Just over 20 years ago I was looking through some photos I’d just developed of my best friend’s birthday party. As I scanned the photos I was struck by one of a large lady holding my infant son. It took me only seconds to realize that the large lady was me. I had never had a weight problem and suddenly this photo forced me to come to terms with the fact that I put on about 30 pounds after the birth of my son. That’s right – after. I had developed a 6 donut a day habit and my exclusive role was nurturing and nursing my baby. And eating. I vividly remember finishing his baby food straight from the jar. I was eating for the sake of eating.
Seeing the photo of this young, fresh-faced, new mom forced me to look inside and ask myself what was happening. I attributed the weight gain to the fact that I was unable to hold things down for my entire pregnancy. But that was then and this was now. Once I got the excuses and reasons out of the way, I had to get to work. For a couple of weeks I tried to do it on my own but quickly realized I needed professional help. With the support of my husband and family I went to Weight Watchers and never looked back.
Two decades later, I am grateful for that weight gain because it forced me to learn how to not just feed my body, but to fuel it. The other benefit was that now I would be able to pass along these healthy habits to my son. The program also stressed the importance of balancing food with fitness - opening yet another door for me to live a healthy life.
This story is not just about weight loss or fitness. It is about how quickly and simply you can change your life. For me it was all about seeing a problem and making the decision to fix it. It is a decision that I made over 20 years ago but live daily.
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