Weight Issues..

I am trying to lead a healthier life. I look for healthier solutions to foods that I like to eat. It is hard. I have been overweight for most of my life. I did lose weight when I was in high school and was thin a few years of college but gained it right back plus some when I became pregnant with MG a few months after GG and I got married. At the time, we were living in the country and really didn't have an option of going anywhere to do daily walks except the country roads. People speed down those roads so I really hated to take MG in his stroller down those roads.

I know that I can give all sorts of excuses for why I am overweight. People who are thin and have been thin their whole life don't understand the daily struggles that we, overweight people, have. Even some overweight people don't understand why people are more overweight than they are. Some just don't realize just how big they are and speak quite ill of overweight or obese people. I have learned over the years that there are more than one type of  an overweight person. You have the ones that binge eat. You have the ones who eat constantly. You have the ones who eat small meals during the day and pig out at night. You have those who put too much on their plate at dinner time and overeat. You even have the ones who don't know just how many calories they are putting in their bodies. I am a combination of two: The "overeater" at certain meals and the binge eater. I don't eat all the time and I don't binge eat all the time either. Every so often, I get hungry for something and eat it. Usually it is during that time in the month that every woman has.

It amazes me that something that looks and tastes SO good could hold SO many calories. For example, I love Dairy Queen Blizzards. I got curious one day and went to their nutrition page online. Those things are such a high caloric food, one shouldn't eat much more the entire day. For a medium it was well over 700 calories. This was an eye opener. What I didn't realize was that calories are abundant in most of the foods that I like. I took a nutrition class that I needed for my degree. That was an amazing class. It helped me understand what I was doing "wrong" in my eating. It is all about choice and moderation. I got pregnant with NL not long after that class.

I feel that since NL is 19 months, almost 20 months, I need to get this body back in the shape it was pre-marriage and pre-pregnancies. Four pregnancies does a lot on a body. I don't believe in those "get thin quickly for a LOT of money" type diets.  My philosophy on those types of diets is that they don't work. (Weight watchers is probably the only one that I totally understand. It is not about skipping meals. It is about eating right even with a snack) Why don't the fad diets work in the long run? Because you are not eating as you should. By adding something to your food or drinking shakes or skipping out on your foods, you are defeating the purpose. You are not on those things for the rest of your life. When you do happen to stop taking the pills or drinking the shakes or whatever diet you are on, you start eating the foods that you gave up. This means more calories, more saturated fats. Sure you tricked your body into losing weight, but your brain hasn't learned the process of foods. You could be thinner for a few months or even years(as long as you are on that product), but when you quit doing the "fad" diet, you gain it right back and possibly even more.

I have an issue with paying money to lose weight UNLESS it is a gym membership that you use. Exercising is probably the best thing that you can do. You have to keep with it, though, or it is truly useless. Even if you just go once a week, it is better than sitting at home eating. This is how I lost my weight all those years back and I am determined to do it again. It is really hard to lose weight this way, I know, but in the long run it is the best way. You get used to eating things that are good for you and if you do go overboard once in a while, you have the exercise that gets rid of those horrible calories. Remember: EVERYTHING IN MODERATION!!