Worth the Weight

I was a very skinny kid.  From the time I was born, through college, and into early adulthood, I was thin.

At times, I was actually too thin, especially after a succession of childhood diseases in the primary grades and the later during my sophomore year in college when I struggled with emotional stuff and my weight dipped below 100 lbs.

In fact, my first experience with extra poundage came when I was expecting my first child and I felt pretty chubby.  But, my second pregnancy which followed a mere nine months after the first was much different and again, I was pretty thin. So thin in fact that I weighed less leaving the hospital after Andy was born than I did at my first prenatal visit that go around.  Two weeks later I was at the beach and filling out my suit in all the right places.  I existed in the mythical reality that I would always remain a skinny-Minnie.  Then two things happened that I never could have anticipated that shattered that myth; I quit smoking and turned 30.

At 30, not only did the “gene pool” kick in but I also miscarried a baby and fell into a time of depression.  Seemingly overnight my tiny body seems to burst the seams on my wardrobe.  Nothing fit right.  Nothing felt right.  When I looked in the mirror I hardly recognized the person I saw.  I had become someone else.  In the five years since my marriage I had morphed from a perky thin girl into an increasingly frumpy feeling mother of two small children.

It was a slow climb out of the hole and my spirit was eventually returned and I found myself again.   And I am actually living happily inside my adult unthin body.

But now, 30 years later, my doctor is giving me gentle but firm nudges towards shedding some of my weight to avoid the traps of aging; heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and joint pain.  Apparently I have lived beyond the age when “the extra pounds are better than smoking” reality.

Losing weight is a bitch.  I’ve been a member of Weight Watchers at least five times with minimal success.  I found I was a much better cheerleader than member; my friends did well and received stars while I sat in my chair clapping at their achievement.  I’ve tried tracking my diet on phone apps and a variety of hints from the Dr. Oz show.  Sometimes it seems like everybody has the “right” way to lose weight and they all seem to conflict.  What to do?

Well, yesterday, following a conversation with my sister I signed up again for Weight Watchers.  I’m committing myself to three months of towing-the-line to see what I can achieve.  To stay motivated, I’m going to try share my journey with you so feel free to chime in.  I’m hoping you’ll be my cheerleaders!