Not many know that I at one time was almost 400 pounds.  WOW…even now that number seems far too high and I lived it!  I can’t really say everything that got me to that point, nor do I even know really what it was that sparked the fire in me to lose nearly 200 of those pounds.  I remember going to a doctor visit and the first thing the doc said to me was “you know you have a weight problem, right?”  “REALLY? I NEVER knew!  Tell me doc, exactly how many years of medical school did it take you to come to that conclusion?” I was stumped.  Was that really the best this doctor could come up with?  No matter.  I walked out of her office and never went back.  I didn’t need a doctor to tell me something I already knew every moment of each day.  I don’t know what it was in my mind body or soul that caused me to decide it was time.  I do know that somewhere around the beginning of 2004 I somehow made up my mind it was time to get back in shape.  I hadn’t always been that large.  I have always been, how can I put this…not petite.  I have never been, nor will I ever be a petite girl.  I’m just one of those people who is lucky enough to be built like a line backer and have no problem looking like I could hold my own in a fight.  Let’s just say I have no problem going for a run after dark.  I am not afraid of anyone bothering me (where is American Gladiator now?).

I knew I had attempted (far too many efforts to count) any and all diet regimes (some of them seemed like militant regimes), weight loss gimmicks, tricks, and anything else that was being hocked on late night television as a sure fire way to finally lose the weight for good!  Guess what?  Nothing so far had been that magic trick to transform my body overnight into a Victoria Secret’s runway girl (again, remember I’m built sorta like a line backer!).  I had heard people talking about this whole South Beach Diet thing and I kept thinking, “Ok, yeah, whatever…same thing, different name.” As hesitant as I was, I ordered the books from my favorite online bookseller.  Heaven forbid someone see me buying a weight loss book!  I read it cover to cover in about a day, cleaned out my fridge, cupboards and cabinets and didn’t look back.  I will admit that the actual working out part didn’t come to me for a little while.  I did however become militant in my quest to make certain that I followed the SB plan to a “T”.

I was determined!  NOTHING was going to get in my way, slow me down or stop me!  This went on for almost two years.  My fierce determination and can do attitude impressed even my biggest supporters!  Sadly enough (and maybe even hard to believe) I did have a few people who were supposed to be in my camp who were not as supportive as I thought they would be.  I even battled back from a surgery to remove an acoustic neuroma (aka small brain tumor) at record speed because it was interfering with my walking schedule!  I got to the point where I was walking eight to ten miles a day (sometimes twice a day) and swimming three days a week.  I LOVED it!  Not even as a teenager had I been this active!  My parents called me the “Food Nazi” due to my militant rules regarding no junk food, no flour, no sugar and no refined carbs of any kind!  I was afraid if I even smelled carbs I would fall of the proverbial wagon.

Somewhere, somehow along the way I found myself loving my new self.  I was strong, confidant and most of all….THIN!  Now, what could be wrong with this you ask?  Well, after two years of this, somehow I have found that I no longer am militant with my eating.  It is sheer torture now to get out for one of my long walks that I used to cherish and look forward to come rain or shine.  Heaven forbid, the unthinkable has happened!  I have gained almost fifty pounds over the course of the past two years! HOW did this happen?  Where did I falter?  How did I fall off of that wagon?  For almost the past year I have tried countless times to get back on that wagon.  Each time I crack, fumble, falter and any other descriptive word you can think of to describe my slippery down fall into carbohydrate Hell!  That is the only way I know how to describe it!  Seriously, I know that if I am even tempted by something remotely resembling anything made with flour and sugar….forget it!  Wild horses couldn’t drag me away.  All I know is some how, some way I have to get that mental mind shift back!  Whatever switch clicked a few years ago, and caused me to have the fierce determination of a woman on a mission (and ANY man who has ever lived with a hell-bent woman on a mission knows exactly what I am talking about) well, I need that switch to flip again!  I’m not even sure what the catalyst was that caused it to shut down in the first place!

So, that is where I am at right now.  I need to figure out my wiring and find the source of my faulty switches!  I know that carbs are my downfall and my body LOVES them…so much so that they go straight to my derrière and there they stay!  I have a feeling that it might just be an uphill battle, but it is one I am willing to fight tooth and perfectly manicured nail!  I at first was mortified to even think about letting this blurb off of my computer, but if in the course of all of my downfalls, missteps and stumbles I might help someone else along the way to achieve their goals as well, then I certainly don’t mind the public forum of chronicling my constant battle with the dreaded sugary goodness of a Krispy Kreme doughnut!  I will (WILL) be back with a story of success!  I have WAY too many cute clothes that I couldn’t wedge myself into right now if the warmer weather even permitted it!  I even braved the cold today to get back into my extra long walks – minus the pooch of course!  He is already spoiled into thinking he is a pampered lap dog!

Written by Theresa Jones

Tags: diet, South Beach, weight, Weight Loss