A New Challenge Begins

I was never petite but I recently hit some bad milestones. My weight went higher than ever before but I did start bring that down a bit earlier in the year. Still, I have about 100 pounds I need to lose before reaching the weight that's healthiest for me. It's kind of interesting to think back to when I was in high school and my early adult years. Back then I thought I was fat but I would give anything to be that size again.

Last month, a visit to the doctor brought a lot of bad news. I already had high blood pressure and diabetes and cholesterol problems got added to my list. Expanding the battle beyond just trying to lose weight made things much more serious. My list of problems was creating a situation bringing me closer to a heart attack and I could no longer just be okay with how I look.

There are a lot of things I used to do that are more difficult now. I don't have the strength or endurance I had when our kids were younger. It was frustrating to feel those limitations during our big events at work. An office job body doesn't help at a major event where there's a lot of loading, unloading, setting, down, cleaning up, and general running around.

Feeling accountable is one of the best ways to help yourself stick to a plan. I decided to make this whole thing a win-win by turning it into a fundraiser. My mom battled her weight but was restricted by her multiple sclerosis (MS) in what she could do to stay active. I want to honor my mom by having the money I raise go to finding a cure for MS. My goal is to lose 30 pounds by October 4 (my birthday) and I'm having people pledge to donate for each pound I lose.

There's so much to battle when it comes to weight loss:

• Time - it takes time to prepare healthier foods and it's so much easier to grab fast food
• Money - a lot of the healthier options cost more than the unhealthy ones
• Culture - I married into a culture that celebrates everything with food. You don't decline the offers of food either. 
• Regular eating - for both weight loss and diabetes it is important to eat regular meals and not skip any
• Exercise - I'm not a fan of working out and my job and the commute leave me sitting most of the day. Fitting in the exercise will be a challenge for sure.

Fortunately, I'm getting more support than I ever imagined. Encouragement on Facebook from friends and family have already made this better than past attempts at losing weight. I'm making good use of SparkPeople.com, the best free weight loss resource online. I also got a huge surprise when a new friend and his wife gave me a bicycle they weren't using anymore.

I've only lost a few pounds so far, but at least I'm going in the right direction now.