I had originally planned to be out of town the end of this week so I had some guest posts lined up. Travel plans fell through unfortunately which is a whole other issue all together but I have been flaring so bad the last 5 days that I am glad to have great friends to share posts with you while I am on the mend! Please welcome Nota Supermom and be sure to check out her blog at Not A Supermom!
I follow Jamee on twitter (she’s @newkindofnormal and I’m @notasupermom) and I jumped at the chance to write a guest post for her.
Jamee’s not one to toot her own horn, but I find her very inspiring. She’s a mother dealing with multiple illnesses and she’s overcome one of the greatest challenges a woman can overcome—weight loss.
It’s serious business to lose weight. It’s like going to war. Except what you are fighting against is food, something you need to live.
Some women would rather be blind than fat. Others would rather lose ten I.Q. points than gain ten pounds. That really says something about how much people value appearing slender.
Imagine if air made you fat. Women would have their nostrils surgically closed. Companies would sell canisters of Lite Air. You would ask if breathing this made your butt look big.
Eating healthfully can be as difficult as trying to breathe less. Our lives are celebrated with food. Special dishes for holidays, birthdays, even seasons—try getting through a summer without eating a grilled hamburger.
I live in the South where the grill is practically the household altar. And we will deep fry anything. I saw Paula Deen eat deep-fried mayonnaise once. That’s worth two years on a treadmill.
I’m trying to lose weight to maintain good health. That, and I want to look cute in a bathing suit. Don’t tell me they aren’t equally important.
When I took my kids to a waterpark last year, I ran into my only high school frienemy. Since high school, when I found out what she was really like, I refer to her as The Boyfriend Stealer.
There I am in my skirted bathing suit and stretch marks on my stretch marks, and The Boyfriend Stealer is the same size we both were in high school, except for her enormous surgical enhancements.
I did what anyone would do. I went down that waterslide and then had a panic attack so severe I had to stay in my hotel room for the rest of the day. Not a coincidence, but real nonetheless.
I was so ashamed of freaking out and making myself sick that I promised myself I would take action.
Since then I’ve joined Weight Watchers and started exercising daily. I’m still not swimsuit ready, but I feel a lot better about myself. Weight that made me cry on the way up looks pretty darn good on the way back down.
If Jamee can lose weight while working, raising an adorable small child and dealing with fibro, celiac and endometriosis, what can’t I do? And what can’t you do?
Nota Supermom is the nom du blog of a wife and homeschooling mother of four. She blogs at www.notasupermom.com where she is occasionally funny.
Good luck Not A Supermom on your weight loss endeavors!
Jamee…feel better soon!
Do you take anything specific for your Fibro? If so, can I ask what?
Jessica – I take Savella (100mg twice a day). It does a decent job for day to day pain (more than anything else I’ve tried). Its just when I get exhausted, stressed, or the weather interferes that I tend to flare. Its been raining for 5 days straight and that paired with the exhaustion from the funeral and travel last week, I’m pretty miserable! The forecast is supposed to clear up tomorrow so hopefully things will look up!
I had no idea it was so tied to the weather. I hope you are feeling better soon!
For the record, I would keep the I.Q. points. Then I would fight like hell to give the ten pounds back. I adore Weight Watchers. Great Attitude. Thanks for inspiring.
Thanks, Maggie. I’d keep the I.Q. points as well, but I might give up a toe if that were an option. I have a couple I never use.
Thanks, Jessica. It seems like my life is a weight loss journey. And thanks for the comment. I was worried I’d kill Jamee’s blog.
Oh wow! I can only imagine. I wear a skirted bathing suit these days as well.
Theresa, I’m sure a lot of ladies can rock the skirted suit and give it a retro vibe. In my case, it was just sad and non-cute.
“Others would rather lose ten I.Q. points than gain ten pounds.”
Actually, I did that. I chose one mood stabilizer over others because it was less likely to cause weigh gain (in fact, I lost weight initially). But the down side? It makes me forgetful and sometimes I can’t think of the right word. My vocabulary has seriously suffered. 10 I.Q. points….oh yeah. Inside I still feel as smart but on the outside, I’m “not fat” and a ditz. So there you go.
Andrea, I’m forgetful and suffer from noun-loss and don’t get the added bonus of stable moods. I see why you would pick those meds.
Good luck, Nota! May the panic-stricken moment be forever etched in your brain every time you open the fridge. Perhaps one of those moments will occurr to me soon. I think I am going to need something that drastic to invoke a change in my eating habits.
If you need a rock-bottom moment, have someone take a picture of you in a bathing suit. There’s a panic-stricken moment !
I wish I had a “moment” like that that made me want to lose weight…an “aha” moment that would make me say, ok…my diet starts NOW! But, I like to eat too much, and I like chocolate too much…so I guess I will sit around and wait for my moment 🙂
My favorite quote wasn’t funny, but oh so true:Weight that made me cry on the way up looks pretty darn good on the way back down.
You inspire me, Nota. Every day.
Brooke, I still have chocolate. What’s working for me is more fruit and veg and portion control. I always ate good food, just too much of it.