Getting Healthy - Part 1

It's no secret that I have struggled with my weight most of my life. I remember after getting my 8/9 yr old pictures taken - I was handing them out to my friends and I remember feeling ashamed that I was 'fat'. It was the first time I realized that I didn't have a waist... of course it didn't help that my best friend Carla, was beautiful, thin, and all the guys liked her!

As a teen, I wasn't huge, but I wore a size 10/12 (the same as my aunt) all through my teens. I weighed around 125#. The time I weighed the least was when I was 17 years old and two months pregnant with baby #1, (morning sickness and plain poverty does that to you) I weighed 110# and fit into a size 6. *Note: I am 5ft. 1in. tall.

After baby #1 was born, I kept gaining weight until I was at 160# (size 14) despite the fact that I walked everywhere I went and ate very little. Three years later, I was seeing a dietitian and was back down to 129# and a size 10.


I gradually started gaining the weight back and after baby #2 was born seven years later, I was 195#. I remember thinking how in the world do I keep gaining so much weight while I'm nursing and lugging around a 30# baby who ate all day long! (He was a big guy!) My medical doctor decided to intervene and a year later I was down to 170# and a size 16 - just in time for my little brothers wedding (I'm the blonde in the black dress in front)!


I kept the weight off until I was pregnant with baby #3 who put me up to 206# two years later.
I was beginning to see a pattern..... these babies were making me fat! .....hey, I gotta blame it on someone, right?!?!?!


Over the next six years, I tried:

  • The Curves Complete Program for 6 months (I was exercising 3 times a week, was on a meal plan, and I lost 10#).
  • My medical doctor put me on prescription diet pills, which made me go crazy and depressed.
  • It Works Wraps (stay far away - it does NOT work and caused a horrible rash and they do not refund you or try to make things right). 
  • Multiple over the counter weight loss supplements such as, Caldoxin, Green Tea Extract, Vinegar capsules, Ali, etc. (none worked, not even a little).
  • Shaklee 180 for 3 months and lost 25#, and kept it off for one year. (Shaklee actually did work for me, but after 3 months, I got tired of taking a protein shake everyday.... I am so not a long term commitment kind of person.... so I stopped.
After trying 'everything' but nothing really helping long term, my weight reached the highest it's ever been. I was 240# and a size 18/20 shirts and 22/24 skirts/pants!

Family Vacation Jekyll Island, GA 2017

I was feeling miserable - life is not easy when doing a normal task like washing dishes; or tying your shoes makes you get out of breath.


Here's the funny thing.... I always knew I was overweight, the last few years I even thought I may be obese, but I tried to hide it behind a smile, new clothes, some make up and jewelry. Besides, I take high quality whole food supplements, and am quite healthy according to my blood work. I haven't been sick in years.

One day I decided to figure up my BMI and I was shocked with the results! I decided to go see a dietitian. What stung was when she looked me in the eye and told me that I was morbidly obese. Not just morbidly obese, but Morbidly Obese Class 3I had a better chance of dying from being fat than any other one thing!


It all had to change.... not just for awhile, but for good..... my lifestyle, what I eat, how I exercise, what I think - It had to change and it had to change once and for all......


To be continued....

Getting Healthy - Part 3

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