My Weight Loss Journey

As anyone who knows me knows...I have struggled with weight all of my adult life. It is a constant battle with me, one that I continue to fight even now. Seems like I am either gaining or losing. I have never been successful at finding the "sweet spot" of weight maintenance. I would like to say that it is hereditary, or that I have a slow metabolism...but even if there is just a shred of truth to that, I have come to realize that the biggest reason I am overweight is because I eat too much! Plain and simple. I love food, and love sweets of most any kind. Self control may be a virtue, but it is not one I can claim success at attaining. Will I ever?

Back in 1985 I joined Weight Watchers for the very first time, and lost a whopping 93 pounds in just 14 months. I stayed at my goal weight for about 10 minutes :-), and then slowly started putting it back on. Five years later, I was back where I started. How could I have let that happen??? I worked so hard!

Several times since then I have made repeated attempts to get back to my goal weight. I tried aversion therapy, Weight Watchers (again), Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers (again), etc. I always managed to lose 10, 20, even 30 pounds, and then BOOM, right back I would go. In October of 2007, I hit my highest weight ever. I also developed (at 50 years old) high blood pressure, which scared me. I hung my head and put my tail between my legs as I went back, AGAIN, to my old standby. It DID work...so long as I followed the program. I also knew that it was healthy and fairly easy way to lose. Here I am when I rejoined in October of 2007:

I made up my mind that I was going to lose it this time. I had grandbabies now! I wanted to be a healthy grandma, one that would (hopefully) be around a while. Pound by pound, it began to come off. I'd gain a few, lose a few more, and yet, at the end of each month, I was less than the month before. Well most of the time, anyway! Thanksgiving and Christmas were a major stumbling block, and I had to lose the 13 pounds I gained, ALL OVER AGAIN!

You know, I am not sure I even care about getting down to my original goal weight of 147. I am older, and my skin is sure not what it used to be. It is already getting pretty floppy. I think I could maintain a higher weight fairly easily (Famous last words! We'll see!), and still enjoy the kinds of food we like to eat. So, I am now setting my goal about 25 pounds higher. Not thin, but comfortable. Will the doctor be happy? Probably not...but hey, it's an improvement. I joined a gym, and have been exercising 5 days a week. He had better not complain with THAT thrown in the pot!

Here is a pic of me this Mother's Day, after losing 50 pounds. I was happy when I compared it next to the other one. I have taken a long time to lose this 50 pounds, and tend to get discouraged and forget that I HAVE made progress. There's a few more wrinkles there...but I guess I'd rather have the wrinkles than the fluff.

I know that a lot of you out there struggle with weight too, and completely understand what I am talking about here. We need to stick together!! A good support system means a lot to those walking this road. I sure hope I can keep this off, and lose the rest. It sure is a struggle!