MY STORY
My first leader Gwen always
complemented losers at meetings with “Why, you never look like you’ve never had
a weight problem!” My weight loss journey is a struggle to hear that
compliment one day and live that lifestyle. Here’s my story.
MY DIETING HISTORY
First off, I’m 23 and 5’7. My parents placed me on several diets as soon as I started puberty… a children’s hospital sanctioned one combining diet and exercise, a protein intense doctor supervised one, and Weight Watchers (the exchange plan). I had little to no success on all three plans. The most I lost was 65 lbs. on the protein diet, due to starving in order to see smaller numbers on the scales. You guessed it – I gained it all back when I wasn’t required to weigh in every week. Looking back, it’s scary that the weight I was at then (160-180) is a weight I strive to be at now.
When I entered college, instead of the freshman 15, I gained 60-70. The freedom of having a car my for two years of high school into college allowed me to quit eating meals at home, opting instead for the drive thru. I remember seeing heavy women (400+) on Oprah talking about how they would order what would sound like enough fast food to feed a family of four. I would order several sandwiches and several side items every time I passed through the drive thru. I had the eating habits of a morbidly obese person at 170. I was also a huge food sneaker. I ate food in secret – be it food that was already in the pantry, or a box of Little Debbies or a bag of chips that I would buy full, and discard empty less than 10 minutes later. I scarfed complete garbage down in private, be it in my bedroom with the music on so no one could hear me, or while people were outside of the house and I was all alone. College and the infamous all-you-can-eat food plan presented me with so many choices that I opted not to chose – I just ate whatever I wanted in whatever portion size whenever I wanted.
After reaching 265, I had had enough. Needing that desperate quick fix, I joined OptiFast (which had temporarily worked for my father in the 80s). I dropped 95 lbs in nine months (which people love to hear), but I also drank nothing but liquid meal replacements, lost most of my hair, and looked pale and sickly. I did nothing to change my eating habits, and towards the end, began to binge on SlimFast bars and the OptiFast shakes. I met my fiancé at the first solid food meal I had (Thanksgiving at a friends’ house) After falling off of OptiFast’s meal plans (once I went back to solid foods), I quickly (and I mean quickly… 5 months or so for 75% of the weight) gained the weight back. My fiancé stood by meal, telling me he loved me no matter what.
After graduation, I moved by
myself to Los Angeles for 7 months, where I put on another 40 lbs. and
practically quit cooking all together – all of my meals were fast food.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. During my LA time, I tried to get my diet
focus together, and promptly broke my leg and ankle while exercising.
This put me out of commission for a few months, and I had enormous troubles
being 240+ on crutches. I was completely out of shape and could not
crutch more than several feet at a time without being exhausted, sweaty, and
out of breath. Not being able to drive or be self-sufficient crushed my
eating habits once again. By the time I had moved back to my college town
to be with my fiancé, I’d reached my highest weight of 270. None of my
clothes fit. I had a triple roll of fat on my stomach. I
hadn’t seen my belly button in years. I got out of breath getting off the
couch to walk to the bathroom. My knees ached. I felt sick that my
fiancé’s friends didn’t respect me and made fun of me –and- him because I
wasn’t some calendar girl bimbo. I was morbidly obese and in denial.
JOINING WEIGHT WATCHERS AND LOSING 95+ LBS.
My fiancé’s mother had successfully lost 35+ lbs. on WW at the time (she’s at 50+ now) and I decided to bite the bullet and join. Unlike the first time I went to WW where I felt like the youngest and fattest of all of the members, this meeting was diverse --- morbidly obese people sat in two chairsss right next to stick-thin members. Young and old, these people all wanted to lose weight. The first meeting was a bit embarrassing. I think at that point I was wearing the only pair of pants that fit me --- a size 24 or 26 (I cut the tag out when I bought them so I wouldn’t be reminded) – and they were TIGHT. I became committed from day one and lost 7+ lbs. in that first week. I had a fabulous leader who had lost 100+ 19 years previously. She was motivating, inspirational, funny, and also would review your journal (with comments) if you wanted her to. I turned mine in every week – even the bad weeks. Her comments were never negative. I sometimes had a plateful of baked french fries for dinner, and would receive comments like “… interesting dinner!”. When I moved to Houston after being OP for 5 months and losing 45 lbs., I wondered if I could keep losing without the buddy support of my fiancé’s mom and the encouragement of my leader. I had trouble committing to a meeting due to fluctuations in my time availability, but finally found a meeting and a back-up meeting to attend. I've been OP for over a year now and am about to hit that 100 lb. mark! The support of my current leader Verna and my personal motivator at the YMCA (Ed) keep me KEEPIN’ ON!
AN UPDATE (JUNE ’02)…
I’m married
now! The wedding was wonderful and
the honeymoon in Hawaii was great!
My weight, on the other hand…
Well, it’s pretty
much stayed the same since January
’02. You could say I’ve been
fighting the same 10 lbs. or so, but I really haven’t been working the program
as WW intended, even though I am still continually journaling. I lost my job right before the wedding
and my workout and eating routines went away right with the job. One of my favorite quotes from the WW
meeting I attend is, “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize
how close they were to success when they gave up,” by Thomas Edison. The closest I have come to my mini-goal
of 100 lbs. lost is 99.8 – and that’s close! I know I can do this and I am committed to following the
plan and getting my exercise back in order.
HERE’S HOW I DO IT (the "magic" & my tips for success)
Things I regret:
Allowing myself to weigh 270 lbs.
(but of course!)
Not taking proper “before” pictures
– front, side, and back views.
Not taking measurements when I first
started
IN CLOSING
There will always be stress and something keeping you busy in your life. That's life and we deal with it. WW shouldn't be another thing on your plate -- it goes back to why this is a life change. I used to hate "making" the time to exercise, but now it's a part of my everyday routine, just like eating healthy.
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THE MAGIC & MY TIPS FOR
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