A NEW ME

A NEW ME

It only took four years

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It began one morning when I stood on my scale.

My husband came running when he heard an odd wail!

It was my sobbing as I cried “woe is me”.

My husband tried comfort, “Hon, you’ll be who’ll you’ll be.”

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But I knew in my heart, I was just plain too fat.

One hundred ninety-six pounds! Cn you imagine that?

If I didn’t lose weight and get my life back on track,

I was headed for an inevitable heart attack.

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That was the beginning of my story. I knew the scale didn’t lie and my weight was all my fault. I’m a good cook and I loved to eat but that wasn’t a healthy excuse.

I stood in front of my bathroom mirror, naked as a jaybird (why is a jaybird naked. Doesn’t matter), anyway, I wasn’t just horrified, I was totally embarrassed. I made the Michelin Tire Man look thin. The Pillsbury Doughboy? Hell, he had nothing on me!!

My pants were a tight 16 and my tops double extra large. How the hell did I let myself go this bad?

Another thing you need to know is that I have diabetes, so all this weight wasn’t helping that either.

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I refused to consider any kind of diet control. If I lost weight using any of them, as soon as I’d stop, the weight would go right back on. Losing weight would be all up to me.

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Day one:

Breakfast: I filled up my bowl with cereal like I normally would BUT before I added milk, I removed about a quarter of the food. THEN, I added milk.

Lunch: Normally, I’d eat a sandwich the size of a Subway’s 6” sandwich. I began cutting the bread a little shorter.

Supper: My plate would be full. I started removing about a quarter of the food before I began to eat.

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I kept up this practice until I’d gotten used to eating that smaller amount. While it wasn’t that much smaller, I still had to be mentally strong enough to control my eating and not binge.

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Once I was used to eating that much (which took about three months), I decreased the amount of food by the same amount. Again, after about three months, I’d gotten used to eating that much less.

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Six months later, I noticed that while I still wore a size 16 pants, I’d lost three pounds.

Doesn’t sound like much, but it was a beginning.

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I kept up this practice every six months, cutting back a bit at a time.

Now, let’s get back to my diabetes.

Diabetes is a disease that craves sweets so if I eliminated all sweets from my diet, within weeks, or months, I’d be having bouts of lightheadedness and cravings.

So, rather than cut out sweets, I cut back. Instead of eating an entire Hershey’s chocolate bar, I’d put one in the refrigerator, then break it pieces and when I felt like having chocolate, I’d have a piece of the broken bar instead of the entire thing. It stopped the sweet cravings and at the same time, didn’t break the diet.

So, here I am now, four years later, eating much less but still feeding my cravings. My weight? Proudly, I can say, I’m down to ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-FIVE pounds and wearing a size 10-12 (depending on the type of clothing and manufacturer).

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I feel so much happier, healthier, and no longer worried about having a heart attack.

Oh, and the mirror? I’m no longer scared to death by looking at myself.

Mr. Doughboy? Mr. Michelin? Have fun, little fat boys. I can now look at you and do a little happy dance!

Oh, and speaking of dancing? I’m moving much easier and my arthritis isn’t as painful.

I really, very, extremely happy with the new me!!