When I decided to do my A-Z Blogging Challenge on my weight loss journey, I thought I would write really honest type journal entries of my first 30 days into my weight loss program. I wanted to write about how every step of this process made me feel, what my thoughts and concerns were as I proceeded along. After receiving a rather terse comment yesterday, I wonder if people are thinking I am a bit whiney about all of this, and perhaps they are thinking “well you got yourself into this situation – do something about it and don’t whine.” The comment has bothered me all day.
In addition to the comment, I have managed to contract some weird virus, that has left me exhausted, unable to eat, with a fever, body aches and just general malaise. This always seems to happen to me, when I change my diet and activity level. I developed Mononucleosis after starting a diet back in the 90s, and came back positive for Parvovirus on top of that. I thought only dogs got Parvovirus, but according to my physician at the time, humans can too. In the 80s, when trying to lose some weight, while in the Navy, I came down with Rubella, which is no fun when you are an adult, and ended up in the hospital. Needless to say, I am always a bit leery in going full bore on a weight-loss program.
But I am not giving up, this is just a bump in the road. Maybe I am not eating enough calories. My kids say I need to eat more protein, and they are probably right.
As far as the honesty goes, I have read so many “Before and After” articles on the web, in People magazine, where hugely obese people suddenly decide one day, they are going to lose weight. After years and years of not exercising and eating right, they cut out all fat, carbohydrates, start walking and end up in the gym weight-training and then they become Personal Trainers, and they look beautiful and thin – and it all seems so easy. No setbacks, no feelings of helplessness or hopelessness about not being able to lose weight – they just do it. Or there are people like Mama June who plunks down $75,000, undergoes a gastric sleeve procedure, hires a personal trainer, gets another surgery to have all the excess skin cut off, has a tummy tuck and Voila – she is perfectly thin and a Size 4. And then there are the celebrities, who hire personal trainers and chefs and after having gained a gazillion pounds during a pregnancy, they are “Red Carpet ready” in 4 months and a Size 0. None of that is going to happen here.
I am a real person, with a full-time job, a limited income, and lots of extra responsibilities. When I decided to start all of this, my family said “You must go to the gym, you must eat ‘gain meals’ and drink 50 million gallons of water a day.” And I said “How is all the stuff going to get done at the house?” and they said “Oh, it will get done, don’t worry”, so I didn’t. Silly me, I thought everyone was going to step up and pitch in, but it turns out all the extra stuff gets done after I come home from the gym, which makes for a very long day. So, yes, I am a little edgy and exhausted. Welcome to the life of a real person trying to lose weight, and fit exercising in. I think I am entitled to be a bit whiney, and if a reader feels that I should “Suck it up and just do it”, then perhaps they shouldn’t read the posts of a real person, Mother, Wife, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner trying to fit all this into a real life. That’s all I got to say about that.
Oh, and by the way – I have lost 8 pounds.