Determined To Succeed

In 2005 I was the public relations manager for an aquarium in New Jersey and was helping a photographer set up for a shoot the next day. He took some test shots of me in the aquarium’s beautiful shark tunnel. He said they would turn out so well, that I could use them for my holiday cards and would have a copy framed and mounted on my desk, etc. But when I saw the photo I was floored. I looked terrible. I was so large. Even though there was a shark behind me in the photo I was the one who looked like a whale! I couldn’t believe it. That was the first time I took an honest look at myself from the outside and started listening to what was going on inside my own body…

…not to mention the fact my knee hurt and I became winded just climbing up stairs. I had sleep apnea and had to wear a breath machine to bed every night. I had high blood pressure. I couldn’t even sit in a movie theater (my favorite hobby in the entire world) without my knee locking up making movie watching painful and uncomfortable. These were health problems no one in their mid-30s should have.

And I knew if I didn’t lose weight I wouldn’t live through my 40s. This weight would one day kill me.

That’s when I started my weight loss journey. It was summer 2005 and I was finally ready. I bottomed out (being addicted to food is very much like being an alcoholic). First and foremost I knew I didn’t want to have any kind of bariatric procedure (either lap band or gastric bypass). In my short life I was beginning to know of or personally know too many people to have done that and I didn’t want to have a surgeon cut me open to lose weight. I knew if I put my mind to it I could do it all on my own.

I knew the sheer quantity of food I was taking in had to be cut. The breakfast sandwiches, hash browns and sodas from McDonald’s had to go. The full order of Chinese food, or a burger and fries got curtailed. Then going home and having a big dinner just to sit on my butt – no more. I just stopped going to McDonald’s except as a reward or a special occasion. I cut down significantly on sodas, fries, etc. and ate more salads. Most of all, I learned to cut down my portions. I had smaller plates and didn’t eat to excess.

Finally, in addition to shifting how much I ate and what I ate, I also increased my activity by doing the thing that we can all do for free – walking. I got up to walk around the office. I walked around the house. I also knew I needed to lose weight using what I had in front of me. Walking up and down stairs, both at work and at home, was like having a Stairmaster. Walking to my car to take lunches instead of doing the easy thing and getting fast food at work and sitting at my desk. Then I’d do sit-ups in bed (since the floor hurt my butt). I started doing tummy crunches and used canned goods as free weights. These activities were what I could do immediately to start losing weight immediately.

That’s how my journey to lose 175 lbs. started. Click here for Chapter Three: Motivation and Tips to Start Today to find out my motivations to sustain weight loss and how you can use what you already have around you to begin your weight loss journey.