Lots to learn

jarrettd

Hi! My daughter suggested that I take advantage of all the site has to offer, including the social aspect. I don't usually reach out for help or encouragement, a drawback of being a fiercely independent woman. It makes it harder that I feel vain and shallow whining about losing my piddling 20 pounds, when my daughter and so many like her are in a struggle for their lives. Sometimes when we discuss diet and exercise, my daughter, who has a 50.2 BMI, gives me a look that would wither stone. I can't blame her.

I'm lucky. I inherited my father's metabolism. I couldn't gain weight when I TRIED! I was slightly underweight in school, and only gained 10 pounds after marriage and 4 children. I would sometimes gain a little in wintertime, then it would drop off effortlessly when spring rolled around. In times of stress and emotional upheaval, I couldn't force myself to eat, and would drop weight at an alarming rate (the opposite of my daughter, who finds comfort in calories.) I've always been very active, and slightly bi-polar, with several projects going at any given time. I've been known to forget to eat, sometimes for days. I do like food; I just don't like the TIME it takes to prepare and consume it. I never had to think about food. I ate whatever was handy, whenever I had to, and my weight took care of itself.

All that is changing. My body is entering a new phase of life. My winter weight has gotten comfortable and refused to leave for the last several years. It has also redistributed itself, to places I certainly wouldn't have chosen! I quit smoking two months ago, and my weight has been climbing steadily ever since.

Worse yet, I've been having sugar-crashes. I don't eat right or regularly, then suddenly I'm shaking. Not just coffee-jitter type. I mean, shaking so bad I can't hold onto anything, like a phone or pencil. I get emotional; angry and disoriented. And it happens so fast!. I know it's a warning from my body; a signal that I'd better take control of my diet or I'm going to have more to worry about than just a few vanity pounds.

So, here's to healthy choices and balance. My daughter and I can do this together!