Hello, my name is Kara...

Hello...my name is Kara and I'm losing it...weight, that is...and hopefully for good this time!  Just to give you a little background info, I have been overweight most of my life.  I came in this world at 9 pounds, had a few brief years as a normal-size toddler, but was overweight by Kindergarten.  Over the years, I have tried every diet known to man...some more successful than others, but ultimately, every pound I lost found it's way back, usually bringing along a few "friends" with it. 

Friday, I went back to Weight Watchers...Saturday, I went back to the gym (and again today)!  I'm determined to get healthy this time around and I started this blog as a way to hold myself accountable...and maybe to help someone like me along the way.  All encouragement is welcome...but if you know me personally, please, don't be the diet police!  I've found through my many attempts that when the people around me start to become "diet police" and judging every morsel I put in my mouth, I end up sabotaging my eating plan and eventually giving up all together.  Sure, I'll make mistakes along the way, but the scale will hold me accountable for those.  This is a process...I didn't put this weight on overnight, and I certainly am not going to take it off that fast.

The great thing about Weight Watchers is there are no "forbidden" foods.  Sure, some foods are better for you than others...but with this program, I can choose the foods I like to eat and manage the portions of those foods in a way that will help me lose the weight without feeling deprived.  I know it works...when I follow the plan.  You've GOT to follow the plan for it to work!  As I was standing in line to get weighed in on Friday (no, I'm not going to tell you how much I weigh...that would be against the girl's code of ethics!), there was a lady who got in line behind me.  She announced to me that it was her absolute last weigh in.  She continued to tell me that Weight Watchers wasn't working for her and since this was the last Friday of the month, she was going to weigh in and be done.  When I asked her if she was following the program, she said, "Well, no..."  I tried to encourage her by telling her that I'd started WW last year, but had fallen away for awhile and was now getting back in the swing of things.  She was polite, but it was obvious that I wasn't changing her mind, so I left it alone.  I know from personal experience that if a person is not willing to work the program, no amount of encouragement will change their mind...they have to be ready.  During those months when I was on WW hiatus, if you had tried to encourage or talk me back into going, I would have probably given you the same non-committal response this lady gave me.  I wasn't ready...but now, I am!

When I tried doing WW last year, I kept it a secret.  I was every bit as committed as I am now, but I tried to hide what I was doing from most everyone I knew...especially my family in Alabama.  I wanted to surprise them.  I had visions of walking in to the Christmas gathering weighing 80 pounds less than I did the first day I walked in to WW...but that's not what happened.  I lost 30 pounds in pretty quick order...but then, I got side-tracked.  We found out in October that our son's birth mother was expecting a baby this summer and wanted us to adopt him as well.  Since we weren't planning on another private adoption (due to finances), we had to get busy with an abundance of fundraisers to help us raise the money we needed to adopt.  We welcomed our son's brother into our family when he was born last month and we've been dealing with sleep deprivation ever since!  ;)  We are blessed...and I need to be around for these two precious blessings!  And I realize now, the only thing I can do to make that happen is to get healthy.  Now, while I am a firm believer that you shouldn't try to lose weight for someone else...in reality, this is as much for me as it is for them.  You see, I want to be there for their games and science fairs.  I want to be there when they first fall in love with a girl.  I want to see them both graduate.  I want to be at both of their weddings.  I want to spoil my grandchildren rotten someday.  So, as much as I am doing this for my boys...I'm also doing it for me!  :)