Ok, I guess I need to start off telling you who I am! My name is Lindsay (obviously). I'm 28 years old and live in Canada.
I have stuggled with my weight my entire life. Looking back at childhood photos, I seemed to start to gain weight around the age of 3 - I was a pudgy kid, who turned into a chunky teen/young adult and now here I am, at the age of 28, obese...ugh I DESPISE that word - obese - blah! That is going to change, it is changing as we speak!
I have tried many times to lose weight. I've never tried any of the fad diets - like the soup diet or the grapefruit diet or anything like that, I've been on weight watchers more times than I have fingers for. Every time I've done Weight Watchers I've had success - then I get into a groove and think I can do it on my own - and I quit, and then I gain all the weight back again.... I've done this several times.
The first time I followed WW was when I was in Grade 12. My parents actually joined the meetings and I just learned to follow the program along with them. I actually dropped a good chunk of weight and felt great about myself for my Grade 12 Grad. Looking back, that was the last time I was even remotely close to 'healthy' - and that was 10 years ago now! Of course, it's easy to follow the program when you live at home and your parents cook the proper foods for you and you stick with it and exercise regularly.
After I finished high school, I moved to a different city and was attending post-secondary school. This is where I started to pack on the pounds. Within a few short months, the clothes I wore the summer after graduation were snug - by Christmas I was back to where I was before I started following WW with my folks. I seemed to be in denial - this was my first time on my own, cooking for myself, on a student's budget, away from all of my family and friends, strange city, school stresses, etc. I didn't think much about gaining a bit of weight, and excercise was not a part of my vocabulary any more.
Fast forward 2 1/2 years....the winter of 2001 - I'm going to be convocating from school in the spring, and I've ballooned to my heaviest weight ever. UGH. I need to do something. I decided to join WW because it worked for me before. I had great success. I dropped about 40 or so pounds and was feeling great! Graduation came and went and eventually I ended up moving back home with my parents. I quit WW and slowly but surely my weight started creeping up again. No excuses for the weight gain, just lazy, no exercise and not eating properly. I got a job working evenings and the drive through became my best friend. Again, I was in denial and didn't think it was a big deal.
I yo-yo'd up and down, started and stopped WW a few more times over those years. Then I met the love of my life - when I was at my heaviest weight ever (heavier than when in post secondary!) . He loves me for me...is able to see past the weight and love me, no matter what. He is the man of my dreams. I decide to join WW again in an attempt do drop the weight again - because darnit - he was THE ONE! We got engaged and decided to get married in Mexico in February of 2007. I managed to drop a fair amount of weight prior to our wedding, and although I was not as thin as I would have liked for our wedding, I felt beautiful and had a blast with all of our family and friends in Puerto Vallarta - an experience we will never forget! After the wedding, I quit WW yet again, because it just wasn't working for me - I wasn't following the proogram, and again I had the mentality that I can do it on my own!!!
Clearly I cannot though - because in the 2 years since our wedding, I managed to pack on all the weight I had lost, plus about 20 extra pounds.
This brings me to March 2009. Some of my girlfriends joined WW and I caught wind about it - decided that this is IT. This time I am going to be successful dammit!!!! I signed up in March for the last time. This time it is going to work. In the 4 months I have been on WW this round, I have gained and lost the same 10 pounds. FRUSTRATION!
I am determined to stick with this. My best friend is getting married in Mexico in January - I am the Maid of Honour. My husband and I want to start having a family in the next year or two - there is no way I could physically handle a pregnancy at this weight - this must work!!!! I am determined now, more than ever.
In the past season of The Biggest Loser, I gained a ton of inspiration from Kristin Steede - and have just recently stumbled on her blog, and the blogs of several other ladies, whom I have been following for the past couple of weeks. I have taken the lead from them and decided to start up my very own blog to post my thoughts and challenges, and hopefully gain encouragement. I have no idea if anyone will read this, but if you do, please feel free to comment any time, I am looking forward to interacting with everyone and getting to know you better!
Phew - I'm so sorry for the long introduction, if you've made it to the end, I thank you for reading - and I promise future posts will be shorter! I really wanted to give a good overview about myself - plus, this is the first time I've done something like this to express myself, so it does feel good to write it all out!
My weigh-ins are on Saturdays - I am looking forward to tomorrow's weigh in. I will report back with my results for sure!! Thanks for the inspiration ladies, I look forward to sharing more!
Lindsay
Mission Updated
