A Surprising Realization and a Business Idea

This morning I had to do something that surprised me. I withdrew my application to be a Weight Watchers leader.

Being a leader was something I had been planning since I started Weight Watchers last December. I had spoken to my own leader about it a couple of times, and once I hit Lifetime I took in my resume and she passed it along to the Territory Manager. Last Friday I had my interview and it went perfectly. Halfway through the meeting I was signed up for the training weekend and we were discussing potential meeting times. It really couldn't have gone better.

At one point she mentioned in passing that if I were to be away for a weekend or have to miss a meeting, it was my responsibility to find a replacement. A totally fair expectation and it makes perfect sense. But it stuck in the back of my brain and started to bug me.

It really hit me the commitment I would be making, not just to Weight Watchers but to the members in my meetings. Losing weight can be an emotional journey. There are ups and downs, celebrations and frustrations. When you join Weight Watchers, your meetings leader becomes a big part of that. You develop a relationship with your leader and they provide support and advice if you need it. I take that relationship pretty seriously, and hate the idea that one of "my" members would need me one week and I wouldn't be there. I'm sure that any replacement leader would be fabulous, but they wouldn't know the struggles or successes that member had experienced along the way. What if I missed a member reaching his or her goal? Maybe I am taking this a little TOO seriously, but that's a big deal!

Tied into that is the fact that our family does like to take off on little getaways every now and then. Mr. Awesome works for himself so it affords us a bit of flexibility and we love it. We like the ability to decide Wednesday night that we're heading up to the Okanagan on Friday afternoon. Any spontaneity would have to disappear or I would be frantically calling fill-in leaders anytime we wanted to get away. Plus the guilt I would invariably feel for "abandoning" my members would be so strong I wouldn't have any fun!

I am SO passionate about the program and believe I would be a fantastic ambassador for the company. It just so happens that the timing isn't right to make it all work for my family and our lifestyle. It's disappointing but a reality I will have to accept.

In my head I have created the perfect Weight Watchers role. I want to be a part-time Weight Watchers consultant. I want the training they provide the leaders so I know I'm armed with the best information and representing the company properly, but I want to help people on my own time. In the past few months I've had a few people contact me to chat about Weight Watchers. I've written emails with my best tips for success, I've had coffee with people to chat about ways to get past plateaus, I've had phone calls with friends to chat about the program and how I made it work for me. I LOVE doing this. I wish there was a job that allowed me to do this more regularly. I could meet people at the gym, for coffee, for walks, or just email or chat about the program and hurdles they might be facing. I love the idea of motivating people and inspiring them, helping to get to somewhere they want to be.

I'm not a personal trainer or nutritionist so I am in no way qualified to give "real" advice, but I do think I have something to offer when it comes to lifestyle tips to do with fitness and weight loss. Is there a certification program out there for this?! I have a couple of friends that are studying to become Life Coaches. I don't think I want to go that far, but what would call someone you just talk to about your weight loss journey that helps you brainstorm ideas for success? Ummm... a friend?

So, for now, I am not going to be a Weight Watchers leader. But if you ever just want to chat or go for coffee, I'm your girl. Well, I have to be honest. I'm actually going to order a Grande Nonfat Chai Tea Latte, but we can still sit together. :)