A bit of flab!

I confess, I have never had to lose weight in my life, my problem has always been that I had to be careful that I didn't get too far under a healthy weight. OK, I can hear several of you muttering the words "I hate you!" but believe me it is no joke having to eat 3 cooked meals a day in order to maintain my weight during the most active times in my adult life. Then, 2 events conspired to add the pounds, I say conspired, because either one will add pounds to a woman's hips but, together it is easy to see the writing on the wall. The first event was the sudden cessation of a daily dose of 2+ packets of cigarettes a day, compounded by the onset of menopause. At first I thought I was getting off lightly (no pun intended) then one day I got on the scales, stepped off in disbelief, poked the scales with my toe as if that would encourage them to speak nicely to me. My jeans had been telling me the truth; there was more of me! I decided this was but a temporary state and allowed myself to buy a pair of jeans an inch larger than the size I had worn since I was 20, summer came and I had to admit that I actually needed to invest in shorts of that size if I were not to walk round naked all season.

We haven't smoked for over two years and I am still wearing that new increased, but decidedly not improved, size of jeans. I have no excuse, I am overweight!

We had a half hearted attempt at Atkins but it just didn't help. We lead an active life, we have a healthy diet, how did this happen, perhaps the pounds will mystically disappear while I sleep....none of these thought processes had stopped me being overweight! When Anita decided to join Weight Watchers online, I decided not only to be supportive, but to toss my own case of denial in the bin and join her. Her oldest friend has just lost 50lbs and looks fantastic and that has been a source of inspiration to both of us. Most people seem to have been on diets but, as I said before, this is virgin territory for me. We made a serious commitment to Weight Watchers, mainly because we paid for it, if we can stop smoking we can lose weight.

Everyone travels a different road in achieving their perfect weight and, so far, I do not feel deprived. I like meat but it is not the most important item on my plate. I am a fruit and vegetable kind of person, so Weight Watchers works for me. A vegetarian curry or stir fry, a meatless salad are not hardships for me and it means I can have the occassional potato which I also like. My weakness is pasta and to not eat pasta is a hardship but, so far, standing on the scales and watching the numbers decrease is more rewarding than any dish of pasta. When I reach my desired weight I will eat pasta again, I will need it to end the weight loss and stop me from overshooting my target, but I will not forget the lessons learnt on this journey!

I confess, there is a sense of pride in watching the numbers decrease, in feeling my shorts slide down because they no longer fit. I rather like playing the numbers game that Weight Watchers presents and staying within my points. I like to win, we both do, and that shows in the fact that we have both lost 17lbs with no intention of giving up. The battle of losing weight seems to be won or lost between the ears, putting aside the excuses, admitting that, for whatever reason, the balance of physical activity and food intake is incorrect and adjustments need to be made.

We owe it to ourselves to be healthy!