It had been 10 years since Sandy Norris Smith last walked into a Weight Watchers meeting. But she did so last fall with renewed determination to improve her health.
“This was about being honest with myself,” says the former educator, who retired after 40 years of teaching exceptional education. “My reasons are much different now than when I was younger.
“In my 30s, it was about how I looked and what size clothes I wore and where I could shop for clothes. Now, in my 60s, it’s much more about how I feel, wanting to be in the best health I can be since I have a new granddaughter. As she gets older, I want to be able to keep up with her.
“This is about being honest with myself, not trying to hide I am overweight,” Smith says.
She has set a 100-pound loss as her long-range goal. Reaching that target weight is built on smaller losses that are incremental steps toward the larger goal. She says she has dropped 20 pounds since October and is 16 away from her first small goal; once there, she’ll set the next weight-loss number.