Those weight loss setbacks. It reminds me of the late March snowfall above (photo credit J.A. 3/28/2021.) I guess it’s a normal part of the journey.

I typically don’t write about my own personal weight loss and wellness plan, but, this past week has been unprecedented for me and totally turned my journey upside down. I follow WW and have pretty much changed my lifestyle in accordance with their wellness philosophy. I don’t just do the online plan, but, regularly attend local WW meetings and have met some phenomenal people there. Tuesday when I walked in though, I found out that the Michigan and Canada WW franchises had been sold to WW International and our meeting was shut down. The nearest in person WW meeting was now 2 hours away. I was shocked and totally taken by surprise. Not sure if my WW app and membership were even still functional, I said good-bye to my amazing WW Coaches and meeting friends and headed home, a little teary eyed. I was totally thrown off course by this unexpected twist and found myself doing a little stress eating of all things! Yikes! Then I waited for an email or something on WW Connect or something on the WW site itself, but nothing. I decided though that I wasn’t going to let go of this thing so easily, so, I contacted the WW 24/7 Coaching staff just because I ‘m the type of person that needs a plan going forward. The one thing I know for sure is that I never want to go back to where I came from–100# heavier. The Coach assured me my WW app wasn’t going anywhere, yes–there is still Lifetime WW membership–yes the meeting is closed but I can just use my home scale for now, and yes–I can continue with meetings although they will have to be virtual meetings for now. So, not my ideal, but, I had a plan for moving forward again and to me that’s everything. What I do like about WW is the acknowledgement that this is a life long lifestyle change and that they offer Lifetime Membership as long as you do not go over 2# above your goal weight. I checked out a few other weight loss programs after my meeting closed but did not see this offered anywhere. I know for a fact for me this is a lifelong program. It’s not a make the change and move on kind of thing.

Who saw this coming! A sinkhole (for me anyway) that pulled the rug right out from under me–for a few days anyway. I’m happy to say I am back on track and moving on. I am actively engaged in the digital 360 WW app and only have 4 more runs to go to complete the C25K Program that I am doing as well. I am even eyeing up the virtual Earth Day 5K Run for my first goal after finishing the C25K Program. Sometimes you just gotta roll with it and put up with the detours that pop up along the way.

I hope this helps any Michigan and Canada WW members that were forced to go through this buy out. I didn’t even know there were two separate WW organizations until this past Tuesday! Hang in there and don’t give up just because you are faced with change. I guarantee it won’t be the last change you are forced to go through. Enjoy your journey!