Anna’s Story:
3 September 2012
Wow! A lot has happened in the week since I agreed to participate in this column with Dawn. I have started on a 2 year BS nursing program. In order to do that, I had to resign from my teaching job of 19 years. In a nutshell, READJUSTMENT!!! I do not do well with drastic changes. In fact, let me just put this out in the open: “Ahem, hi my name is Anna and I am a stress eater.” While this may not sound odd or significant, for me it is. At my heaviest, I tipped the scales at 197 and wearing 40 x 30 jeans. For me personally, I look at the women in my family and they are all in shape -orange, pear, and apple. Hell, it’s like a Fruit of the Loom reunion. I realize genetics plays a part in it, but my attitude has always been that I have earned the body I am in. That being said, in January of this year, I began working out and eating correctly and dropped 35 pounds. I wish I could say things have been merrily going along, but Murphy bitch slapped me and I blew out my ankle the first week of June. I still cannot jog. I can keep making excuses about putting 10 pounds back on but why. Fact is I own it. Fact is I have to find a way to overcome my own shortcomings. This is the equation that is currently over running my life:
READJUSTMENT = stress + food + studying + snacking + lack of gym time + being gimpy = FAT/WEIGHT GAIN.
Grrrr…it’s a vicious cycle. I am proud of Dawn, even a bit jealous, because she has stuck to her routine. I need to find mine. The good news, the first week back in school is over. The bad news, I weigh 173 pounds now and can blame no one but myself.
Starting Weight: 169 lbs.
Present Weight: 173 lbs.
Dawn’s Story:
I am fairly happy with how my week went, and yet I am so not happy. The ”˜happy’ part comes in that I started and stuck to my routine. That’s usually the hardest part for me. I get all pumped up and bouncy and ready to go and 2-3 days later I am sooooo over it. Well, not this time. One week down!
The ”˜not so happy’ part comes in the reality of where I have to go. I feel incredibly overwhelmed about what I want to do. Granted, I am not at my heaviest, but not far from it. It takes so long to get weight off. Hey, I worked out a whole week and I should be skinny now! Instead I can’t even feel a difference in my pants. *sigh* The scale says there’s a little less on my frame and I choose to believe it. I suppose I shouldn’t complain, but it’s hard not to when you feel like a big blob. After watching an episode of “Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition” I found some inspiration. The guy lost 236 pounds in a year! One whole year. 236 pounds. Why, exactly, am I overwhelmed by 41? I want that guy’s fortitude! It was amazing to watch him go. He just took his journey step by step. His story reminded me of one of my friend’s sayings: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” As a result, I have decided my new goal is 150. My goal this week was 155, which I hit. Once I hit 150 I’ll reassess and decide if I want to go on.
Starting weight: 161 Starting BMI: 28.5
Current weight: 155 Current BMI: 27.5
Dawn Adkins has her PhD in Health & Organizational Communication. She has written several published articles on health issues as well as designed health-oriented campaigns. Any constructive comments regarding this article should be addressed to: dadkins@pridehouston.org