A Less Chubby Mommy, Part 1

I have been heavy most of my life. I was allowed to eat whatever pretty much whenever, and a part of me wishes someone had stepped in when I was a child and didn't know any better so I would not have ended up heavy as an adult.

When I finally got old enough to realize that so many of the things I had grown up eating were so unhealthy, I knew had to do something about it, but knowing is one thing. Doing is something entirely different.

When I was eighteen, I moved out on my own (I had a roommate) and therefore had to buy my own groceries. I ended up almost completely giving up sodas and not eating dessert at night, two things I had always had when I lived at home and contributed to my eight-plus years of unhealthy weight gain. I had previously started drinking water (something I had never done growing up, except for the occasional sips from the water fountain at school, which were probably more for the benefit of getting out of the classroom for two minutes rather than its healthful advantages). I dropped over twenty-five pounds with virtually no effort, merely because I didn't have the access to those things anymore.

Nowadays, the only excuse I have is my lack of motivation. Of course, I want to lose weight. I don't know any heavy person who loves being heavy, and if they tell you they do, they are only lying to you and to themselves. Not only are we heavy, we are unhealthy. We have a higher risk of many diseases, including but certainly not limited to, diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension.

My biggest challenges are sweets and lack of exercise. I love chocolate. I'm not one of those people who will down an entire bag of Hershey Kisses or anything, but passing through the kitchen several times and day and popping a piece of chocolate here and there will really add up at the end of the day. As for exercise, I feel like I'm getting a workout keeping up with my two kids all day, and the last thing I want to do is exercise in the evenings after they get to bed, and I definitely don't have the motivation to get up before my kids in the morning to squeeze in a workout. A tired mommy=a cranky mommy and a cranky mommy=cranky children (if a=b and b=c, a will always equal c, right?).

But don't get me wrong. I am definitely not as unhealthy as I used to be. When I was younger, here's what my daily food intake might look like:

Breakfast: 2 pop tarts or an oversized portion of some high-sugar cereal with milk
Lunch: pizza and fries from the school cafeteria, or if I was at home, Ramen noodles, Totino's frozen pizza, or other processed foods
Afternoon snack: chips, cookies, or snack cakes
Dinner: whatever my mom made and usually seconds and maybe thirds (She wasn't the unhealthiest cook, but she also wasn't the healthiest)
Dessert: ice cream or some other crapola

Wow, that totally makes me sick just thinking about all that. No wonder I put on so much weight through my pre-teen and teen years. I don't even buy pop tarts, chips, snack cakes, or ice cream now, unless it's for my kids (because they have CF and are on a high-calorie diet; you can read more about that in my CF blogs). Don't worry, my diet has gotten much better since then. Here is what my food intake is like today:

Breakfast: 1 serving whole grain cereal with 1/2 cup 1% milk
A.M. Snack (if any): fruit or high-fiber, low-cal granola bar
Lunch: Lean cuisine or 1 serving of previous night's dinner leftovers, raw carrots and/or fresh fruit
P.M. Snack (if any): fruit or high-fiber, low-cal granola bar
Dinner: 1 serving lean meat, veggies, and side item; sometimes salad, etc.
Dessert: rare

I can tell you I do a lot of things right. I drink a lot of water; I eat vegetables and fruits; I eat lean meats and don't eat much red meat (and when I do, it's lean); I rarely drink soda; and the list goes on. So, why, do you ask, can I not lose weight? Let's factor in my sweet tooth and lack of exercise. I constantly crave chocolate, and I can always find some, even if it's just mixing up a glass of chocolate milk. Then you add my sweet tea addiction; even though the antioxidants in the tea is good for you, the sugar in it is not. Finally, factor in the fact that I don't exercise like I am supposed to, and you end up getting the final product: a chubby mommy.

I still weigh less than I did in high school, but not by much. I eat way better than I did, which is why I haven't gotten bigger (I'd hate to think what I'd look like if I never got rid of all those bad habits). Looking back, I see that I really have made a "lifestyle change" instead of doing this diet and that diet and rebounding in the end. But I do realize I still have some changing to do if I'm ever going to lose all the extra weight.

It's the beginning of a new year, but this is not a "New Year's resolution." It's time I finally change my life. I'm going to do it for me: to be healthier, to feel better on the inside and out, and to finally be able to look in the mirror and like what I see in front of me. I'm going to do it for my children so that I can worry only about them and their health rather than taking a chance on my own and worrying if I'm going to be around long enough to take care of them.

I know I can do this. I also know I'm going to feel discouraged at times (probably a lot of the time), but I am going to set short-term weekly weight-loss goals and achieve them little by little until I finally reach my 75-pound weight loss goal. Although I am comfortable enough to talk about being heavy, I am not comfortable with sharing my weight at this point, but when I reach my 50-pound goal in June (I want to lose 75 by the end of the year), I will gladly share my starting weight.

Last week was the first week of this new weight-loss journey. My goal was to lose 2 pounds. I concentrated on drinking plenty of water, portioning my food, exercising, and limiting sweets. I reached my goal plus one pound: I am now 3 pounds lighter. I like saying it that way. I'm lighter. Not heavier. Not bigger. I feel awesome.

The weight watchers commercials always say that people lose more weight when they do it with others than when they do it alone. This is why I am blogging about it. I want to share it so I don't feel like I'm in this alone. I need the support and encouragement to keep this up.

And if you want to join me on this journey, I say, "The more, the merrier!" We can do this together! I have tons of ideas, tips, and healthy recipes to share, and I'm sure I could learn some new things myself.

3 pounds gone....take that, fat!