How will you begin?

Great!!  You've decided you want to lose weight and get healthy.  What are you going to do to start?

A few years ago, I was 176 lbs.  At 5' tall, this was not an insignificant amount of weight, but I didn't realize how far I had let things go.  How did this happen?  Well, I love my clothes BIG, so my wardrobe consisted mostly of XXL t-shirts and sweats.  I don't have any full length mirrors in my house, so I didn't get to actually SEE my body.   I'm also not a big fan of having my picture taken, so there are very few pictures of me that I sat for voluntarily.   

This one particular year, a couple of friends and I met at my condo in Florida and on our last day together, my son took a picture of the three of us sitting on the couch.  When I looked at this picture, I saw me....all 176 lbs. of me....sitting there looking like a beach ball!  My face was round, my arms were starting to get that chubby-around-the-elbows look and even in a loose, black t-shirt, I could see my belly.  I was disgusted!

After seeing this picture, I started telling myself that I needed to do something about the weight, but I guess I wasn't ready.  I thought of how I was going to go about changing my body.  I would see the ads on TV for Weight Watchers, but I couldn't imagine me going to meetings.

One day, months after seeing the picture, a co-worker who had heard me mention Weight Watchers and who decided that she wanted to lose some weight, asked me if I wanted to go to a meeting with her.  We could be each others support system.  That Saturday, we met at a Weight Watchers center (this was in February).

That was my first weigh in.  Imagine my shock when I saw 176 lbs.!  I sat through the meeting and the leader was amazing.  She had lost 60 lbs. through the program and was able to relate to every one of us in the room.  In that first hour, I picked up many helpful tips to use on my weight loss journey.  

I started watching what I ate, counting points and lost 6 lbs. the first week.  I continued losing weight and after losing 10% of my body weight, I felt that I would be able to power walk.  I walked every day and continued to lose weight, so that by September, I was down to my goal weight of 125 lbs.  For the first time in a long time, I felt comfortable in REAL clothes!

That year, when I picked up my friends at the airport in Fort Lauderdale, they couldn't believe the change!  I had so much more energy, it was unbelievable.  All through our vacation, I continued to watch what I ate and lost more weight (who does that on vacation?!?!?!).  

All in all, that first time, I lost a total of 60 lbs.  I kept that off for about 2 years, then I started another job, with an insane boss who stressed me out beyond belief.  I'm a stress eater, so I gained back about 40 lbs.

One day, I realized that I was wearing size 14 pants and having trouble climbing a flight of stairs.  I needed to get back on track, but I needed motivation.  My boss, who noticed the weight gain on me, started making comments about it.  At first, I got upset, then I decided to use that as motivation.  My boss was the type of woman who needed attention and was very proud of her size 4 figure.  When I started that job, I was a size 2 and once my boss found out I was smaller than her, she started bringing in food.  Fattening food.  Which I ate.  And ate.  And ate.  

Enough was enough.  In April, 2010, I realized that my boss would not be happy if I got back into my size 2s, so I took what I learned at Weight Watchers and stuck to the plan.  Whenever I wanted to cheat, I would think of my boss commenting about how "fat" she was because she gained 2 lbs. and her sideways glances in my direction when she said it.  That kept me from pigging out.  Not a perfect plan, but it worked.  I continued to wear my baggy clothes for a few months, so no one really noticed I was losing weight.

By the end of July, I felt comfortable enough to wear something a bit more form fitting.  People would come into the office and comment about how I looked and asked about my weight loss.  My boss was not happy.  Oh, well.

Today, I'm 125 lbs., which was my Weight Watchers goal weight.  I've been walking at least 3 miles a day almost every day (I had a few weeks where I couldn't walk because of the snow and ice, but I was out again as soon as it was safe) and it feels so good!

So, find a motivation and get down to it!