The Oh-So Humorous Tales and Informative Adventures of a Serial Dieter….
Welcome to the Families.com Weight Loss Blog, I am so excited to be a co-host (along with Lisa and Jennifer)!!!
Since this is my first “official” entry, I should start off by telling you a little about myself, my life as a serial dieter, and what I plan for my portion of this blog to be all about!
First and foremost, my name is Mary Anne Sharp. I’m a 28-year-old, stay-at-home mom of a crazy two-year old. My husband and I live in Kansas City, Missouri. (one of the fattest cities in America, whoo!). I guess you could say I’ve had a 28 year love affair with food. Yes, to put it simply, I love to eat, and eat and eat some more. I stayed relatively thin throughout most of my life—thanks to running competitively the majority of my adolescent and teen years, I could eat whatever, whenever and never gained an ounce. Then I hit my 20’s.
I never gained the “freshmen” fifteen, but boy, once I got out of school, got a job in corporate America and sat at a desk all day, little by little I began to pack on the pounds. I was too tired to exercise, too lazy to cook at home, and excuse after excuse… by the end of 1999, I had gained at LEAST 15 pounds. I just couldn’t eat like I used to.
Then I met my wonderful hubby, who, at 6’6, can basically eat anything he wants (not fair) —add another 10 pounds here! So began my tale of serial dieting. I’ve pretty much yo-yo’d my “weigh” through every diet imaginable. I’ve ate nothing but protein on Atkins, tried to stay in “The Zone”, followed South Beach religiously, and even starved myself eating nothing but Cabbage Soup. You name it, I’ve probably tried it, and while those diets initially worked, I’d lose 10 or 20 pounds here and there, I’d end up cheating a little bit, get totally sidetracked, and end up gaining it all back, plus about 5 pounds more. I was miserable.
To top it all off, I got pregnant in 2003 and which of course sent me into eating oblivion. It was heaven (or so I thought). I never saw a cupcake (milkshake, French fry, hamburger, or STARBUCKS) that I didn’t like! I gained over 50 whopping pounds in less than nine months, and no, I can’t blame it ALL on the baby—she only weighed a mere 5 lbs! I lost an initial 20, but then came the holidays and that went down the tubes. So I yo-yo’d throughout most of 2004 and became increasingly unhappy with myself.
Finally, after much complaining, my mom suggested I go to Weight Watchers…and it was the best thing I ever did. It’s totally changed my life. Since March of 2005, I’ve lost a little over 55 total pounds. I just became a “Lifetime Member” (the day before Thanksgiving) and have about 10 more pounds to go. Weight Watchers did something for me no other diet could. While yes, I’ve made many lifestyle changes, WW doesn’t limit you to things you can’t have. So, while I still eat the occasional hamburger (not too often!)– I’ve learned to watch portions, and for me, count my points (more on this later).
I’m living proof that yes, you can successfully lose weight while having a family. I’m here to lend some inspiration, motivation and information to all of you out there that struggle just like I do. Maybe you’ll even find my dieting mishaps a little bit funny– I’m here to share what worked and what didn’t for me.
I welcome your comments (please!), questions, thoughts and ideas. If you’ve got something you’d like me to research or write about, or have anything you’d like to share, shoot me an e-mail or post it! Please don’t hesitate to let me know if there is anything specific that you’d like to see discussed!!!!!!!
Regards—Mary Anne