The weight starting creeping up during 5th-7th grades. In 5th grade, we switched schools which initially I didn't want to do--and during much of those 3 years, I was picked on/bulleyed by several other girls. So by the time I moved on to the HS [8th-12th grades in one building], I had gained about 30 pounds.
I was sick a lot with stomach issues during 8th grade and ended up losing all the weight I had gained--so at least there was something good about missing a lot of school! After moving to Ann Arbor in 9th grade, I was on the jv basketball team for about 1 1/2 seasons, on the track team for 3 [though I was as slow as a turtle; there was only one race where I didn't come in last], and I took PE just about every semester. This was the best shape I'd ever been in my entire life.
Going on to college, there was the 'freshman 15' -weight gain from the dorm food. Then it really starting piling on after sophomore year when I got married--the whole dating scene and marriage to the X was definitely a bad and stressful time for me. I continued to gain with having 3 orthopedic surgeries over a few years, thus, not working out.
More stress in the late 90s when I was having some major health issues and in 2000, I was diagnosed with a couple chronic health conditions; many of the meds I'm now taking has weight gain as a side effect. A few years after my diagnoses, I ended up on disability; thus, cutting down even more of the exercise I was getting at work. The depression that followed certainly didn't help; the weight gain continued.
In the spring of '06, I moved back to MI after spending 15 years in NC so I could help care for my mother two-three days a week. It was hard for me to leave NC, though I did want to help with my Mom. But seeing her health deteriorate was also stressful. By the fall that year, I was the heaviest I've ever been.
Over the years starting in the later elementary grades, I've been on just about every diet plan and in the later years, I attempted several exercise programs. If/when I lost weight, it all came back on, plus some. Pretty common, I know.
So I'm back on the bandwagon, trying once again to feel better physically as well as mentally.
Back in June, I joined the local rec department and have been going with a couple friends; I'll post more about that sometime in the next couple days. I also plan on posting progress with the workouts, food plan, and weight loss. Even if it doesn't help anyone else, I do need to do this for myself to look back and see what's working, what isn't, changes I've tried, how I'm feeling about it all, etc.
Soon, probably after my exercise post, these postings *should* be shorter in length; I know I won't keep posting these longer articles on days I'm dragging or extra busy. And no one else will want to follow along if every post was this long!
Thanks for being so patient with me [and I need to learn to be patient with myself, that's for sure].
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2 comments:
Jo, I do think that stress has so much to do with weight problems. And having the time to concentrate on healthy behavior is a huge help. I have been able finally to lose some weight the past few years but still have a lot more I need to lose. It feels good to see the weight number go down, and it spurs me on to continue with my efforts, despite the number going down slowly. I hope this will happen with you, too. If you can think of "Becoming Healthy" as the most important thing that you need to do, everyday, week after week, you will definitely lose weight, and that will encourage you to go to the rec center even more and watch more carefully what you eat.
Suzy said:
1.) " And having the time to concentrate on healthy behavior is a huge help."
Yep, it CAN and DOES help, though a lot of the time, I'm focusing on too many different aspects of healthy living and thus, I get sooo overwhelmed that I sometimes don't do any of it at all...
2.) "It feels good to see the weight number go down, and it spurs me on to continue with my efforts, despite the number going down slowly. I hope this will happen with you, too."
Suzy, does it ever discourage you that it's taking so long and if so, how are you handling it?
3.) "If you can think of "Becoming Healthy" as the most important thing that you need to do, everyday, week after week, you will definitely lose weight, and that will encourage you to go to the rec center even more and watch more carefully what you eat."
Yep, if I'm going to have to stick around on this earth, I may as well try and focus on being more healthy--physically as well as emotionally, so that I CAN be healthier and hopefully/eventually, being happier with where I'm at.
And this is part of the reason why I can't go back to work any time soon as I have too much to 'self'-stuff to work on; I have a difficult time managing 'just' this stuff, let alone trying to keep up with other demands...
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