Since I'm a professional writer, DietBet's invitation to blog as I lose weight is a welcome one. Some writers must write about their lives or they go CRAZY....

Now in my 60s, I have tried a number of diets and exercise regimens over the past few years, some of which afforded me a few pounds of weight loss along with a "feel better" component, but none of which helped me get even remotely nearly the size I would like to be. For me it's more about size than the numbers on the scale. I want to be two sizes smaller. Period.

Who knows? Perhaps if I make this very first post about why I MUST make this work, it will give me something to look back on to keep me motivated as well as help others along the way. I will warn you that I occasionally use colorful language when I blog, so I ask forgiveness instead of permission at this point. Or you can just stop reading here.

So here is WHY I must give myself no choice on this journey. Some reasons may sound vane and some are health-related, but no matter how lame they sound, they're mine:

 

  • I refuse to let extra weight and loss of flexibility make me feel old. I'm not even talking about how I vehemently dislike (isn't that a nice way of putting it?) the way I look in the mirror. That's a given. What about enough thickness in my mid-section that prevents me from putting on a god-damned pair of socks while still standing? What happened to THAT? Or how about just pulling up blue jeans in that same standing position? What the hell happened there? It's a combo of balance AND weight at play here....
  • I am limited to wearing clothes that HIDE my extra poundage. That sucks. There are clothes in my closet I ADORE and can't wear either because they're now too small or because wearing them makes me look like a football player.
  • There are so many health-related reasons to do this, I could write a dissertation on them: heart, joints, sleep, flexibility and -- believe it or not -- strength. It stands to reason that if you must carry the weight of your own body with the muscles God gave you to be a normal weight, they won't serve you nearly as well with an extra 40 lbs. or more on board. And no. I am not looking for huge muscles. I prefer slender and toned to bulbous.
  • While I'm lucky enough to have a husband who adores me, I don't feel like pressing my luck. If he is THIS crazy about me now, I can't imagine how rabid he might be if I get to a size similar to the one I had when we got together 14 years ago. I'm not talking skinny here. Just more shapely and ten times more confident. Confidence is sexy.
  • Just like my author-idol Nora Ephron felt bad about her neck, I am TIRED of feeling bad about my weight. I've got one time to go around, and if you paid attention to my age, you'll know it's about the quality of the life I've got left even more than the the duration of it.  If I don't do this now, then when? At age 70? 75? I know it's never too late to start, but I just refuse to be fat AND wrinkled. 

 

Recently I had my thyroid checked for T3 and T4 levels and was found to have hypothyroidism. No wonder this has been such a crap shoot trying to get this extra weight off. My thyroid was putting out about as much work as a vacationer floating on raft. But there is more to it than that. Since I started on a regimen of bioidentical hormone pills to help with it, I have been aided in ways non-weight-related, such as how it seems to be clearing my head (fuzzy-headdedness) and helping me focus on my work. That has spurred creativity in me I forgot I even possessed, so it's a good first step. But at least now my thyroid won't be fighting me any more now that I am getting it under control.

Just because I write all this out loud doesn't mean I don't need your encouragement.  I am ready for the sense of community I will experience here and hope we can all compare notes. I am giving myself until May of 2016 to do this, but of course I'll hope some frickin' miracle occurs and my body gets with the program much quicker. It's all a matter of what I'm willing to do and how consistent I can be with all these life-changing modifications I must make.

Is this the most fun you've NEVER had? YES. Why not just admit it? But it's even worse to be overweight, and that's what I must say to myself every time I am tempted to have that fattening leftover just because it occupies space in the fridge. It's what I have to tell myself every time I give in to eating a restaurant meal that matches the size and bad calories of everyone else's at the table.

Being overweight SUCKS. And it's time to DO something about it. My diet starts on Monday. See you there.