Susan’s Blog Week 1: Putting Me and My Health First

Ok so……..here I go. Week 1 is in the bag and overall, it was a pretty good week. I have been doing a lot of reflecting this week on how I got to this place in life. I have been very fortunate to have had a very fulfilling and wonderful life to date. However, the war with my weight has been one that I have not won so far. I have been victorious in a few battles but, well, here I am doing the Feel Great Weight Challenge. I am changing that this year! I am working to retrain my thinking and certainly my actions on a lot of things as they relate to food and the role it plays in my life.

Growing up, portion control was not something ever mentioned in our household or within my extended family. Being from an African American family with Southern roots, macaroni and cheese, greens, and cornbread were always a staple around our house. (Oh, and don’t forget the butter pound cake and sweet potato pie!). Sounds good, doesn’t it? Food was plentiful and it was customary to go from house to house on the weekends and during holidays to get a plate. After all, someone you love slaved over the stove making you some good grub, so you gotta eat it, right? Wouldn’t be right if you didn’t taste it. Unfortunately, taste did not equal one forkful. It was more like 5 or 6—okay, 7 or 8—you get the point!

When I was younger and active in athletics, it didn’t matter. I was always one of the tallest kids in my class, so being bigger than others didn’t bother me. Looking back, my folks did the best they could and I certainly have had the knowledge to do what I need to do to manage my weight. I just made everything else more important.

I know this is largely about putting me and my health first! I have had to say no to some folks in this first week and make my exercise and eating right a priority. So far, no issues. Last week was pretty stressful and I made it through without derailing and eating lots of junk. Planning my meals for a couple of days in advance and packing snacks for my day helped a lot!

There is certainly one thing I am going to try to remember once I have lost the weight that I need to and that is…..It takes a whole lot more work to take it off than to put it on! This is a full time commitment that I have to work through day by day, sometimes hour by hour. Sometimes, like yesterday when there was a bowl of chocolate-covered peanuts in my face all day, it is a minute-by-minute challenge. I have told all of the people around me that I am doing this so that they can be active participants in helping me succeed. Everyone is on board and they think I am crazy for doing this in front of millions of people. Maybe I am, but it’s too late now!

On to next week and the next challenge. Talk to ya then.

Feel Great Weight Stats:
Original weight: 256
Current weight: 253
Weight loss this week: 3 lbs
Total weight loss: 3 lbs

By Susan Chapman