Jade’s Weigh Loss Journey –Why I Wanted to Lose Weight

You might have heard me talking about changing my life recently. I tookback my life in January. Since then my life has changed so much. I know it’s only been three months, but in that short frame of time, I have taken control of my life. I’ve lost 37 pounds, 18 inches, and I am learning to enjoy living a healthier life (and that includes exercise!).

When I walk through the halls here at work,  I get asked all the time what diet I am on, they ask what I am doing to lose the weight;  I even get told I am an inspiration to them to also change their life. I will tell you this real quick, I’m not on a diet, I made a lifestyle change.

I decided that 2012 was going to be the last year I would call myself “fat”. Now, many of us have made that our New Year’s Resolution so often, but we never accomplish what we set out to do. I was determined to get it done this year. A light bulb finally went off.

That light bulb started to flicker when I finally went to the doctor to see what was wrong with my body. Not to get into too many details, but I was having issues with my hormones. After my yearly physical and blood work, the doctors told me that I had Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.  Poly-what?! Basically, my body was producing too much testoerone and messing up my body’s chemistry. How can one fix this issue? Well there is medicine, but I am not one to fix a health problem with a pill. The other option was to lose weight. Ugh. Every time I go to the doctor they tell me I need to lose weight. I know this; you don’t need to tell me. I was really just letting myself believe the excuses that I would give to why I couldn’t lose weight. I decided that enough was finally enough.

The doctor told me that if I didn’t get my issue taken care of I could end up with diabetes, infertility, obesity, ovarian cancer. All those scary things we don’t want to have happen to us. And, after meeting the most wonderful man in the world, it really put my life in perspective.  If I want to have a family down the road, I need to get healthy now! I’m no spring chicken, granted I’m only 29, but I’m not 21 anymore either.

Another reason why I wanted to lose weight was just to improve my self-esteem. I’m not the type of person to look in the mirror. I would only do it to do my hair and makeup. That’s it. No checking out what my outfit looks like before I left the house, I knew I looked fat and no outfit was going to hide the fat I had on my body. I hated clothes shopping. I wanted to wear the cute clothes they always have on sale at the “skinny stores.” I would shop with my friends at the skinny stores and would hate it when the sales associate asked if I needed any help. Um, no . . . I can’t fit into your clothes anyway! Get me out of here!! It made me feel horrible about myself, as if I didn’t feel horrible enough.

I would always keep a jacket on to hide my big ‘ol gut. I never felt comfortable in my own skin. I loved who I was on the inside, but really hated the outside me. I was tired of being the girl with a pretty face. I wanted to be able to walk into any clothes store without that panic feeling of, will I find a size that fits me. Even shopping at the plus sized stores was uncomfortable. I didn’t want to be labeled plus size, but that’s what I was. Not anymore. I’m learning to love my new body as I drop more and more weight. Believe me, after three months of hard work losing 37 pounds, I am not at my goal yet.

I will be writing more on my weight loss journey in the weeks to come. I will update you on my progress, share my fears and struggles (and successes!), work-out tips, and some good recipes! If  you just want to lose five pounds or 200 pounds, I hope this blog will help you along the way!

Here’s to good health!