Weight Loss Journey

It sounds cliche, but I don’t remember when I became overweight. By the time I realized I had a weight problem, it was already extreme.

My freshman year of high school I was under 100 lbs. I played tennis on my school’s team, competed in horse shows and taught tennis lessons during the summer. However, I had a very unhealthy diet and no sense of portion control. When I graduated in June of 2001 I was close to 180 and still clueless to the fact that my weight was an issue.

I went away to college in the fall. For three years I ate with reckless abandon. I didn’t exercise beyond walking to class. When my roommate went home on the weekends to visit her boyfriend, I holed up in my dorm room and binged on fast food and other junk. I was lonely and food became my friend.

Two and a half years later I had moved off campus to an apartment and started dating the man who is now my husband. My first “ah-ha” moment came while I was getting dressed: I couldn’t button my pants. That day, I signed up for the Curves near my apartment. It was a step in the right direction, yet I didn’t change my diet to match my goals.

I graduated from college in June of 2005 weighing around 205 lbs. Shortly after, I accepted a position coaching high school girls’ tennis. It was a fun season and I was sad when the it came to an end. At the banquet, the girls presented me with a framed team photo signed with a personal message from each of them. I was touched, but couldn’t enjoy it because I could only focus on one glaringly obvious thing in the picture. I was overweight.

I re-joined Curves and made a conscious effort to eat better. The pounds started to come off very slowly. I realized that I didn’t know what healthy eating meant and decided to try a few fad diets. One of them landed me in the hospital and the others just plain didn’t work. Meanwhile, my husband’s cousin’s wife (follow me) had joined Weight Watchers, was down 40lbs and looked great. During one of our conversations she mentioned that she was tired of going to meetings alone and was going to quit the program if she didn’t have a buddy. I reluctantly said I would go, but was honestly doubtful that the program would work for me.

I went to my first meeting in March of 2006 and was hooked. I liked the structure and the logic. The pounds start to steadily disappear and by June I was 20 lbs. (10% of my starting weight) lighter. About that time I began to incorporate exercise. I joined a more comprehensive gym, started taking group fitness classes and began branching out into strength training in addition to the cardio machines. I was extremely surprised to find myself looking forward to working out after work. It helped me relieve stress, cope with emotions and feel empowered.

I achieved my goal weight of 135 lbs. in July of 2008. In August of 2008, I became a lifetime Weight Watchers member. This picture was taken 2 months later at around 132 lbs.

My weight loss has meant so much more than a smaller size in clothing. I’m much nicer to myself and to the people around me. I have a TON more energy. I’ve become more willing and eager to try new things. There have been physical benefits, too. I struggled with knee problems for years which have disappeared save the occasional swelling. I took up running in August 2007 which, contrary to my initial concerns, actually helped to alleviate some of my asthma issues.