Mama's Gettin' Serious Ya'll

I started this blog because I wanted to make some major changes and I wanted accountability, support, and suggestions from others. It's working out wonderfully, too! However,one change I haven't talked about is losing weight. Honestly, my weight problems are making me mad at this point! 

Now I don't expect to weigh what I did in high school, but my youngest child is 12 and after she was born I was about 20 pounds over my high school weight. It was a comfortable size for me and I maintained it for years. Unfortunately, I  have gained weight slowly so that over the last 7 years I have added a total of 40 pounds! In fact, 30 of those were in the last 3 years! I am honestly tired of the fat, tired of needing new clothes twice a year, tired of dieting and gaining anyway. I started eating better and didn't lose weight. I started exercising and still didn't lose weight. I joined a weight loss contest at work and lost a few pounds, but gained them back. I did a colon cleanse and lost a few pounds, but that is a once or twice yearly thing.

I admit that one reason I want to lose weight is because I have become uncomfortable with my appearance. Say appearances don't matter, beauty is on the inside, all those great sayings, but really it stinks to look in the mirror and see yourself getting bigger and bigger. It stinks to look at yourself and see very little resemblance to the person you once were, before the weight. I am very short and 40 pounds is a lot of weight when you're under 5 feet tall! Where do you fall on the chart below?

But that isn't the only reason. God charged us, his creations, with taking care of our health so that we can be better witnesses and servants for Him. As I get bigger, I have less energy, less flexibility, more knee pain and back pain. I am not as good a servant to others in His name because I cannot do the things I used to be able to do. God also said we should not have false idols. Food can be a false idol. I don't feel that I am addicted to food, but I do feel that I eat more than I need. Not only is that putting food on a pedestal, but it's gluttony. So, you see, if I can get a grip on my weight, I can be a better Christian. 

Well, Mama's gettin' serious. Tomorrow morning I have decided to attend my first Weight Watcher's meeting. I took their online questionnaire and I fell into the obese range. Yuck. I am disgusted with myself for getting to that point. So I looked around on the website. The first meeting is free. I can go to check it out and see if I want to go this route. If I do join, my employer will reimburse the fees as long as I go to 8 meetings every 8 weeks. So what do I really have to lose, right? If I could lose 1 pound per week that would put me at my goal in about 9 months. I would feel like a new person! World watch out!

I am open to other ideas. In fact, I am eager to hear from you! I know I am not alone. If you look at the map below, my state, South Carolina, is one of the leaders in the American obesity epidemic. Anyone have similar problems losing weight that they can share? Anyone successfully get rid of it? Anyone go through Weight Watchers and did it work for you? Got any great green diet ideas to share?

I have to tackle this and I don't want to put it off another day. I want to be here for my children for many years to come. I want to have energy to do for my family and for others. I want to be healthy!