| Everyone complains about being over weight. People | | | | surgery to fix my deviated septum and of course |
| are constantly saying that they need to go on diet at | | | | reconstruct my nose. |
| the beginning of the year. After all, it is holiday time | | | | I never realized what a difference that would make |
| and when families are getting together, how can I | | | | in how I looked and that people really do judge and |
| possibly be on a diet. Besides, diets start on Mondays. | | | | treat you differently when you look good. It is sad |
| Of course, yours will end on Monday afternoon or | | | | that when I would go shopping the sales people |
| before because if you are still talking about it, you | | | | would ignore me because I was overweight and |
| are surely doing nothing to solve your weight | | | | even comment that I should go to stores, which sold |
| problem. | | | | clothes in bigger sizes. People really do treat you for |
| All of my life I only had to look at food and I gained | | | | your appearance first and everything else last. |
| weight. I just had to stare at it or smell something | | | | On June 10, 2005, I got the wakeup call of my life. |
| good and I gained 10 pounds. Whether it was a | | | | My doctor phoned me and told me that my |
| celery stork or an ice cream cone, the results were | | | | cholesterol was high and that I had to really think |
| always the same. I always had a problem losing | | | | about what I was eating or I would risk heart |
| weight. I too used the same excuses that you do as | | | | disease and worse. It was about 6:45 in the morning |
| a child and an adult. I will start next week after the | | | | and I was barely awake and had to comprehend |
| holidays. I will join Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers. I | | | | what he was telling me. After listening to him on the |
| will try the Slim Fast Plan or even Nutra-System. All | | | | phone and his suggestions for what I should not eat |
| of these plans work if you follow them and do not | | | | I realized I needed some support and went to his |
| deviate from what your weight consultant tells you | | | | office that morning to discuss a diet and exercise |
| to do. Of course, if you are a couch potato and like | | | | plan to help me lose the weight. Looking at me in the |
| to sit and eat, you might not lose the weight as | | | | mirror was a reality check. I looked older than my |
| easily or fast as someone that incorporates some | | | | years because of the weight and I knew I had to |
| exercise along with dieting in their plan to slim down | | | | really do something fast. NO MORE EXCUSES! NO |
| for whatever time of the year you choose to wake | | | | MORE DELAYS! I decided to stop feeling sorry for |
| up and GET IT STARTED FOR REAL! | | | | me and complaining and I DID SOMETHING ABOUT |
| As a child, my mom chose my clothes and always | | | | IT! |
| had me wearing polka dots or stripes, which made | | | | It was at that minute that time stood still and I had |
| me, look like a round beach ball. Imagine wearing a | | | | to take a long and hard look at my life and what I |
| red and pink polka dot dress to school with black | | | | was doing to myself. I could not believe that my |
| saddle shoes and white socks. No one wants to be | | | | health was in jeopardy and that I had gained so |
| caught wearing such an awful outfit. However, my | | | | much weight that I reminded myself of how I |
| mom thought I was cute. I was laughed at, picked | | | | looked, as a child when being overweight was all I |
| on by the other kids because I was overweight, and | | | | ever was and knew. |
| looked like a beached whale or beach ball in some of | | | | When my doctor told me that I needed to take |
| the outfits I wore to school. | | | | matters in hand, I began searching the Internet for |
| My mom even went as far as making me take | | | | diet plans what would miraculously make me lose |
| dancing lessons when I was younger in order to help | | | | weight and get thin. I looked at every plan out there |
| me develop some grace and poise. The sight of me | | | | and even tried a few. No matter what I did, I still did |
| in a leotard was enough to make anyone double over | | | | not lose weight and my cholesterol did not go down. |
| and laugh until they were in tears. I hated dancing | | | | I began to watch all of the fitness shows; diet |
| school I could not stand ballet or acrobatics. I really | | | | programs and searched the bookstore for every |
| did not like putting on my leotard when I weighed | | | | book out there that would provide a miracle cure for |
| close to 160 pounds of jiggling fat and blubber. I could | | | | my obesity. I became discouraged and decided that |
| barely fit into the tights and the leotard made me | | | | nothing that I did was going to work. No matter how |
| look something between the fat woman in the circus | | | | hard I tried and no matter what I ate or did not eat, |
| and Miss Piggy in a pink ballet outfit. My mom felt | | | | I the scale never went down, not even one pound. |
| that dancing lessons would be good for me, make | | | | It was at this point I decided that the only way I |
| me more graceful, and possibly help me lose weight. | | | | was going to succeed was to come up with a plan of |
| All it did was make me more self-conscious and want | | | | my own and hope that it would work for me. The |
| to crawl under a rock or into a turtle shell and hide. | | | | first thing I did was write down all of the foods that |
| However, being so fat, I could not fit into a turtle | | | | I knew were low in cholesterol and that I would |
| shell or even a seashell. To make matters worse, I | | | | enjoy eating on a daily basis. What is the point of |
| would eat myself into oblivion because I really did not | | | | creating my own plan if I was not going to enjoy the |
| care how I looked or about losing weight. I just gave | | | | food that would help me lose weight? The second |
| up. The more I ate the worse I felt and the more I | | | | thing I did was hide the scale and put it where I |
| started to feel tired and listless. My legs became so | | | | would not feel tempted to weight myself. When you |
| tired when I was walking home from school that I | | | | weigh yourself everyday and nothing happens you |
