New Beginnings

New Beginnings -that's the title of my post tonight and its definitely the theme of my life these days.

Several months ago I decided I needed a change in my life for my own well-being and for my family's. So I decided to join Weight Watchers -something that anyone who knew me when I was in high school never would have seen coming. I was always the skinny kid that was often asked if my parents ever fed me, or if I was anorexic. None of which was true - I actually always ate like a horse but was lucky enough to have great metabolism and genes until the birth of my oldest child.

Then Mother Nature decided I needed a good butt-kicking after years of scarfing down Big Macs and never gaining a pound. I gained 25 lbs with Joseph; but that was nothing compared to the weight I packed on after getting pregnant with twins. I topped out at 210 lbs; packing on close to 35 lbs. I weighed more than my husband! A frightening thought for someone who spent her whole existence hearing she needed to put on weight!

Luckily, after the girls were born I instantly shed 15 lbs but there was a lot more work to do since I still had the added weight from my son's birth. Instead of actually committing to doing something, I kept eating, hoping the solution was in that Quarter Pounder and fries. Of course it wasn't - instead I continued to put the pregnancy weight back on.

Until I realized my size 12 pants were getting quite a big snug and the idea of having to buy a size 14 almost put me over the edge. I no longer felt attractive and my healthy self esteem took a hit. I finally decided something needed to change. I had to put the Big Mac down before it literally killed me.

As luck would have it, there was a Weight Watchers group starting at work and I decided to join. I sat through the first meeting thinking this is a bunch of nonsense and there is no way this was going to work for me. I studied the WW companion food guide religiously and was meticulous about tracking my meals. And then the unexpected happened. I began to lose weight - a pound here and a pound there -until six months later I am down 20 lbs and still going. I'm not quite as militant now as I was in the beginning because I am finding what works best for me. And for the first time in a long time I feel great about myself and I look great! I still have another 10 -15 lbs to go but I am happy enough now to be able to fit in to a size 10 - something I haven't been since I got married 8 years ago!!! And since you always need to stay on track by reminding yourself of your goals and staying motivated, my new goal is to get into a size 8 by my 35th birthday next month!

And as I said it was new beginnings, the weigh loss has also spurred me to make some other changes in my life. After 10 plus years of working in non-profit Public Relations, I want to hang my own shingle. I have spent a lot of time in the trenches and it's time I start to work towards having my own consulting firm. So if you know of someone who is need of a good PR professional send them my way. I promise these new beginnings will lead to even better tomorrows! Oh, and P.S. I am so committed these days I haven't had a Big Mac in 11 months!!!!