Pages

About Me

my story

Welcome to my weight-loss and healthy living site! I really appreciate you checking it out. It's meant to encompass my two obsessions: healthy, yummy food, and weight loss/fitness.

I lost 130 pounds over two and a half years, and have been maintaining since January 2011. I have done so much reading, and learned so much about health, weight, and wellness from some incredible people. I'd love to share some of that here, and have some discussions about weight and wellness. I'd also love to share some recipes, and learn about your favorite foods and weight loss tips.

 I have struggled with my weight since I was eight years old. I had some success losing weight during the six years I lived in Boston and New York in the 90s, through exercise, the old Weight Watchers prepared food plan, and Jenny Craig. But when we moved back to St. Louis, my sedentary lifestyle got the better of me, and I rapidly ballooned up way past my previous heaviest weight.

After I had my daughter, Marlena, I could eat anything I wanted due to the miracle of nursing! But once I weaned her, I gained even more. In 2007, I was extremely out of shape, and herniated a disk in my back. I started water aerobics for physical therapy, and it was a miracle cure for my back. I didn't lose any weight, but the regular exercise made me feel great! In January 2008, my New Year's Resolution was to lose 30 pounds. It was a tiny fraction of what I needed to lose, but it seemed do-able. At a chiropractor visit, I was beyond horrified to tip the scale at 313 pounds! Shortly after, a friend at water aerobics shared with us the success she was having with Weight Watchers Online, and I could literally see her shrinking each week. So I decided to try it, and immediately loved it! The food tracking, points calculator, the Recipe Builder - it is just such a fantastic program for me. Some people need the accountability of a weekly public weigh-in, but I love the privacy of the online program. I never feel like the computer is judging me, and my mantra is, "If I cheat, I'm only cheating myself."

I kept doing water aerobics, was losing steadily, and in September 2008, I joined my local Y to add more fitness options. In October 2008, the morning I hit 50 pounds lost, I found out the company where I'd worked for 12 years was going out of business due to the global financial meltdown. It was truly devastating. I knew this was a crossroads for me both professionally and personally. In the past, it would have been an excuse for me to gain all my weight back and more. But my wonderful trainer at the Y got me a huge scholarship so I was able to continue working out there. Over the next 11 months, I kept doing Weight Watchers, and my daily exercise was literally the only thing that got me through the stress and depression of unemployment. The week I hit 100 pounds lost, I started a new job!

I am thrilled to have found some activities I really enjoy, like step class, spinning, Turbo Jam and Turbo Fire, and biking. My gift to myself for reaching Onederland was a new bike. Right now, I'm really into Cathe Friedrich exercise DVDs, which I do in my living room at 5:30am most days. 

In addition to becoming healthier, my primary goal is to be a role model to my daughter, and a mom she can be proud of. When she was in kindergarten, I was easily the largest mom in her class, and it was humiliating. Now it feels so great when my daughter's friends tell her, "Your mom is so pretty!" My daughter has picked up my healthier eating habits, and now she is a healthy-eating role model to her friends, too.

I never have reached my original Weight Watchers goal, but have realized that feeling fit and healthy is my primary goal. I struggled for a few years feeling like "less than" a Weight Watchers success story. But when I look back at my old photos, I realize I AM a success story. I have come so far, and my goal is to continue fitting healthy eating and exercise into my family's real life. 

No comments:

Post a Comment