So, after much debate (mostly with myself), I’ve decided to publish my weight-loss journey. This is my story about how I got motivated to go from fat to fit.. and the motivation that keeps me there. There are so many facets to changing one’s lifestyle; join me here each Wednesday and I’ll chat about what’s working for me. I would love to hear your story and any feedback you’d like to send:)
Let’s start with a disclaimer. There’s a good chance this series is gonna hurt your feelings. You probably won’t like what I have to say, unless you’re ready and willing to make a lifestyle change. This will not be a “warm and fuzzy” blog series, so if the thought of losing weight is upsetting to you, I would recommend you leave this page now. Most of us have an emotional connection with food. We are not flawed people because we’re overweight. As women, most of us who are overweight simply have not put ourselves first in our lives. We take care of our families, friends, and place ourselves last on our “to do” lists. If you stick with me over the next couple months, I ask that you be open and real about “where” you are. This series is not about how to drop 100 pounds in 30 days, or how to remain a size 2 forever. This is real life.. Let’s be honest and realistic with ourselves about our health. I’m not talking about how to maintain 4% body fat here.. nope, quite the contrary. Healthy can be curvy:)
If you’re losing weight or need to, your weight loss goals and how you make that happen will be different from mine.
This is my story about how I became motivated to live healthier and what has worked for me.
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I’m sorta tall. 5’8″ to be exact. Not really giant-esque, but I have always been the tallest among my friends.
“Oh, you carry your weight so well.”
I’ve been drinking that Kool-Aid my entire adult life. Totally bought into the lie. Friends and family have been feeding me that garbage forever. And I believed them.
Like most of us, my life is full of enablers. I was doing nothing to live a healthy lifestyle and those around me were okay with that. Friends didn’t want to hurt my feelings, so they wouldn’t say anything. And the hubs.. a total Southern gentleman, has NEVER once in our 20yrs together said anything derogatory about my appearance. Our families live out of state so when we visit, it’s out to the restaurants we go to celebrate being together. Combined, the hubs and I typically work 100+hrs/week so the fast food drive-thru was often too convenient.
What do all these things have in common? They are excuses for not taking control of my health sooner. Like most of us, my bad eating habits were also dominated by circumstances outside of my control. Growing my business, moving out of state three times in the past nine years, experiencing recession-induced job loss in two of those states, and having to learn my way around new communities all contributed to these bad habits. Life was so busy, almost frantic, that I had forgotten the ME in my very own life. I was consumed with ensuring our kids were fitting in, finding a worthwhile church home, supporting the hubs in his career, and managing my own that I forgot about myself. Typical suburban mom, eh?
I have these amazing friends from my childhood and we get together every summer for Girls Week. Collectively, we’ve experienced about any kind of life change you can imagine. One friend, in particular, unexpectedly lost her husband a few years ago. Two weeks later, she discovered she was pregnant with their third child. I have watched her blossom into one of the best moms I know. As we laid under umbrellas in Myrtle Beach last summer, she talked about how she HAS to take care of herself, HAS to remain as healthy as is within her control: she’s all her girls have. That hurt. Big time. Who am I to take this one and only life God gave me for granted?! The ridiculousness of my overweight-ness immediately hit me. It’s all about quality of life:)
I returned home from that week with conversations playing in the back of my head like your favorite song. Almost as if I were going through the motions, I began an exercise routine.. and I didn’t tell anyone. Not even my husband. I let it go for a few weeks but it quickly became obvious: since I was working out like a dog, I HAD to change my eating habits, right? I mean, why work out like crazy if I don’t eat better? I began bringing healthier things home from the grocery store and our meals slowly became better for us. It’s notable that I didn’t join a gym or a workout group. As for dietary needs, I personally have no food allergies nor, am I vegan. If you do – or are- your needs will obviously be different than mine.
The whole weight loss thing is simple math. You’re fat because you consume more calories than you use. To lose the fat, you use more calories than you consume. In order to have a productive, sustainable weight loss plan, you need to change both your eating and activity habits. Weight loss is not sustainable when you’re drinking SlimFast shakes 3x/day.. that is not real life.
So what’s been the biggest change I’ve made to my lifestyle? I’ll talk about it next Wednesday. It won’t be hard to guess;) I’ll chat about what it’s been like for me to move from the sewing table to the pavement.
Hope you guys are having a super week!
Steph
by Stephanie
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