I'm making strides towards a healthier weight. I've lost 14 pounds since starting this blog. Last week, I re-joined Weight Watchers to get my head really into the game of healthier living (notice I did not say diet).
As happy as I am for the weight loss, I want this to be a life-long change and I realize that before I can really have my long-term weight loss break-through, I have to address how I became overweight.
I was not large as a child. In high school I was actually a "brick house" -- I had great proportions. Weight did not become a problem until I left home and entered college and my taste buds were inundated with processed foods. Then the weight really started becoming an issue. It is not rocket science on why the weight problem started then. To get through college, I worked in the college cafeteria for 3 of my 4 years serving food twice a day.
In a normal scenario, being around food would not have been a problem. But when you mix boyfriend, freedom, and the pressures of maintaining my scholarship's grade requirements -- the stress level was high and food became my pacifier. By the time I graduated I had gained 30 pounds. A few years later when I completed graduate school, I added on another whopping 20 pounds. Food was my therapist; it never disagreed with anything I said or did.
There were two periods of time that I replaced the food pacifier with exercise and healthier eating. The last time was when I was trying to get pregnant with my daughter (don't believe everything you read). Exercise made me feel great, but I should have also learned about nutrition.
I now realize that what I eat and how much I eat is just as important as exercising. My past experiences have made me realize that it will take time to make real life-long changes to improve my health.
My poor choices have gotten me to this point, but fortunately I do not have any serious health issues. I want to lose the weight before I do and to help my daughter address hers. So this week, I begin Week #1 with Weight Watchers. I hope that by looking back, I can finally move ahead.
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2 comments:
While looking back provides some information on the pitfalls you might face, I don't think you should spend any more time in the past. All those events that caused you to gain or lose weight will never happen again. So, start fresh and look forward to the future and unburden yourself from decades of obesity.
14 pounds is a really solid number. I believe at 20 pounds you will have made a lasting and permanent change and can build from there. Stay upbeat. Stay focused. Eventually you won't have to be upbeat and focused because your new habits will just come naturally.
"I now realize that what I eat and how much I eat is just as important as exercising."
Yes, all 3 of those components are important. My struggle is "how much" - my food choices are usually sensible, but how much of those sensible choices I consume is where I blow it. Everyone who struggles with their weight has one of those 3 factors that is like climbing Mt. Everest for them. Good to know you are headed in the right direction!
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