Follow that Mimbo, Georgie...

One of my favorite shows of all time is Seinfeld. And, of the many episodes I love, it is definitely hard to pick a favorite. But, one that is definitely in the top dozen or so is the episode where George develops a "non-sexual crush" on Elaine's new macho boyfriend, also known as her "mimbo." George decides he wants to be just like this guy, who is into extreme sports and rock climbing, to the point that he follows him around like a little child. He completely changes his whole outlook on life temporarily, trying to be like the guy.

In my home, whenever my husband or I start to tell multiple stories about one of our friends, you can fully expect one of us to ask the other, "So, do you have a non-sexual crush on this person, or what?"

Well, I decided to just come right out and announce that I have one before my husband can catch on and tease me. I admit it. I have a non-sexual crush on my Weight Watchers leader. Yes, I can fully see myself scaling the side of a huge mountain for this woman, and letting go of that important climbing rope to offer her a tuna sandwich, just like goofy old George.

I have a feeling though, that I'm not the only one who feels this way. In our meetings, there are women of every age, shape, and size, as well as several men. And, I look around and see people gazing at our leader as she speaks, hanging on her every word. The woman is not only a weight loss success story, but she lives life in a way that makes you wonder if she's found some secret fountain of youth. And, I love it. I wish I could be just like her.

For starters, she's managed to lose a massive amount of weight, keep it off, and keep her family healthy and active for many years now. She has three kids all under the age of 8 or so, and she leads her daughters' girls scout troops, she teaches 6-8 aerobics classes a week AND she leads several Weight Watchers meetings.

But, I have just begun. The woman is a dynamo. She's a black belt in karate and has the body to prove it. Her kickboxing classes will change your life. And, I say that without exaggeration. About half of those in our weight loss meetings are in her fitness classes too, and most have the huge weight loss success stories to prove it. She had unending energy and makes you feel pepped up, just by being near her.

And, she's absolutely as funny as Jerry Seinfeld or any stand-up comedian too. In one kickboxing class, to motivate us to kick to the back as hard as we could she suddenly yelled, "Pretend your kids are in the next room with your TAX RETURN and A LIGHTER! Kick that door DOWN, ladies!" She admits to hiding her lowfat ice cream snacks in empty bags of frozen peas at her house, and then lying to her family when they ask if there is more.

And, she's totally honest about the hard stuff too. She said she used to apologize to people working out around her when she started exercising because they had to watch her fat jiggle on the treadmill. She's been there and won the battle.

While she follows the weight loss plan, her motto is also that if you exercise enough, you can eat whatever you want really. And, she's living proof. She told us today how she doesn't understand when things changed for us from when we were kids and we'd go outside and play, to now as adults where we groan at exercise. She rollerblades with her kids and lets them laugh when she falls on her ass. She leads her girls' troop meetings and summer camps, where she rushes past all the parents standing around the outside of the room "supervising," and she jumps in to the craft making, the swimming and the fun. Today she told us one of the best workouts she's ever done was "Elmo's Dance Party" with her kids, it coming only second to the new stripper workout video that she's just discovered--much to the delight of her husband. "Your husband will let you work out AS MUCH as you want, ladies. Trust me!"

The woman has us in tears laughing, inspired beyond belief, and completely in awe of her ability to find the joy and fun in every moment of her life.

Yes, I'd jump out of a plane to be like her. You bet! And, today, as I finally hit my 10 pound weight loss...a small milestone that has taken me almost a month of plateau frustration to finally reach, she jumped up and down for me as she does everyone in the room when they reach goals. She mentioned the number of us in her fitness classes who are also having success with losing weight. She joked that she was SO sure that was because of her, then giggled and looked down mock-sheepishly.

But, honestly, I really hope she realizes that she does help us more than she'll ever know. Just knowing someone who lives life as she does, makes me want to grab onto my own life and start shaking it up until it is just as much fun as hers. Maybe there is a fountain of youth to discover after all.