SWELT

SWELT = Solid Waste Employees Losing Tonnage

We are having a weight loss competition at work, and since we work in solid waste where all our revenues are based on tonnage, we've come up with all sorts of catchy phrases that relate to a collective reduction in tonnage.  There are quite a few participants, with a registration fee, weekly weigh-ins, and the cash prize going to the winner (biggest loser).  We are going from the beginning of May through the end of August.

I joined. 

That may or may not surprise you, but more than anything, I joined to keep myself accountable.  Having a weekly weigh-in in front of other people will do that to you.  I joined to help myself kick the Pop-Tart habit.  I joined to keep myself on a good workout schedule, even if I don't have an event I'm training for.  And losing a few pounds along the way will be an added bonus. 

So, I don't want to be the Biggest Loser, but I do want to be a loser!

You may remember way back when I started Invisalign that the dentist's staff told me many women lose weight when they start Invisalign because they don't snack all day.  Ha!!!  That didn't really apply to me.  For 32 years, I'd done just fine with "eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full".  Yes, I ate frequently, but never too much, and with all my exercise, I'd always maintained a healthy weight, even through 2 pregnancies.  But with Invisalign, I felt this sense that every time I took the aligners out of my mouth, I needed to eat, eat, eat, because I didn't want to deal with taking the aligners out too often.  So I overdid it when I did have the opportunity to eat something, and now I'm paying for it.  I put on about 8-10 pounds over the last year or so.  Although I'm technically still in the healthy weight range for my height, I'm getting a little too close to an overweight BMI for my liking.  I'm hoping that weekly weigh-ins and healthier food choices will get me on track to losing some of those pounds. 

So far, I gained one pound, maintained, and then lost it again.  Not too bad, but could be better.  There are people in our competition who aren't even doing that well.  Hopefully through these next months we all support each other's healthy choices and do end up seeing a tonnage reduction among our staff.  I'll keep you posted!