Time to Make a Change...

When I returned from my mission in 2004, I was a slim 170 lbs. I wore a size 12 jean and I looked good. A month later I had already gained enough weight to be out of that size 12 jean, and I convinced myself that it wasn't my fault, it was America. I told myself that one just couldn't be thin in this society, with our cars and our fast food. You had to be a total fanatic and work-out 24/7 and eat nothing to be thin in Amercia. Yup, it wasn't my fault that I gained weight.

When I married Doug, I was already up to 220 lbs. After having Sariah, I was at 232 lbs. As the summer wore on, I treated myself a lot to unhealthy things because I "deserved it" for being a good mom. I had stress, I needed to relieve it. Then I started having wierd pains. I went to the dr. at the beginning of October and weighed in at 244 lbs., the heaviest I had ever been while I wasn't pregnant. I needed to make a change, or things were just going to get worse.

So we bought an excercise bike, we've had it almost two weeks now. I use it 6 days a week. But if I was really going to get better, I had to fix my food habits. Enter Dr. Phil. Yeah, I know what you're thinking... "Dr. Phil? Seriously?" Yup. I liked to watch his show for kicks when Sariah napped in the spring, and I remember him mentioning his book. The Ultimate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys To Weight Loss Success. I was curious, but I didn't expect much, so I checked it out from the library.

Boy was I suprised. I just spent the last week and a half reading and studing it. I'd read a chapter in the evening and then impliment those things the next day. Yeah, there's nothing new in the book, but it does make you sit down and really think about WHY you do things and then how to fix your reaction so that it doesn't involve food. There are tons of self-evaluations in the book.

It turns out I was eating for all the wrong reasons and eating all the wrong things. I ate when I was bored. I ate in front of the tv, the computer, when reading a book. I didn't pay attention to food, and I ate too fast. I ate to relieve stress. I ate to reward myself. I binged when I was having a bad day. The worst thing was, I didn't realize it.

A week and a half later, things are different. I'm changing my response to life and to the way I use food. I'm eating less, eatting healthier, and feeling just as, or more satisfied. Best off, some of my clothes are already starting to fit beter. I didn't need to just diet, I needed a total change, and I'm working on it.

I'm really blessed too, to have such a wonderful loving husband. Doug's been my support, my cheerleader, my umpire, my teammate. He's there to congradulate me when I do good and to lift me up when I fall a little. Best off, he loves me no matter what.

I hope you'll take this journey with me, even if you're just reading along. I know its only been a week and a half, but we're making changes for a lifetime now. If your curious, I highly recommend Dr. Phil's book, you can click on the pic for a link to it on amazon.com. But if you read it, don't just skim through. Do the excercises and the audits. Really think about what's going on in your life. It will help, I know it will!