My earliest memory of hearing about weight loss was when I was about 9 years old...all of my aunts and my mom got into a circle, held hands and said, "Ten pounds by Christmas!" As a young child, I was very confused, so I asked, "What does that mean?" It was explained to me that they were all committing to lose ten pounds by Christmas (I think this happened around Halloween). I had never thought about losing weight. I wondered why all my aunts and my mom would want to lose weight. I never thought that they should look any different, I thought they were beautiful. This was the first time I realized that the most influential women in my life were unhappy with their bodies, which led me to reason that I should be unhappy with mine.
I spent the rest of my adolescence quietly struggling with body issues (or at least I think it was quietly, maybe it was obvious, who knows...). I never wanted my family to know how unhappy I was with my weight or my body because I didn't want to disappoint them. I was continuously unhappy with myself until I joined weight watchers. So, from age 9 to 24, I was fraught with anxiety about my body, my weight and my appearance. That's a long time...
Choosing to join weight watchers was not really a singular decision. It was a commitment to attend weekly meetings, track food, think about what I was putting in my mouth and why. This led to the choice of joining a gym, a very expensive monthly commitment to physical activity. I knew that losing weight was going to take up a lot of my time, my energy and my money. I think the reality of all the sacrifices it takes is what keeps people from losing weight. There were so many excuses that I had to not lose weight- we didn't have the money to buy healthy foods, or to pay for a program like weight watchers, or a gym membership; I didn't have the time to go to a meeting every week or go to the gym, I had never been athletic, I couldn't do it.
Facing those excuses and realizing that I didn't want them to keep me from my goals any longer was an important step towards success. Finding support to keep me striving for my goals, even when it got difficult, was another. This is where my mom came in...
 |
| My family at our wedding in January 2008 |
 |
| Family portrait on my parents' 40th anniversary- May 2011 |
My mom and I have a very close relationship. I call her often and confide in her, I know she (and my dad) loves me. Plus, she laughs at my jokes, which is the key to success in all my relationships :). After thinking about weight watchers and seeing commercials that joining was free, I called my mom. She had been thinking about joining too. When I asked her to join with me, because I was scared to do it alone, she said "yes", and it changed our lives. Mom and I not only made choices that changed us for the better, but we had the opportunity to see my dad and my husband, Ryan, lose weight and begin to make smarter choices along the way as well! A few of my extended family members re-joined weight watchers when my mom and I started. There were many positive effects in our family.
Having learned so much about myself and about how to manage a "livable" healthy, active lifestyle through this journey, I look forward to getting to teach my future family these lessons. I hope that my children will find a healthy lifestyle to be second nature because they will watch Ryan and I make good choices and have balance.
Honestly, I am also scared. I'm terrified that someday, maybe after having children, I will find refuge in sweet and sour chicken and ice cream, or take solace in easy foods, fast foods, take out and excuses to not exercise. The idea that all the work I have done could slip away so easily often feels like it is sitting on my shoulder. So, with the help of my family, I will continue to take this new life one day and one choice at a time. Hopefully, our family will continue to reap the rewards.
No comments:
Post a Comment