Here's the deal

In plain, if sometimes callous, English:

I'm a fat girl.  I don't want to be a fat girl anymore.

I'm starting a new job this week, and as part of the hiring process I had to undergo a physical.  Everything was fine -- blood pressure good, hearing and vision (with glasses) okay, blood work looked fine as far as cholesterol, etc.

But my weight, well, it's an issue.  As in a 365 lb issue.

Not good.

So the doctor who saw me, at my employer's expense, said this: Consider weight loss surgery.

It would've been kinder if he'd hit me with a dumbbell across the head.  Several thoughts crossed my mind:  Was I really that bad?  Did it get to the point where I needed surgery?  How did I let myself go?  Can I save this without going under the knife?


Short answers:  Yes, I'm that bad.  No, not yet.  I let myself go for several reasons: laziness being one of them.  Yes, I can rectify this situation without surgery.


So here we are.  I've decided to blog about this to share my experience with other people, people who -- like me -- either don't want or can't afford surgery, who need to lose weight, and who also can't stomach or afford fad diets or taking weeks off work to go on a show like "The Biggest Loser."

I've thought about my goals, and they're pretty simple:

1. Watch what I eat.  No, I'm not doing some  macrobiotic, no carbs, special diet pills/bars diet.  I'm not spending a dime extra on what I consume.  I'm just going to do three things:  watch my servings (portion size and limiting myself to one serving), avoid snacking, and avoid sweets (with the exception of special occasions).
2. Exercise regularly.  This doesn't mean 2 hours a day, 7 days a week.  It means 3-4 times a week for an hour, and doing little things -- parking farther away from the store, taking stairs rather than the elevator, going for walks -- in between.
3. Blog whenever possible.  I want to share what I'm doing with the world to see if I can help one other person and to share my success with the world.
4. Be realistic. I don't have set weight loss number in mind. The government says I should weight something like 117 pounds.  Guess what?  That isn't happening.  I will never be 117 pounds and I will never wear a size 6.  But I'd settle for wearing a size 18-22, which is a lot less than what I'm wearing now.
5. Be honest.  This won't get anywhere if I'm not honest with me and honest on the blog.  I'm not going to pretend things are going well when they aren't, lie and say I had celery sticks for a snack when I really ate a pan of brownies, or pretend I walked 8 miles on the treadmill when I sat and watched reruns of "COPS" on Tru TV.

And that's how it goes.

I'll work out things like links, comments, and possibly a Twitter account later on as this process moves forward.

Until next time...