I’m sharing old blog post
from my weight loss journey when I blogged on another site:
April 25, 2009
Lifetime! A Time To Reflect On The Journey
I’ve just reached my Lifetime status with Weight Watchers. That means I get to be a member for free now. Yeah baby! Weight Watchers helped me lose (to date) 132 pounds. I’ve gone from a size 26 jeans to a size 14. I’m no longer a XXXL. I am now a size medium. I’ve lost 43% of my total body weight and my BMI went from 49 to 28. Oh…and I’m not done yet….
Reflecting back on my weight loss journey
I’ve been asked all sorts of questions during these last few months on Weight Watchers leading up to reaching my goal and getting my Lifetime award. I’ve been asked if I even recognize myself when I look in the mirror or see my image in a window. I’ve been asked if I feel tons better and just love being more active. I’ve been asked if I just love my new self and am just so happy.
Yes, Yes, and Yes.
It is funny. I never had an actual idea of what I looked like. I never liked pictures and so unless Mom or Dad took pictures at each birthday celebration I didn’t always have a picture. When I would see one I’d not even believe it was me. A mirror does not do justice. I looked in mirrors everyday never really seeing what I looked like. I was active (although just socially), I was outgoing, and I was just a fun person to be around. I loved myself for me. When my Mom would recommend some sort of weight loss program saying, “You can be fat after you get married” I’d tell her, “I want somebody to love me for me. Not just somebody they like to look at.” And I stood my ground. Slowly getting larger and larger in the process!!!
I’ve been on Weight Watchers (known as WW) before. I did it once with my Mom when I was younger. My sister Jenny reached her Lifetime status at the age of 13. I wasn’t doing WW for me. I was doing it for my Mom. She felt I needed to lose weight. My Mom was always trying some new diet. We were always trying to find ways to lose weight. Between my junior and senior year of high school we went on this new program called the Prism Diet (no not Prison Diet like it sounds when you say it although sometimes it felt like Prison.) You couldn’t have any white flour, potatoes, or refined sugar for six weeks. It was hard but I adjusted. I also lost 30 lbs in three months. I was about 180 when I graduated from high school. I remember wearing a size 14 jeans and feeling good about myself.
I suppose I just started getting heavier and heavier in college. Living the single life and enjoying life in general. I can’t really say it was one thing or another. Poor food decisions and no exercise. I remember going to the doctor and slowly the scale started to increase. When the nurse weighs you, to be police they always started the weight at the 200 lb marker. I always told them to start it at the 250 lb marker as I knew I was over 250. One day she moved it to the 300 lb marker. I couldn’t even believe I was over 300 lbs. How did I get this way and why didn’t anybody tell me?? Because YOU have to be ready to change. Nobody can make you do it. Nobody can make you want to eat healthy and exercise. It has to be your choice and it has to be for the reasons you want to do it.
So I joined WW. I cried the day after I signed up while on the phone to Mom. I didn’t know how I was supposed to take this list of healthy foods and make a meal out of it when I ate out for all of my meals. She told me if it was going to be that hard then to just quit. (Mom has said this to me at a couple of different crossroads in life. It serves its purpose as I don’t quit anything). I decided to make WW work for me. I continued to eat out and make good food decisions and lost weight along the way. Slowly my healthy eating got even healthier and I started cooking at home and trying out different recipes. Now I love to take a recipe and see how I can make it more WW-friendly. It is fun. And I know my husband, Kenyon, get the benefits from it as well.
The weeks leading up to getting to goal were tough. I had set a goal for 175 lbs, which was the goal I set with my doctor. At the time I’d lost almost 100 lbs and was not yet under 200. I did not feel that 155 was a weight I wanted to be at. WW’s goals are based on the BMI (Body Mass Index) chart. According to my height of 5’6” I have to weight 155. I remembered my last successful weight loss journey in high school. I was happy at 180. I thought I looked good at 180. So we set the goal for 175. I have now reached that goal and see that 155 is right there within reach. Also, I cannot be a leader with WW until I reach that 155 goal so I’m going for it! I really want to be a leader. I was trying on clothes in the dressing room at JC Penny’s the weekend before I was to get my Lifetime award. I just started crying. I finally realize that I’ve done it. That I have changed my life and that I did what I set out to do.
It is amazing what an impact weight loss can have on a person. It is way more than just losing pounds or looking good. For me it was a whole life change. It was making the outside match how I felt on the inside. No longer hiding and no longer allowing myself to make excuses. I’m active, I’m alive, and I love my life. I have a great husband, great family and great friends. My support system is HUGE! And I am grateful for each and every one of my supporters.
Weight loss is possible. For whatever reason you choose to motivate you and whatever program you choose to assist you – embrace the change. Enjoy the journey. Remind yourself why you are on this journey and what you want to accomplish. Set small goals. Holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, funerals, and weddings all come throughout the year. Remember that they are just one day. Enjoy the day and then get right back on track. Keep at it even when you have a gain at the scale or a bad day where you eat more than you should have. Don’t give up. Put yourself first because YOU are worth it!
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