thisnthatwithatwist

I suppose it was when I was in first grade that I began becoming a chubby kid. I was the skinniest little thing in my pre-school days; long thin baby, tiny toddler days but by six I’d had acquired “baby fat”.  I was athletic, played a ton of sports, but my form never returned to its original petite nature.  I hit by biggest in fifth grade- I don’t remember the size but it was huge.  I then managed to get down to a size 8 by 8^th grade.  All through high school I see-sawed up and down with the same 15 pounds.  It’s not ideal but teenage girls deal with this all the time.

By college you can’t call it baby fat anymore; when the person is considered an adult the baby fat is just fat. Worse than that, for four years nothing worked. Not the miracle diets, not the wonder cures, no pill- be it herbs or chemicals worked. I tried it all. I might not have been gaining but I wasn’t loosing and it sucked. Some of the “miracle” products even worked backwards. Supposed “cleansing” methods (lased with laxatives) clogged me up. That shit’s not healthy!!

Another thing that happened during those four years was that I stopped playing sports. It wasn’t a lack of interest; I was too old for the leagues. And I hate exercise! I am an avid walker but running is out of the question. I can’t even jog. Sports weren’t exercise they were competitions, and I’m one competitive SOB.  I’d joined a CURVES gym my last year of High school but lacked the drive and gave up. There was even a gym on my University campus, FOR FREE and I used it about 7 times in four years.

About six weeks ago I was at the doctor for a check-up, knowing he was going to tell me I was overweight, and he was running late as always. In the waiting room I read an article in TIME by CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta about how people stop exercising during college, I wasn’t alone but I felt guilty. Then the doctor told me that the average person can’t lose more than a pound a week and stick with a plan. I was challenged! I could compete against “everyman” or in my case “everygirl.”

And now I’ve more than a pound a week. I still have a way to go but I have the secret on how to stick with it. I joined a gym; still hate exercising but I trick myself. Stationary Bicycle- bike race, treadmill and other machines just an indoor walk. Plus I have the distraction of my i-pod to kick my lazy butt into gear.  So here it is, the miracle cure to end weight gain: increase the exercise and don’t increase the eating.

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