Struggles with Weight

First, I should say my mom is the best mom in the entire world! She gave me anything and everything I ever wanted or dreamed of with little exception! But most important, she spoiled me with all of the love in the world! With that being said, I always overindulged myself with food and drinks growing up and even into adulthood. I was very overweight for most of my life. I never thought much of it because I was lucky enough to have wonderful friends! I cannot even begin to tell you all how wonderful these group of people were [and are, by the way], the only wish I have now is that they all remain healthy and happy and I wish we could all be close again!

Of course, I was self conscious about my weight and the way I looked but I it was a fleeting thought and I never did anything about it. Thinking back about it, I remember being constantly uncomfortable and always thinking I was able to hide behind my clothes. That was a big negative! I fooled myself into thinking people did not look at me differently and I brushed off those mean individuals that made fun of my weight. My mom also overindulged me with self-respect and dignity. These two things were very important for me in getting through a lot of potential misery. Even though my feelings were often hurt, I stood proud of who I was and what I was accomplishing! 

I think things started to hit me hard in college. I went away to a beautiful school with a great academic reputation that was sure to put me on the right path. I was the typical student - adjusting to living away from home and having a bunch of freedom, meeting new friends and hating my freshman roommate; who incidentally did not turn out to be such an awful person after all. However, I started to recognize my insecurity with my weight on a much grander scale. 

I always had crushes on boys, but I was never the girl those guys wanted to date. Of course I was bummed out, but in reality I think there was one turning point for me and that was when the guy, whom I thought was the love of my life, rejected me. I was devastated and did not know what to do. In spite of that, I finished my semester very strong and I went home for the summer. I occupied my time with work but something inside of me changed. I wanted to get healthy and lose weight. Even to this day, I do not know what made me approach weight loss, but the important part is that I did.

I joined Weight Watchers and started gradually to be active. Weight Watchers (WW) helped me see the other side and, honestly, the grass was much greener on the other side. I learned how to eat better and more importantly I learned that I could eat ANYTHING I wanted. That's right, ANYTHING! It is all about moderation. So as I was losing weight I was still able to have my special vices like pizza. As I entered my Senior year at W&J the transformation had already started. I started working out - very gradually, not like Jillian Michaels would want or like the trainers on I Used to Be Fat. I introduced work-out machines into my life gradually, but I did it consistently and it WORKED!!

I don't know about any of you, but I thrive on results. So each week I weighed in at my local WW meeting and watched the pounds shed, I was more driven to do better, work harder and be more active and healthy. My friends and professors saw a transformation during my senior year that pushed them to approach me and talk to me, give me encouragement and ask how I was doing it! Everybody was so supportive and I was feeling great! In a matter of a year I lost more than 100 pounds!! That's right ONE-HUNDRED POUNDS!! Most people that I know now in my life [not from my past] cannot believe this little person could have been larger at any point. By the end of summer - the summer before Law School - I was able to shed an additional 30 pounds and at the end of my first semester of Law School I was successfully able to lose an additional 30 pounds! I've lost a total of One-Hundred and Sixty pounds! 

I did it all with the help of Weight Watchers, great gyms and wonderful family and friends that encouraged me along the way! It is by far one of the largest success stories I have under my belt, but it is also one of the hardest success stories to maintain. After losing the weight, I realized quickly that I never wanted to go back to my old way of life being over weight. Maintenance with weight loss is key and I have successfully met the big thresholds - maintaining it for 1 year and then 5 years. However, it is a daily struggle!

I hope that this post inspires at least one of you struggling with weight! It is very hard but VERY WORTH IT!  Now that I have introduced you to my struggle with weight, I am going to start blogging about healthy tips I have learned along the way and great tricks and secrets, too! I hope you all check back, leave comments, share stories. I would love to read about all of you! :)

Until Next Time,

Happy Eating Healthy! 

Acapulco 2010

Junior Year of High School