Has anyone noticed lately how much of a problem weightloss is in our society? It’ s a multi-billion dollar industry with thousands of companies devoted solely to the purpose of making us healthier. It somehow seems though, that no one is getting any healthier. With the rise of fast food and dwindling schedules, who cooks at home anymore? This time last year, I definately didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook, but it just seemed that eating out was so much easier. Lord knows how much money my husband and I spent on eating out each month. I would have to estimate it at $500 or more! That’s just for the 2 of us (no kids here). I look back now and realize why I was overweight.
Now, I’m not about to start a tirade blaming the fast food companies and the media for my weight gain. I’ve become a mature enough person to see that it was MY fault for gaining weight, not theirs. Don’t get me wrong, they enabled me to become this way, but I was the one who made the conscious decision to opt for the bigger fries instead of a salad. I mean, I’ve lost weight and am much healthier now, yet those temptations are still available. Obviously, I was the only one who could change.
Since about the 8th grade, I’ve struggled with my self image. Before that, I never really worried about anything because I was rail-thin. I had a friend though, who lost quite a bit of weight and started to get massive amounts of attention from the boys. She wasn’t terribly overweight to start out with; she was just “chunky.” She ended up being tiny though, and everyone poured the compliments on thick. All of a sudden, I wasn’t the skinniest in our group anymore, and I started to think (naively) that I was fat and disgusting. (Mind you, I was a size 2). As puberty hit, I started to gain a little (not a lot, just a size) and thought my world was ending. My friends and I tried so many stupid scams to lose those few pounds. I cannot tell you how many times I sat on my bathroom floor crying to myself, worried that I wouldn’t be liked because I was now wearing a size 4/5 instead of a 2/3. I also can’t tell you how many days I starved myself, only to go on a binge later on.
This fight with myself continued through highschool. Right before my junior year, my family and I moved to another state, away from all of my friends and my boyfriend (who is now my husband). In the first 2 months there, I gained 20 lbs. Our new lifestyle was terrible. We ate out ALL the time, and I never went anywhere besides school. Even then, it was a charter school with online classes, so I sat at the computer all day long.
As I graduated high school and started college, I dreaded the “freshman 15″ that everyone talked about. I saw so many of the older kids from our hometown come home much chunkier than before. I dreaded it and swore that I wouldn’t gain it. The first year, I did fine. Part of the reason, I believe was that I got married the June after my freshman year, so I was trying not to gain before my wedding. After that though, is another story. I worked in restaurants all through college, and as you might know if you have ever been in foodservice, it is tempting to just eat what is there without thinking about the consequences. During my last 3 1/2 years of college, I gained another 20 lbs. This 20 was harder for me to realize though. It wasn’t as quick or as noticeable (or so I thought) as the previous 20, because I gained it steadily over a period of months.
My turning point came sometime in early May of last year. One morning, I was watching the Today show (as I always do), and they featured something called Sparkpeople.com. I wasn’t sure about it, because I was sure it was just some other gimmick to get your money. That was, until I heard them say it was completely FREE! That’s right, free. Well, this appealed to my poor-college student thrifty nature, so I watched the rest of the segment. Apparently, the creator of the website used to own a site much like Ebay. Several years ago, ebay bought him out for several (read: Hundreds) of millions of dollars. Instead of wasting his money on fast cars and useless things, he decided to do some good. He used a portion of his money to create a free healthy lifestyle website. Yes, it is NOT a diet website. Diets do not work.
Let me just repeat that last little tidbit again.
DIETS DO NOT WORK!
Yes, you may indeed lose weight from eating only eggs and 3 lbs of bacon for breakfast, but you WILL gain it back. Not to mention, the cholesterol problems you will have.
The man who created sparkpeople insisted that it stay a free site. He still uses some of his money to keep it free, as well as the help of sponsors. (There are not banners all over it making it impossible to load though, unlike some sites.)
In May ’07, I decided to give it a go. After all, what did I have to lose?
I signed up and spent a couple of hours learning all of the ins and outs of the website (because I’m a bit slow like that and obsessive as well). It doesn’t normally take that long though. The first 2 weeks, I lost 10 lbs. I was shocked! That seemed impossible to do before. Unfortunately, right after that, I went on vacation and fell off of my wagon. Then, in late Sept. I decided to try again. I knew it worked.
This time, I was determined to do it. I restarted my program, and I decided to stick with it. Sparkpeople teaches you so many things that help you convert to a healthy lifestyle. I really enjoyed the emotional support and goal setting that I received. I finally learned what it means to be healthy and exactly what that took. I even started exercising (a crucial part of the change), and I even liked it. (That should come as a shock to anyone who knows me). Don’t get me wrong, at times I hated the sight of the treadmill, but I did it. The weight started to fall off.
In late December (after graduation from college), I got extremely sick. I was in bed for 2 weeks and could barely move. Eating was a challenge, and calorie counting was out of the question. I didn’t lose much weight those weeks, but I didn’t gain either. I was so upset, because I had been doing so well with exercising. I couldn’t even walk a few steps without my terrible coughing fits starting though. Now, I am recovered and ready to hop back on. I have another 18 or so lbs to lose to be at my goal.
My goal is set for May 5, 2008. Normally, this day is a sad one in my family. It is the anniversary of the deaths of two very important beings in my life. My maternal grandmother (who I was very close to) passed away May 5, 1993, and my family dog, “Lady” passed away May 5, 2005. She had been in our family since I was 5 (15 years). This year though, I am going to turn that around. I am going to celebrate this May 5th, and I am NEVER going back. I have the determination, the know-how, and I am strong enough to do it.
Sometime this year, I hope to finish a 5k. I would love to do a Breast Cancer walk, but I’m waiting for one to come to my area. This is a big deal for me, because I despise running. I can do it though, if I set my mind to it.
I have rambled on here and this blog was mostly for myself, but I hope you gained something from it. I also wanted to say that I greatly support the efforts of sparkpeople.com, but I also realize that they are not the reason I lost weight; they were simply a tool I use to do so. I lost weight and became healthier because I made an informed and determined decision to change my lifestyle. There are so many other things I could have said here. I could have gone on for hours, but I will cut it short. Perhaps in the future, I will go on. If you have any quesitons, please please please, contact me. I will be more than happy to talk to you about ANYTHING you need.
I am putting a button here so that you can go check sparkpeople out. I urge you to take the time to really explore the site and see all it has to offer. Once again, if you have any questions, let me know. My name on there is “hipteachergirl.”
Here is my mantra when I am having a hard time during a workout or throughout my day:
Nothing tastes as good as SKINNY feels!
Get a Free Online Healthy Living Plan
Here’s my plan: I’m going to get back on Sparkpeople
I’m going to try to add in walking several nights a week and doing some yoga on the Wii fit. I’d like to check out some of the workout DVDs that my library has and possibly resurrect some that I have in my collection and haven’t used in a while.
