So, and  today on the chat board I frequent there were several discussions on weight/body issues  AND it just happens it  is national Love your body day, I decided to tell the tale of my journey with my body . I, like most women have my own battles and problems with self esteem and body image.

I know they say that as you get older you gain weight. Well, I share not only Monica from friends love of hostessing and planning, BUT  I too was over weight in my youth. I used to be about 60 to 70 pounds heavier than I am now.

When I was younger I used food as a comfort thing, and I really didn’t think much about what was healthy, just what I liked. Food is something you can control. When things felt out of control otherwise, I could control what went into my mouth. In high school and before that meant that I put into it what I thought tasted good.

Witness

When that made ended up making me unhappy with the way my body looked around my freshman year in college, I decided that I wouldn’t put much of anything in my mouth for a while. That worked and I lost some weight, but I realized I was on a slippery slope, got some counseling and saw a nutritionist.  I lost about 25 pounds. I kept it off with in about 5 lbs for years.

Me and (not yet) hubs circa 2006.

After we got engaged, like many women I decided it was time to get on the weight loss wagon again. I had kinda plateaued after my first weight loss about 4 years earlier, and wanted to do more. I know I know, such a product of societal pressure, BRIDES TO BE MUST BE IN TIP TOP SHAPE !!  Even if my reasoning was cliche, I still feel that my weight back then was in the “unhealthy” range, and I know I wasn’t in the greatest shape, so I’m glad I took the path I did and started going regularly to the gym and figuring out healthy foods that I can enjoy on a daily basis so I don’t feel like I’m “dieting” but just eating thing I like.

By my bachelorette party, I looked like this.   I worked out about 4 times a week, made an effort to not eat sugar, or those “white carbs” people talk about. I also made sure to plan meals and snacks so I never was faced with having to make quick choices when hungry.

I’m still always a bit shocked at the size of my clothes when I go shopping, and I still freak out about the fact that it takes A LOT of concentration on my part to make sure that I don’t gain the weight back.  I try really hard to tell myself that I’m healthy and that’s all that matters, but weight is SUCH a LOADED topic, and  unfortunately in our society for better or worse that’s not true.

So here’s to all the ladies struggling daily to find  a balance between health, and loving yourself as your are, between societal pressure,and realistic goals. If you figure it out, please let me know, and if not I’ll keep working on it with you ! Cheers.