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When I was a young child, I was
relatively healthy and a normal weight. I was very active in swimming, dancing,
and soccer. Once I hit about 10 or 11, I stopped doing as much physical activity
and started focusing on singing in a local choir. At that point, I started to
gain weight.
My mother tried to get me to lose weight as a young teen, pushing me towards
Weight Watchers (ironically) and Jenny Craig. However, I wasn't interested in
learning good, healthy eating habits at
that time, so any weight I lost came back quickly after quitting whatever program
I was on.
During high school, I often turned to food in my times of emotional crisis,
and slowly gained weight. I went from being about 150 pounds the August before
my Sophomore year to being over 200 pounds upon
high school graduation.
In college, I gained the "Freshman 15" plus extra while eating less-than-healthy
cafeteria food and overindulging my sweet tooth. I pretty much ignored my weight
until I was a senior in college. At that point, I started exercising at a gym,
working with a personal trainer, and eating according to the Apex food system,
which I found very limiting. I had some success, but it too was short-lived.
By the end of college, I weighed about 230 pounds.
After college, I moved back into my parents' house
for a year to plan my wedding, and audition for graduate schools. I was also
working for my parents in their printing company, in a very high-stress position.
Once again, I overindulged my sweet tooth as a stress reliever, and my already
poor eating habits continued to get worse.
After my wedding in June of 1999, my husband and I moved from California to
Texas so I could attend the graduate school I chose. The stress of the move,
the unfamiliar location, the distance from my family, and not knowing anyone
in our new area kept me eating all the wrong things at all the wrong times.
In January of 2000, I started to have major difficulties with my back. At one
point, my back muscles were so tense and knotted up that I could barely lift
my legs to drive my car. I went to the doctor, and was astounded at my weight
- a massive 276 lbs on my 5'2" frame. Although the doctor never said it to me
directly, I figured if my back hadn't bothered me until I weighed 276 pounds,
it probably wouldn't bother me if I lost the weight. The official diagnosis
came back as mild scoliosis (curvature of the spine), but I knew in my heart
that losing the weight was at least part of the solution to this problem.
Knowing and doing are, of course, two different things - and I didn't start
doing anything until April. I had a few friends at school who had been doing
the Weight Watchers plan and having great success. I decided if they could do
it and still eat the food they liked, so could I.
I joined Weight Watchers on April 11, 2000, and
haven't looked back since. That day, I quit drinking sodas altogether (I had
been drinking 6-8 regular Cokes a day up until that point). I also promised
myself that I would eat at least three meals a day instead of skipping breakfast
and lunch and that I would follow the program and journal faithfully for ten
weeks. At the end of the ten weeks, I would look at how much weight I had lost,
and evaluate whether or not I wanted to continue on Weight Watchers.
At my 10th weigh in, I had lost 20.4 pounds and there was no question in my
mind that I would continue.
My most current weight is now 198. I finally broke that darn 200 mark! :) :)
:) I am still very enthusiastic about the program. I don't mean to imply
that it's been smooth sailing the whole way.
It certainly hasn't. I have had bad days, weeks, but I have managed to stick
through the rough times and continue moving ahead instead of dwelling on the
mistakes I had made. Dotti's motto, "One day at a time, no guilt, and move on"
has really been true in this journey for me.
At this point, I estimate I am about halfway to goal. I haven't set an ultimate
goal yet, because I don't know what my adult body is like at a "normal" weight.
Once I get closer to goal (somewhere around 150 pounds), I will consult with
my doctor, my personal trainer, and my Weight Watchers leader to determine my
final weight goal. In the meantime, I'm just going to take it one day at a time.
Photos - L-R: 8/1/1991; 5/1/1998; 11/2/1999; 11/10/2000