The Never-Ending Journey

If you'd ever struggled with your weight, then you know where I'm coming from with the title of my post, right?  I have struggled with my weight my whole life.  I was a chubby little girl.  Throughout my life I must have tried every diet out there.  From full on fasting for weeks on end drinking nothing but tea, to cabbage soup, protein diets, and fruit diets.  You name it, I've tried it.  And they've all worked!!  Yep!  They've all worked, but they're not diets that are livable.  And so eventually, as time goes on and you get sick of eating only oatmeal or hard boiled eggs...the weight slowly creeps back on.  And that's what's been happening to me.

My kitty Zelda and Me

I have been heavier than I am now.  And I have been thinner than I am now.  Two years ago, I embarked on a giant weight loss journey...and then right in the middle of it, I got hit...hard.  I had emergency gall bladder surgery, and then two months later, I was diagnosed with colon cancer and had surgery.  And then the day I got back to work after six weeks of medical leave, I got diagnosed with breast cancer (my second time...first time was 19 years ago).  I had to have a mastectomy and reconstruction.    Okay, three surgeries in less than 6 months.  And just like those infomercials, I'll add the famous tag line, "But wait!  There's more!"  After cancer, I started feeling better (that's when I was at my thinnest).  Then the following year, we planned my daughter's wedding and trained to walk in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.  It was crazy busy.  And then suddenly, it was all over.  We had the most beautiful wedding ever.  She moved out of our home and off to her honeymoon and settled into her new home.  And suddenly our home was empty.  And all the craziness subsided.  And I was faced with "The Empty Nest".

As happy as I was for my daughter and my new son-in-law (and truly, I am very happy), it was a huge change.  We are very close, and having her not around was...well....sad.  And an adjustment.  Enter emotional eating.  And factor in that the Avon walk and all the training was over...and there they came.  The pounds.  Again.    

Back in November, I changed my diet and became a vegetarian.  I decided to live this lifestyle because I wanted to live a more "peace" full life.  I didn't want something to die in order for me to live...not with all the great choices that we have.  Learning to balance my protein and carbs has been another challenge, and so last week, I decided that I was going to go back to Weight Watchers.  And here I am.

This blog is going to be about my journey on my lifestyle change.  Diet, exercise, motivation, vegetarian recipes, points values, and emotional eating.  It's my way of staying accountable to myself, and to you.  I look forward to sharing my journey with you.  Together we can help each other.