EAT--The Backstory

Here is the first post I made on the Weight Watchers blog, originally posted on 3/11/12.


"You all know how most of this story goes, so I will skip the part about how I have been overweight most of my adult life due to laziness and poor food choices. Let's skip to my last doctor's visit.

So a month or so ago, I went to the doctor for my annual physical. I worried as I fasted the night before that my blood sugar would be high and that I would get the news that I am now a diabetic, so welcome to Hell. So I was relieved when the bloodwork revealed that it was not diabetes that was going to kill me. Relief lasted about 5 seconds because I found out that what is really going to kill me is a heart attack. Maybe a stroke. Either way, it's not very pretty. My doctor had to double my blood pressure medication, and informed me I had 2 months to lower my cholesterol or she would put me on a statin drug.

I have felt hopeless about my health and my weight for quite some time. I felt powerless to do anything about it (see laziness above) and felt like at age 50 it was really too late for me to change. The good news is that my doctor told me it was NOT too late to change! She suggested Weight Watchers, which I took as a sign because I had already been to their website and had looked up the nearest meeting to me. So three weeks ago, I went.

Now, I had done WW before, about 15 years ago. They did have the points system back then, but it was different. This new program is a much better fit for me. I love the flexibility of the extra 49 points per week. If I overeat a little, I just count the points and eliminate the guilt that always led me to abandoning the program. Also, the e-tools make it so easy to track what I eat, no more writing and adding! In three weeks I have lost 9.4 pounds. This has resulted in a feeling that I had not had in many years, the feeling of hope. The feeling that maybe it's not too late to turn my health and my life around. The feeling that maybe my fifties are going to be awesome!

I am looking forward to my bloodwork in several weeks. Maybe it won't be the best, maybe I will still have to go on drugs. But today I have hope that things will change."


So there is the backstory.  Since this post I have lost another 10.6 pounds for a total of 20 exactly. This story is ongoing!