So, now that I have the concept of what I originally wanted my blog to be about, I realized that I did not want to limit it. Yes, I wanted my blog to help me stay accountable for getting healthier and figured that I needed to get healthier anyway. But I am so much more than just an overweight woman. Apparently, almost half the population, both men and women, are overweight in the United States. That is a sad statistic really.

I am a mother, single mother at that, teacher (unemployed, at the moment, but that is another whole topic), and a woman in her (yikes!) low, low, low 50s, trying to make a new start which is scary enough as it is.

So, this blog will be about more than just my journey to be healthy…but also my journey in and of itself.

But first things first, being overweight.

When I was growing up (on Long Island in NY), I was the minority. I was the overweight kid. There were not too many around then. Now, unfortunately, if you look around when you are in a crowded place like a mall, there are tons (pun intended) of overweight children.

And even being overweight as a kid, I was not the typical overweight kid. I do like to be different, you know? I was tall and thick. Always the tallest girl in class, always in the back of the class picture, sometimes head to head with the teacher even. I was tall and strong.

I remember in fifth grade we had to go to the nurse’s office and get our weight and height measured. It was alphabetical order so a boy and I went down to the nurse’s office. The other kids told him to see how much I weighed. They laughed. I overheard it. I was mortified. I had had to put up with teasing but to have the actual number out there. Yikes!

The nurse brought us back separately to be weighed, thank goodness. And that number has stuck in my head all these years. I was 135 pounds. I was also about 5’2”-5’4” at that point. And I was maturing, as girls do about that age, that adds to the figure (if you “figured” out what I mean).

Comparatively speaking, I probably weighed more than most, or even all the girls in my class at that point. But that was not that much at that height. I wish I could have figured that out then.

And the weight did not slow me down, well, it did in terms of actually running; I was not the fastest, but I could still run.

I ran, I biked, I walked all around our town. I played every sport: baseball, basketball, kickball, stickball, running bases, touch football, every sport at school too. Also, I was never picked last.

I was big, yes, but I was strong. The kids knew I could do it, catch, hit, and throw. I wasn’t picked first either but middle of the road. I played…went to school…played afterschool…rode my bike all over town…I was not sitting at home doing nothing.

And then the dieting started.

I think that was what started the downfall. I would go on a diet, or be put on a diet by my parents, and I would lose maybe 10 pounds. Then of course, I would gain it back plus probably about 5 additional pounds.

What? Huh? That was not good. 

And so, the cycle continued…year after year…pound after pound…until we arrive to modern day “me”.

Here I am, pouring out my heart and being very honest about my struggle. 

Can anyone relate to this? 

I think there are millions of people who can relate to this. 

I hope you continue with me on my journey and let us see if I can break the mold.