You know you're going to have a whole lifetime of struggling with your weight when you're baptized at SeaWorld.
At least, that's how it feels sometimes. I know that I'll always have to watch what and how much I eat otherwise I'll wind up with an ass so big that when I step on the scale it says, "to be continued...".
Today is my one year anniversary for maintaining my goal weight of 125 pounds. In that year, I only went over the 125 pounds for one day, and that was the day after I had surgery. My weight has fluctuated from 117 to 122 pounds over the past year, depending on the time of the month. It usually hovers at just around 118-119 pounds. Now I could hanglide on a Dorito.
Recently a friend asked me how I did it. How did I lose the weight and keep it off - what was the secret. It really made me think again about how this all actually works and how I did get here.
I was actually pretty lucky. I wasn't ever really that horribly obese. But, I did have to take my pants down a time or two to get into my pockets. That didn't stop people from teasing me about my weight when I was at my heaviest. Getting my pictures taken for a work related brochure was the the worst. They gave me a few prints of it - on those little 5X7's that weren't nearly big enough - we needed a poster to get all of me on it. But, that wasn't the worst part. When we would go into an Old Country Buffet they had installed speed bumps by the tables to slow me down. I knew I needed to do something about it. And that's a hard thing to do. I know the first time I stepped on a scale and saw that I was 180 pounds I knew I needed help. I was the same weight and the same age as my mother when she had bypass surgery some 30 years earlier, when I was in the fifth grade. It really made me stop and think about how I wanted to spend the rest of my life.
I was pretty slim all through high school. Actually, by today's standards and the weight I am now I would say I was a tad on the chunky side at about 135 pounds. Of course, when I was at my heaviest I would think to myself that I was sooooo skinny in high school and I wish I was that tiny again.
The difference is now I have to work at it. Constantly. It's not so bad because I'm doing it the right way. I used to believe that you had to either starve yourself, purge yourself, or just downright kill yourself exercising to stay at a decent weight. I figured you really had to feel like you're punishing yourself to lose weight. Like, if it doesn't hurt you somehow it can't be working. Luckily, now, I eat more healthy things, but not all the time. I believe that you still have to live and, occasionally with moderation, eat the things you want to eat. It makes a huge difference in being successful and failing.
Now, at 117 pounds and keeping it there for a year today, I discovered there really wasn't some huge secret in all of this. I just needed to make better choices. With the tremendous help and support of Weight Watchers I am now celebrating my one year anniversary of losing 63 pounds. So now, when I get my pictures taken they aren't aerials taken from the Goodyear Blimp.
Congratulations, I hope to be the one to reach my goal soon. I know I have a long way to go but I will do it. You look really good!