Hands Up and Step Away from the Carbs...

Have you ever seen a photograph of yourself and been horrified, really horrified, thinking, "Who the heck is that person? OMG it's ME!!"

Well, that's been happening to me a lot lately. And, I've been in total avoidance mode about it too - which makes things a whole lot worse. How did this happen to me after one year of marriage? One day I was at a really happy weight, the next day I gained a husband and two dress sizes. Fabulous.

I can't really blame my weight gain on my marriage. I blame all the unrestricted fun I've had since my relationship began that put me on the fast track to fat pants. I completely stopped focusing on me and instead focused on US. We eat out all the time. We work hard, come home and crash together on the sofa, so no exercise. My husband has a carb tooth, so we have food items in our house that I never bought when it was just me at home (and clearly I'm eating them). So, basically I took all of the good habits I had as a single person (using the gym, lots of activity, healthy eating of small portions, never bought sweets or ice cream into the house) and chucked them out the window. Don't get me wrong, we've been having a really wonderful time. But I've now realized that it's at the expense of my waistline and self esteem.

I confess to feeling like everyone around me is looking at me and thinking, "One year of marriage and she's already let herself go." It makes me sick and upset just thinking about it. And, this kind of thinking is helping to keep me fat...ack! I need to start putting myself first again and taking back the "thin and pretty" mindset I had in my single days.

So here I go, embarking on Operation Life Swap. I want to have my great marriage, AND the self-care mindset I had while single. So...how to start?  Today I joined Weight Watchers. And tomorrow I'm going to start exercising in the mornings before work again. I used to take classes like Pilates and Belly Dancing, so I'm going to look for a class like that to take again.

My first goal is a 10 lb loss. I won't set a second goal until I've achieved that one. I'm hoping that by breaking the whole goal into chunks (pun intended) that it will be more manageable. So, my first WW meeting is this Wednesday night. I'm going to start today in preparation. I know I can do this. I just need to focus - especially focus on the long term weight loss strategy over the short term taste of something delicious....

I feel beautiful, slender and comfortable in my own skin...