It was at that moment, as I looked down I to my daughter’s eyes, that I knew I had to change. Being overweight was not only hard for me, both emotionally and physically, but it was starting to affect my daughter as well.
There is no reason to give up on a weight-loss battle. One woman writes about her inspiration, how she stayed motivated and how she achieved success.
"Mommy, run with me." My three-year-old daughter begged me as I sat on a park bench watching her play.
"Mommy can't run. Mommy is too tired," I told her gently, not wanting to explain to her that it was hard for me to walk at 245 pounds, let alone run.
"Please Mommy, I'll hold your hand. I'll help you," she said putting her tiny little hand into mine giving me a little tug.
It was at that moment, as I looked down I to my daughter's eyes, that I knew I had to change. Being overweight was not only hard for me, both emotionally and physically, but it was starting to affect my daughter as well. That very day I started a weight loss journey that led me through many different phases and stages. Some phases were easier than others. Some I visited more than once. But all were vital steps in the journey towards a healthier me.
The first stage for me was the "realization stage." Most overweight people can pinpoint a time in their lives when they realized that they were in need of a change. For some people, an event like a high school reunion may trigger the realization that they have put on a few pounds since high school and need to do something about it. For others, getting weighed at the doctor's office can trigger the change. For me, it was seeing the sadness in my daughter's eyes after I told her I was too tired to play with her. I knew my weight was out of control and I had to do something about it. When I asked my physician for advise, I was shocked when he told me to aim to lose at least 80 pounds. I knew I had to lose weight, but 80 pounds? My shock soon dissolved into a feeling of urgency. I had to lose the weight, fast.
I entered the next stage of weight loss, "the panic stage." During this time, I was horrified by my weight and the fact that I had let myself get so out of control. I felt like I had to do something, anything, fast! I had to get the weight off no matter what it took. During the panic phase, most people aren't thinking clearly. They are so focused on the sole goal of losing weight, they fail to understand what the ultimate should be, a healthier lifestyle. During the panic phase, I fell victim to this way of thinking. All I could focus on was the fact that I had to get the extra 80 plus pounds I was carrying around off of me. The attempt to achieve fast weight loss resulted in my attempting many "fad diets." First, I tried replacing food with diet shakes. When I didn't get the results I wanted from that, I went on to the grapefruit diet. This consisted of eating only grapefruits and hardboiled eggs at every meal. Like I said, most people aren't thinking clearly during the panic stage. I lost a few pounds but spent most days feeling hungry, grumpy, and deprived. Unfortunately, some people never leave this stage. They spend years, trying one different fad diet after another, only to lose weight and then have it return again. Luckily for me, it wasn't too long before I came to my senses.
Eventually I wised up and figured out that a person could not survive on grapefruits and hardboiled eggs alone. I knew I wanted to lose the weight, but more so, I realized I wanted to do it in a way that wasn't going to make me totally miserable.
I entered what I call the "back to reality stage." I decided that if I were going to lose the weight and keep it off, I would have to do it the right way. I began to read fitness magazines and nutrition books to educate myself on the right way to lose the excess pounds. I set myself to work on changing all of my bad habits to good ones. Slowly, I replaced fatty foods with healthier ones, and began an exercise program.
Shortly after making these changes, I began to notice that my clothes were fitting looser and I felt more energetic. A quick check of the scale confirmed that I had lost weight. The weight loss kept me excited and motivated enough to continue with my new, healthy habits for the time being. But as most dieters know, there will eventually come a time when boredom hits. I began to grow tired of eating the same foods everyday and doing the same exercises. I became less and less enthusiastic about my new way of life, and found myself slipping back into my old habits.
I found myself in what I call the "backsliding stage." Boredom got the best of me and I reverted back to my bad eating habits and quit my exercise program. I soon gained back the weight that I had lost. I spent the next month feeling fatigued, depressed, and angry with myself for giving up. Luckily, I had a wonderful husband and very supportive friends who encouraged me to give my weight loss plan another chance. My husband reminded me that even if I never lost another pound, exercising and eating right would give me the energy I needed to take care of our children. I decided to give healthy living another try.
I soon entered the "determination stage" of weight loss. I focused myself on getting back on track with healthy eating and exercise. I bought cookbooks with healthy recipes to help me avoid the diet trap of eating the same foods everyday. I bought new fitness videos, a weight bench, and a punching bag to add some variety to my workouts. I changed and varied my eating and exercise patterns to avoid burnout and boredom. I rededicated myself to becoming as healthy as I possibly could. All of this paid off. Over the course of the next year and a half, I lost 90 pounds.
I am getting ready to enter the final stage of weight loss, maintenance. My focus has recently shifted from weight loss to fitness. The fact that I would like to lose a few more pounds is much less important than the fact that I want to be fit and healthy. Exercise is now a welcomed part of my daily life, not a chore. I am currently training for a marathon, which is something I never thought I could do! Healthy eating is also part of my everyday life now. Sure, I still have my days where I sit on the couch with a bag of potato chips, but those days are few and far between. My desire to do what is best for my health usually out weighs my desire for junk food.
Now, when my daughter and I go to the park, she doesn't have to beg me to run with her. In fact, she has to beg me to slow down. There were stages in my weight loss when I thought I would never get to where I am today. There were times that I felt like giving up, and times that I actually did give up. My weight loss journey has been a very emotional thing. But after all is said and done, I am so glad that I changed my life the way I did. I will never again have to worry about not having the energy top keep up with my kids, and that is an even greater reward than the weight loss itself.
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