself interacting with his neighbors, people he never even wanted to know. This movie contains just about every single racial slur I've ever heard and many I hadn't. But the movie isn't so much about race as about the human condition. Do any of you know someone who has fostered a certain persona, who has learned to hide behind an unemotional mask, who has become so disgusted and confused by a world he or she is unable to grasp that they have just quit trying to interact with it? If so, you'll recognize that person in Walt, the Clint Eastwood character. I sure did. Watching Walt was like watching...well, it's not important that I share who the character reminded me of. It just speaks about the movie and Clint Eastwood's acting ability that the character seemed so real to me. Again, Randey and I were very moved by this movie and give it a firm thumbs up.
Now on to something else. Yesterday, I talked about Weight Watchers and, via e-mail traffic, got into a discussion about reaching my goal weight and then possibly taking it further. You see, when I spoke with my team leader the day that I decided 149 was the end of the road for me, she very clearly stated that I needed to be sure because if I went 2 pounds over that or 2 pounds under that (after having maintained that weight for 6 weeks and being declared a LifeTime Member, at which point I would no longer have to pay to attend the meetings), they would have to charge me again. Someone in an e-mail told me I must have heard her wrong, but I distinctly remember my team leader saying the reason I needed to be sure was because some people just picked the high end of their weight range as their goal, but then continued to try and lose weight, which was against WW rules. So today I called WW for clarification. I spoke with a very nice woman who told me that I could most certainly continue to lose weight after obtaining my goal, as long as I didn't go below the minimum set forth in the WW guidelines. I told her what my team leader had said and she told me that wasn't the first time she'd heard that so she put me on hold in order to investigate further. I must have been on hold for something like 10 minutes, but when she finally came back on the line, she told me that yes, I was only obligated to pay again (once I became a LifeTime Member) if I went 2 pounds above my goal. She went on to say that my Weight Watcher goal and my Personal goal were two different things and that many people did indeed choose the higher end of their range as their WW goal while still aiming for something lower as their Personal goal. So thank you, Mary, for discussing this issue with me and giving me the impetus to seek clarification from WW. I was worried sick about having to stay so rigidly within that range. I'm almost tempted to work on losing another few pounds just to see what reaction I get from my team leader. I've really enjoyed her help and encouragement with my weight loss, but am kind of flummoxed by her almost adversarial reaction to my decision to declare that particular number as my goal weight. She's been so happy about every other "victory" that her response to this sort of came out of left field. Oh well, we'll see...an additional weight loss may never come up so there's no point in worrying about it just yet, eh? And regardless of this one little issue, I am still thrilled silly with WW and what it's done for me.
Guess I'd better run. My boys get out of school early today and I've invited them to join me for lunch at Olive Garden. I'm all excited! I'm kind of taking bets with myself on how fast they'll try to ditch me after the lunch is over, though. Teenagers....

6 comments:

  1. I'm really proud of you losing all the weight you did. Maybe I need to go to meetings for the motivation. I have managed to lose a couple of pounds in the last week or so.

    I just want to lose it ALL RIGHT NOW - and I know that's not possible or the right way to do it.

    I need to set mini-goals for myself instead of looking at that big number of pounds to lose. If I can lose 5 pounds by the end of January, I'll have accomplished something and that might be enough to keep me moving.

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  2. I've probably mentioned this before, but there was one gal I went to WW with who wanted to pay every single week just so she could stay with the program and "cheat." She thought of it as a club. I thought she was nuts at the time, but now I see her point. She is the ONLY one of that group who has kept the weight off.

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  3. I love a woman who goes to the source!! Yep, go ahead and lose, let's say, three pounds, and let us know her reaction!

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  4. We saw the movie and loved it! Isn't Clint Eastwood something??!! Amazing amazing movie with an amazing amazing star!

    Hugs!
    Kat

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  5. Lucky! I can't get matt to take me on a date! ugh :)

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  6. My favorite Clint Eastwood movie of all time...even if I did want to throw my shoe at the screen!
    hugs
    Aunt Sandi

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