| barely made it up the six flights of stairs to our | | | | tend to feel that the scale if you are enemy and |
| apartment on the third floor. | | | | nothing that you do is going to make you look |
| I realized that I could not go on like this any more. I | | | | better. |
| went to the doctor who took many tests and finally | | | | I wrote a list of all of the foods that I enjoy eating |
| told me that I had a thyroid problem, which was | | | | and went to work to see if they were on the Heart |
| causing my weight gain. He gave me some | | | | Associations list of heart healthy foods before I |
| medication to take and I began losing some of the | | | | began writing my plan. Please remember that this is |
| weight. However, even with these pills I was never | | | | not a diet, nor is I a dietitian, but this plan did work |
| able to lose that much. I was never really very agile | | | | for me and maybe it will help you to lose weight and |
| or limber like my sister and my cousins. Therefore, I | | | | feel better in general |
| gave up trying. I decided to channel my energies into | | | | Before starting this plan of eating, I could barely walk |
| things that I did better than everyone else in my | | | | down the street or up a small hill without having to |
| family did. I started to play two musical instruments, | | | | stop and catch my breath or sit down on a bench. I |
| the piano, and the violin and became so proficient at | | | | am too young and have too much energy to feel like |
| both that I was first violinist throughout Junior and | | | | that. |
| Senior High School. However, even though I played | | | | I did some research on heart disease and looked up |
| the violin and eventually played the piano well enough | | | | many different diet plans and ways of eating in order |
| to accompany the orchestra and help the music | | | | to jump-start my own plan for losing the weight. I |
| teacher, this did not do anything to alleviate my | | | | decided that I would have to create my own way of |
| weight problem. | | | | eating and a plan that I would feel comfortable with. |
| Being overweight is very traumatic when you are a | | | | This was not easy and it took several trial plans and |
| young child but it is just as awful when you get older. | | | | many different variations until I came up with the |
| Throughout my entire young adult life, have I fought | | | | one that helped me to lose the weight. |
| with a weight problem? There were times I just ate | | | | The first thing I did was to start walking everyday |
| myself into oblivion and did not care about anything. I | | | | for least 35 to 40 minutes. I knew that without |
| became so frustrated that I became so overweight I | | | | some type of exercise all the dieting in the world |
| could barely walk. Being short and wearing clothes | | | | would not help. I also needed to pick the same time |
| that were oversized, I hid my weight fairly well, but I | | | | everyday to walk in order to develop a schedule that |
| knew it was there. My cousins would laugh at me | | | | would suit me. After about a month, I was able to |
| when they watched me eat. They said you look | | | | walk at least 45 minutes without getting tired and |
| more like Tubby the Tuba than Tubby. They even | | | | increased the amount of time I walk to one hour a |
| laughed at me when I told them that I was going to | | | | day. |
| lose weight and really try hard to become thin. Of | | | | I tried Weight Watchers and had a difficult time |
| course, in my heart I knew that this was going to be | | | | adhering to their point values for foods and often |
| hard, but try I did. Eventually, I did lose some of the | | | | found myself eating more than I was supposed to |
| weight when my thyroid was finally under control. | | | | eat. I tried Slim Fast and other fad diets too. The |
| However, it did not mean that I could resume my | | | | best plan was the one my doctor provided which |
| binge eating. | | | | was from a booklet from the Heart Association. The |
| Then the rude awakening happened. I turned 18 and | | | | booklet contained information, that I felt was |
| I wanted to go on my first date. I never went out | | | | valuable to anyone with a cholesterol problem and |
| before because no one would ask out an ugly fat girl | | | | potential heart problem. Heart disease is in my family |
| with a big nose. My dad, Doc, knew many people and | | | | and I decided to pay close attention to the |
| I think he paid this person to take me out. It was | | | | information provided. With the help of my doctor, |
| just awful. He took one look at me and said not for | | | | this booklet and other information that I found on |
| all the money in the whole world would I go out with | | | | the Heart Association's website I was able to form a |
| her. I really thought that I looked nice. I did lose | | | | plan, not a diet to help me lose weight and get |
| weight and was wearing a very nice dress and a cool | | | | healthy again. |
| pair or shoes. My sister helped me to decide what to | | | | One other thing that I did learn was that the weight |
| wear. However, I still looked like me and I guess not | | | | takes time to come off and not to get discouraged. I |
| being very pretty still mattered to boys that were 18 | | | | did join Dr. Green's million pound weight loss challenge |
| or 19 years old. Being superficial, I guess was the | | | | provided daily meal suggestions that do work. I know |
| main quality most boys had and I found out later | | | | that weight problems run on my family. I know that |
| men did too. That ended in disaster. He left before I | | | | my niece lost weight on Jenny Craig which is another |
| could even say hello and let him know that I was a | | | | excellent plan. |
| really smart and cool person who knew music, the | | | | I realize that this is an issue that is prevalent and I |
| latest dances (even if I wasn't the greatest dancer) | | | | feel that everyone that wants to lose weight can if |
| and played two instruments. My dad tried, tried, and | | | | they have the courage to get started and the |
| so did my friends, but nothing helped. I finally decided | | | | support of family. |
| that I wanted to look even better and had plastic | | | | |