My first blog started when I was on Weight Watchers about 10 years ago. I had just had my daughter and decided to join online. I had been on Weight Watchers before that but I attended meetings with my husband. We both lost some weight before our wedding and I managed to keep most of it off. I only gained 25 pounds during my pregnancy thanks to my daughter doing backflips in my stomach and making me puke every day. No surprise that she is now a competitive cheerleader. I guess things work out in funny ways...
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| My Z girl... What a cutie! |
Back in 2005, there weren't amazing social networking platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and, for those currently on Weight Watchers, Connect. Instead, many of us online members had a secret blogging society. Well it wasn't really secret but we mostly found each other through online Weight Watchers forums. Blogging gave us a way to share our journeys with other people who understood the struggle. It was a safe and nurturing way to be accountable to someone other than our families and friends. I loved the online connections I made through that blog but as many of us do, I left the program, let life take over and I gained it all back. Awesome.
I was fairly healthy in my early teens but after a difficult few years, the weight started creeping on as I tried to numb my pain. My parents divorce had a very negative impact on me at 15 years old. A lot of responsibilities landed on my shoulders as I tried to take care of my little brother and soothe my mom after my dad moved out. I'm not going to lie. It sucked. One of my other coping mechanisms was blocking out the people closest to me. My best friends didn't know what was going on and I just crawled within myself to avoid the humiliation and sadness. As a result, I've become a complete open book as I get older. Verdict is out whether or not that's the smartest approach. Vulnerability... Brené Brown would be so proud of me.
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| 2004 vs 2016 |
So here we are, round 4 or 5 of Weight Watchers (I've lost track). I've been back at it since January 12, haven't missed a day of tracking and I'm nearing a total loss of 60lbs. I have 30 more pounds to reach my goal and if I can maintain it for 6 weeks, I will become a lifetime member. My hope for this blog is that it will give me the opportunity to get messy, spill my guts, help me figure out my relationship with food (which by the way, I've had some major epiphanies on this subject over the last few days) and maybe even help others who are also struggling to try to figure it all out. I'm not an expert but at least I can share my own experiences in hopes that it resonates with someone. The connections I've made through Instagram and Connect (via Weight Watchers) have been so powerful in my success thus far. So if you are visiting from there, thanks a million!! I hope this is just another way we can all connect and figure this thing out together.
Nat
xoxoxoxo
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