The Change Is Coming

I am on the horizon of our next shift change at work.  This is when I will rotate to graveyard shift but keep my same days off.  This means I cannot attend my favorite WW meeting.  I will be on this shift for 10 weeks.

I then rotate back to day shift but my days off change and I will have to work Tuesdays.  So for 20 weeks I cannot attend my favorite WW meeting.  When I get back to day shift I can at least attend the Monday morning meetings, which my WW leader Donna attends as well as my first WW leader Lynn.  So there is much to rejoice once I pass the 10 weeks of graveyard.

Working shift work, and having days off in the middle of the week, have both pros and cons.  Obviously a con would be not attending the WW meeting that supports me the most.  A pro is being on the same shift at Kenyon as he has already rotated to night shift.  If you have to be awake at 3am on your days off it is best to have somebody else in the house that can be awake with you. 

A pro is that my house is usually cleaner and more organized as I now have the time to do so.  What else do you really do at 3am?  A con is that while I can go to the store in the middle of the night you have to deal with boxes in the aisles and usually only one cashier.

But the biggest con of all is that I won’t be at my Tuesday morning WW meeting with the leader I love and the members I connect with.  It feels like I don’t have a home.  I can, and have, struggled during my time away from my meeting.  I also realize that the longer I do maintenance the stronger and more confident I become in my ability to keep the weight off.  I still need my meetings and I still want to attend my meetings. 

I enjoy going to my weekly meeting and it keeps me in check.  It helps me stay focused.  I need that check in with the “official” WW scale.  Sure, I can track my weight at home each week (and I do check my weight when I first wake up on WI day) but I know I need that accountability.  I really need that accountability now since I continue to be several pounds above my goal weight.

There is part of me that wonders if I could go it alone for the next 10 weeks.  My plan right now is to attend the Thursday night meeting that Natalie teaches.  However, if I work an overtime shift then I’ll either have to find another meeting or just use my home WI as my progress.  If I do that I need to make sure I stay really honest with my tracking and my program.  It isn’t about saving $9 a week but just feeling like I don’t have a place to call home. 

I think I’ll also check out some other meeting/leader options as a backup plan for when I do work overtime on Thursdays.  We have a lot of great meetings in our area and I’m sure a lot of great leaders too.

I still have a few more weeks before I have to stress anything.