Reflections of a Former Fatty (part one)

A former student emailed me some questions today about my experience with Weight Watchers.  As my reply got longer and longer, I began to wonder why on earth I hadn’t blogged about weight loss sooner.  It seems a fitting topic in light of the fact that more candy will be given/received tonight than the other 364 days of this year combined. 

Weight has been an issue for me for as long as I can remember.  My earliest memory of “dieting” involves a packed lunch, a field trip to the zoo, and a Diet Mountain Dew.  I don’t remember what grade I was in, but I do remember being the ONLY kid with a diet drink in my brown bag.  And that’s pretty much been the case all my life.  None of my friends growing up had weight problems (unless weighing under 100lbs in 9^th grade is a problem).  Only a few of my friends since then have had weight problems, and in a contest I’d rather not win, I have always had the biggest problem (pun intended). 

I began getting serious about losing weight during my sophomore year of college.  I started walking with my dear friend, Meredith, whose parents had done Weight Watchers with great success and she was following the program with them.  I started counting points to the best of my ability and the number on the scale started going in the right direction.  It was a slow process, but it was a start.  That summer, I survived my first, real broken heart and that’s when my weight-loss took off.  In a matter of months, following Weight Watchers with a bootlegged, photo-copied points slider, I lost my first 25lbs. 

During my junior and senior years of college, I lost 20 more pounds, ten for Mere’s wedding and ten for Candace’s.  Although I was still the heavier of the bridesmaids, I remember feeling proud to be in my new body. I wore respectable size 10 when I graduated from ASU, a far cry from the size 16 jeans worn my freshman year.  That following September, Mom and I became official Weight Watcher members, and in April of 2005, I made my goal weight- 143lbs.  In December, I went to work part-time for the company.  Since then, I have never exceeded my Weight Watcher determined weight range. 

Making the decision to lose weight was hands down the most important decision I’ve ever made in my life.  And I cannot stress enough that it was MY decision, and if you need to lose weight, it will have to be yours, too.  If my Nanny or my skinny friends or my high school boyfriend could have made it for me, I would’ve been skinny years ago.  Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.  Losing weight takes personal determination, and inspiration can come from the darndest places.  And success can, too. 

I, obviously, am a huge fan of Weight Watchers, but I know that’s not the only thing that works.  My friend Ashley maintains a healthy weight eating all-natural and avoiding meat and dairy.  Megan lost the lingering baby weight after having Dylan by counting calories and exercising.  The method, as long as it’s healthy, isn’t as important as just making the decision to change your life.