Losing Weight: When Spring Fills Your Heart with Terror

There's snow covering the ground right now where I live. And I like it! No, it's not that I like the winter. I love hot weather. But, when I think of what it means when the nice weather gets here, I panic.

It means I'll have to remove the turtleneck sweaters, the dark pants and long coats. More of my person will be in view. Have mercy! I know that watching weather reports and wishing for more snowstorms can't be the answer forever. So...it means I will have to do something about this problem. The problem is the extra 30pounds I've managed to put on in the last year.

I have some well-meaning friends to thank for the weight gain. After my mother, who lived with me, passed away, my friends watched me like hawks. Several would say, "You look gaunt." Hah! Me? Gaunt? Nobody ever said that to me before. If anything, most of my life, I've battled with weight gains. And losses. So to hear the word, "gaunt" was a novelty.

Of course, they didn't mean it in a good way. I did look a little under the weather. So, to please my caring friends, I decided to prove to them that I was eating. I ate a lot. All the things I should have eaten in small amounts, I would stuff into me. That set up the comfort-eating. I started to feel better. Grief was easier to deal with when I was enjoying fat-laden, processed foods!

When I had to buy new pants in a larger size, I wondered what happened. You know those dryers really DO shrink clothing. I kept eating all the wrong things, knowing I could deal with any weight gain later. Cheesh, I did before. I could do it again.

But, a funny thing happened on the way to the bakery. My metabolism had changed. I'm older now. The junk in the trunk doesn't look as cute as it did twenty years ago. I found I could not stop with my addictive eating. I had to buy a larger size again. Then it hit me. I didn't like myself very much. I had lost confidence. I didn't want to be seen.

Finally stepping on the scale and seeing that number was shocking. 30 extra pounds. And I wasn't exactly slim before I packed those on! Gaunt, indeed! Taking a serious look in the mirror told me I had to take charge of my life and my health. No more excuses. I was unhappy. Depressed.

We all know losing weight is simple. We have to eat less and get more exercise. That works for some people. But, there are those of us that need a little more help. Especially in the beginning. To get off to a good start and break the addictive pattern. Whatever weight loss program works for you, go for it! But keep in mind that it's just a beginning. We then need to maintain a healthy weight. Develop a lifestyle for the rest of our life.

I've chosen a weight loss program developed by a doctor in Arizona. By following her advice I will clean my colon of all the toxic build-up I managed to accumulate by eating processed, unhealthy "comfort" foods. No, I don't want to even think about what she has to say about parasites in the colon. Not in my intestines! Keeping my head in the sand on that issue suits me just fine. I just need to lose weight.

No matter how much weight you and I have to lose, at least knowing Spring is coming will hopefully give us the incentive to get healthy. Choose the weight lossprogram that's right for YOU. Maybe you're one of the lucky ones and can do it just by eating less and moving more. Whichever way you go, I wish you the best of luck!

(c) Karen Cook

Learn about the weight loss program Karen has chosen at her blog. http://thesecrettofatloss.blogspot.com Progress reports will not include any talk about parasites!