Welcome to my life…

Hi there, blog world readers! I decided to start this blog partly for my own accountability and partly for those who have asked me what I am doing to lose weight, what I eat, how I exercise, etc. I have been at this weight loss thing for most of my life. As a matter of fact, I can’t remember a time when I was NOT “trying” to lose weight! Well, the time has come for me. It’s been too long that I have been too fat and it is time for me to trim the fat, literally! My plan for this blog is to chronicle my daily eating (yes, I’m going to show annoying and sometimes, boring pictures of my meals!), my daily exercise and my trials and tribulations with emotional eating.

First, a little history…

I have been on 852 diets. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating, but, I have tried it all. I would lose some weight, but never anything substantial. Maybe, the most I have ever lost was about 27 lbs. and I always gained back what I lost plus some. Food always won, every time, no doubt. But, as they say with any addict, you have to hit rock bottom. Well, my rock bottom happened in July 2007. I went to Hershey Park Amusement Park with my hub and kids. My oldest daughter loves roller coasters and was dying to go on one called the Comet. It was one of those old wooden rickety coasters. The line for this ridiculous thing was about 45 min., but since I am a super cool mom (self-proclaimed!), I agreed to go on with her. At the spot where we waited was a sign that stated if you were “large” in either weight or height, you may not fit on the ride. Since I was well over 200 lbs., I was petrified that I would not fit in this ride after waiting in line for almost an hour. I spent the entire wait mentally weighing everyone and comparing myself to some of the dads in line, hoping that I would be about the same weight as them so that I would fit. We finally got to the turnstyles and we were the next group to go. The group in front of us were loading in the coaster cars and there was a woman who would not fit. The attendants were yelling loudly about getting belt extenders and the ride was delayed while they tried to figure out how to get this woman in the ride. I couldn’t believe my eyes. This was my nightmare and it was all playing out in front of me! That was it for me. I realized I needed to make a change. I did not want to spend my life worrying about fitting on rides or breaking rides, chairs, my husband’s lap, etc.! I wanted to enjoy the time with my daughter while we were waiting in line, instead of being self absorbed with my weight and size. So, July 29, 2007, I became a Weight Watchers member (for the zillionth time, but that’s ok) and vowed to stick with it as long as it takes. As of today, I am down 63 lbs. I have about 25 more to get to my personal goal, but I know that is only the beginning. Maintenance is a whole new ball game, but I’m looking forward to it!
Oh, and in case you were wondering, I did fit in the ride……….barely. As I shoved my hips in the seat and stretched the seatbelt to capacity, I looked up to the heavens and said, “Yeah, I got the message.”