I’ve started to get compliments about my looks—obviously whatever I am doing is working. So far I’ve lost about 20 lbs (more or less, depending on whose scale I’m standing on) in three months. Plenty of people have started asking me what I am doing, how I did it and who I am seeing. (Sharon and Johanna: Rock stars in their own right!) Mainly they ask how I take the pain. But I don’t have pain. I am the casual dieter. I eat, I am never hungry, I am never nervous or have any cravings. All I have to do is control portion sizes and eat the good stuff. And if I do stray, make up for it with a cardio session or a more stringent calorie count the next day.
I am not trying to say it’s easy (if it were easy, I would have done it much earlier) I am just saying it isn’t as hard or cruel as I thought it would be. Since I never really struggled with my weight before and had no real experience with dieting, I thought it would be this unbelievable, monumental wall I had to climb. So I never even started addressing it, always assuming it would never happen anyway. Besides, I didn’t know what to.
Also, since my weight sort of sneaked up on me, for years I pretended everything was okay. My estimate is that over five, six years I gained about 8 lbs every year. That’s half of a pound a month. You don’t even notice that—until you try to get into older clothes and they don’t fit. But if you are in good shape, the first 10 to 15 pounds mean nothing. The next 15 are uncomfortable, and one day you wake up and you’re looking in the mirror and realize you’re a fat person. I realized it when I met new people who didn’t know me before and certainly wouldn’t describe me as “athletic.” I also had a moment in a hotel room with an awfully well-lit bathroom featuring an all-around mirror. Let me tell you, not a pretty sight for someone who only has a slimming mirror and no scale at home.
The important lesson I learned is this: It is not impossible, it is not hard, it is not an insurmountable amount of work. The biggest roadblock is in our minds. We accept that it is hard, that we will suffer and not last. Or we don’t even start because we see others suffer, so we think, OMG, I’ll never last. But in truth, all we need to do is pick our battles and substitute the bad foodstuff with good foodstuff—and watch how we treat our bodies.
I am a food person. I eat when I feel down. I eat when celebrate. I love food and I love restaurants, and through my work I eat at the best restaurants. My family is in the wine business, and I love wine. It is a big part of my life—the enjoyment and excitement of a good meal with a good wine is essential to my lifestyle. So I was prone to thinking I would be doomed to be the fat chick with great personality and fabulous bags and shoes. But it turns out, not really. I can eat, be happy, and enjoy—and lose weight.
All I am saying is, don’t be afraid. Don’t be a fool like me and wait too long. It is possible, step by step. And if it’s hard, don’t suffer—find a better way to reach your weight goal. Don’t run against the wall, sneak around it. Change your food, try everything until you find the right approach for yourself. Because if I can do it, anyone can. Seriously. I am not like those people you see on morning TV losing a gazillion pounds. I am your regular couch potato falling for those lovely-looking petit-fours.
Feel Great Weight Stats
Original weight: 210
Weight at week’s end: 187
Weight loss this week: 6 lbs
Total weight loss: 23 lbs
By Vanessa Trost
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