My journey to now

I have struggled with my weight my entire life. I do not remember a time when I felt a "normal" size, but rather was always seen as the chubby one, the overweight kid, and even the obese student. I often tried to hide it, like it was something that could be hidden from others, but baggy clothes and a desire to run does not make you skinny and fast on your feet. When I was in elementary and middle school, I was teased on the playground, felt on display during gym class, and hated shopping with others. I hit 200 pounds when I was just thirteen. I could not run the mile under 15 minutes. I shopped in the "larger" sections of department stores. And every New Year I would pledge to lose weight.

No matter how hard I "tried" to lose weight, though, I just kept gaining. I could go into all the reasons that led to my ultimate weight of 263 pounds, but instead of dwelling on that, I would rather share with everyone how I got to where I am now and where I still hope to go.

Back in 2009, when I was working as an Admission Counselor at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, I had a friend talk to me about Weight Watchers. Now, I had been to Weight Watchers before, but something was different this time around. This time, I was in a place where I could control my environment around me. I was living on my own for the first time in a little apartment about a mile away from my office. I controlled what food was in that house and no one would see me working out like a crazy lady in my living room to the Dancing with the Stars Cardio Dance DVD.

My meetings were on Thursdays after work in the basement of a Senior Center. Thursdays were perfect because the weekends were always harder with food, so I had Monday-Thursday to "recover". I quickly made friends and started seeing results. Weight watchers was something that I could understand. It was a way to live in the real world and manage real food.

I had never been an athlete. I did a dance class when I was 8 and I was on a 4th Grade volleyball team. Other than that, I was good at being a student, a Girl Scout, and a clarinet player. So when it came time for me to start adding "activity" into my routine, it was hard. I was nervous to do anything where anybody would see me. For a time, I was confined to my living room. I brought up a Gazelle cardio machine and would do that while watching my favorite TV shows. I also bought numerous workout DVDs to do in the evenings. Eventually, this wasn't enough and I was getting bored.

I always wanted to be a runner, but all my good intentions and desires never translated into physical activity. Once I joined Weight Watchers, however, I figured it was as good a time as any to start trying to run. I began running at night through the neighborhoods near my home. The nighttime provided a protective shield. Fewer people would be out and my uncomfortableness would be less noticeable. I didn't run far and I didn't run fast. In fact, I think my running was the same as my walking just with a little more bounce! But, I was doing it.

Since 2009, I have lost close to 100 pounds. It was a combination of the right time and place and Weight Watchers. In the four years since belonging to Weight Watchers and officially starting this weight-loss journey, I have had plenty of ups and downs with keeping the pounds off. Overall, I have kept the majority of it off, but life transitions including significant moves (Kirksville, MO to Athens, GA to La Crosse, WI), graduate school, and new jobs has definitely presented it challenges with eating healthy and exercise. For someone who relies on food for comfort, transitions will always be hard, but I am determined to finally reach my Weight Watchers goal.

This summer I decided to start training for a half-marathon. Here in La Crosse, the Festival Foods Grandad Half-Marathon is a rather popular event to say the least. After having several friends run in the event this past year and several others ask if I would run it in the future, I decided to give it a try. Since moving to La Crosse (and eating the campus food!), I started to gain some weight back. I thought training for a half-marathon would not only improve my running skills, but also help me get back on my weight loss journey.

It's with this latest journey and challenge that I wanted to share my adventures with everyone. I know I will have highs and lows over this next year of training, but sharing this with everyone will hopefully help keep me motivated and focused. I know I am not alone in my struggles with weight, however, it is often something people think they have to go through alone. The first thing I realized after joining Weight Watchers was that being open about my struggles made the journey that much easier. So now I am focusing that openness into my half-marathon training and inviting you all to share in my adventure.

Thank you all for reading this blog, for following me, and for supporting me always.

Wish me luck and check back often to read about my progress!