Freelance Writing and Weight Gain

I sit at my keyboard for hours a day. Only moving to get a steaming cup of Pike's Place Roast, ® or to go out to lunch. As of late I have noticed that I am getting slightly more lumpy than usual. This made me wonder if there are other freelancer writers that are also battling weight gain? I know for example, in the technology field, where my husband works, a person signs on with a company all neat and trim and then within 2 years, the same person has often doubled in size. Of course a sedentary lifestyle, which is something many freelancer writers have in common with those in the technology field, is the major culprit. Another factor includes fast food lunches, meal skipping, and the lack of water intake.

I decided it was high time to get out of this mess I'm in and start a lifestyle change. For several years now I have been pre-diabetic and taking Metformin to control my blood sugar. I have every diet book, carb counter, and healthy cookbook on the market, but they do nothing for me, since I never open them. It seems that every person who is overweight can tell you exactly how to lose it, believe me they've studied. It's just extremely hard to put into practice.

I think being overweight is much like being addicted to alcohol or even cigarettes. You know it's bad for you, but you have to make such an effort to overcome the situation that the process is daunting, often overwhelming. Let me make it clear, not everyone who is overweight became that way due to over eating, but there are many people who do over eat.

In my case, my body does not process insulin correctly, and paired with the fact that I have been on thyroid medication for years, because my thyroid is almost completely inactive without it, I have had an exceptionally hard time trying to lose the weight I gained 15 years ago during my first pregnancy. I am painfully aware that genetic issues can make losing weight that much harder, but I also know that even I can lose the freelancer bulge if I work at it.

My doctor has pointed out to me, on almost every visit that I need to "lose weight, exercise, and eat a low carb diet, or try a diet that is less than 1200 calories, or exercise for 6 hours a day." (No I am NOT making up that exercise time.) Who has time to exercise for six hours a day? I have a career, a husband and three (slender) children. Of course, I do have time to eat a healthy diet, cut sugar and take a few short walks during the day.

So, this morning I woke up to my Pike's Place Roast, ® sweetened it with the pink stuff, added heavy whipping cream because it has no carbs, and determined that today I am going to start my life over. I am sick of the freelancer bulge. Of course, I am no doctor and I never knew Dr. Atkins personally, but I have practiced his diet during my life time.

I have found that when I stay on a low carb diet my body feels better, weight comes off easily, and I actually have the desire to exercise. I once practiced yoga twice a day, rode my bike 20 miles a week, because I loved it, walked 2 miles a week and went to a Zumba class weekly. In the first two weeks of bike riding I lost loads of weight. Why? Because I was determined to do it.

I hope I can encourage you to start living your life again, and take the journey with me. I can't promise I won't fail at times, and I can't promise it will be easy, but we both can lose the freelancer bulge if we work hard and just determine we can do it. After all, if we can work with editors we can do anything.