A year ago, I wore a size 24 pants, 3X shirts, and a 46DD bra. I rarely cooked at home. My family's diet consisted largely of take-out food. Pizzas, nachos, hamburgers and fries. Soda was my main drink of the day, except for my coffee with creamer and Splenda.
A year ago, I weighed over 250 pounds. I was miserable and unhealthy, and getting sick and tired of always being sick and tired. I knew I wanted better for myself, for my kids. And I knew what I needed to do... what I'd been needing to do for years, and didn't.
I was complacent. I was lazy. I was too lazy to change the things I needed to change. Until I got fed up.
I never had an "Ah-Ha" moment. I never had a sudden revalation that served as an inspiration to change my life. I just decided to change it. A little at a time.
Now, a year after I started keeping track of my progress, I'm just over 192 pounds. I now wear a size 16 pants, L-XL tops, and a size 40D bra. I'm now the same size I was when I got married almost 9 years ago.
This journey hasn't been easy, but it hasn't been hard either. I've never deprived myself of anything I wanted to eat or drink. I just started making better choices... a little at a time.
I've done "all or nothing". I've been on "diets". I've done Weight Watchers, and Jenny Craig, counting calories, and kept food journals. All of those things worked for me for a time, but I never fully changed my habits, and eventually, I grew tired of counting points and calories, of writing down every single morsel I ate, and I quit.
This time, I decided I was just going to take it a day at a time, a week at a time, and make small changes that, bit by bit, have added up to a healthier lifestyle. I'm not saying that these "all or nothing" programs don't work... I've seen them work. For other people. They just did not work, in the long run, for ME.
Things I've Learned
* What works for one person, may not work for everyone. That's why they have those little disclaimers on all those commercials for any kind of weight loss program or product. You have to find what works for YOU.
* There is no "Magic Bullet*. It took me YEARS to get fat... it's going to take time for it to come off. It's been more than a year... and I still have work to do.
* Inspiration is great... I've had a number of people who have inspired me in different ways. But you have to be ready for it. You have to be ready and willing to change your own life... in the end, all the inspiration and encouragement in the world is not enough if you are not willing to do the work yourself.
* It's not about "going on a diet". I'm convinced, calling it a "diet" or a "resolution" can and will set you up for failure. It's about LIFESTYLE. You're not going on a diet, you are changing your diet. And in the process, your way of thinking about food.
* It's not about deprivation, it's about moderation. You CAN eat almost anything you want, in moderation.
* Food is an addiction. You have to treat it that way. You can break the cycle of food addiction if you want to, but you have to have the right tools. You need to know the reasons for why you over eat, and deal with those underlying issues, in addition to changing your diet.
* Eating right starts at the grocery store. For me, if it's not in my house, I will not go out and get it. So I just don't buy the things I know I cannot control myself around.
* It is NOT that much more expensive to eat healthy. Just replace those unhealthy, prepackaged junk foods with healthier choices. You might spend a little more in the beginning, but over time, my grocery bill has actually gone down. Chips and soda and Pop Tarts are expensive... I don't buy them any more!
* Your body will adapt. Once you start eating healthier, you will literally be unable to eat the same greasy, heavy food you used to eat regularly. You may actually start to crave salads! (This came as a total shock to me!)
* Eating healthy does NOT mean eating boring food! I'm still discovering all the new and interesting ways to keep my diet interesting, and it's really much easier than I thought, once I opened my mind to trying different things.
* Finally, it's not enough to just know these things. I've known what I needed to do for a long time. You have to be ready to change. You have to want to change. You have to be willing to change. And then you have to actually WORK to change.
I mentioned inspiration before, and I feel I'd be remiss without mentioning someone who has been a huge inspiration to me, as well as one of my biggest cheerleaders on this journey. She has herself worked her ass off and lost over 100 pounds (thus providing the inspiration), and has been a constant source of encouragement, as well as providing me with a whole host of tips and yummy (yet healthy) recipes. Thank you, Kathryn. You are truly a great friend!
There are others as well... I'm very fortunate to have a close circle of girlfriends, some I've met, some I've not, but we all stay in touch via the internet, and they too have cheered and encouraged me as I've been working to change my life.
Finally, I have to thank my family. My husband and my mother and my sisters especially... all have been so supportive and encouraging, and they have truly made this process easier in so many ways.
As I said, I still have a ways to go. I have a number in mind, but one other thing I've learned is that it's not just about the number on the scale. That's only a fraction of this process. It's not just about losing weight. It's about becoming the person I want to be, a person I can be proud of!
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