Age 50 and 100 pounds Overweight

How do people let themselves get to be 100 pounds overweight? I suppose for everyone the story is a little different; here’s mine.

First, before delving into the years of weight gain, I realized recently I was in denial about my weight and just how heavy I was. At 270 pounds, it just wasn’t sinking in that I was a hundred pounds overweight. It was after seeing recent pictures of myself that I realized just how heavy I was.

I’m fairly tall, at 5’9”. I’ve always carried my weight pretty well. I’m top heavy, so that accounts for some of the weight. My face isn’t really fat for someone who is as overweight as I am, and that was definitely misleading for me.

Since I moved a year ago, I don’t have any full-length mirrors in my home. Not because I don’t want one, it’s just one of those things I haven’t gotten around to getting.

I’m kind of like Santa Claus in the area of weight; it’s all in my stomach. I don’t have a lot of weight in my legs, butt, or thighs like many women do. But I have a very large spare tire around the middle. From the back and from the front view, I don’t look 100 pounds overweight. But catch the side view – and that’s where it gets really depressing.

About two years ago, some photos were taken of me before I was going out; and my friend shot a side picture. Let me tell you, I was pretty disgusted when I saw that. Could I really be that big? Is that how I look? Oh, my God. But I didn’t dwell on it. If I didn’t think about it, it couldn’t be true.

A couple of years ago, before even seeing the aforementioned picture, I had decided I was going to get weight loss surgery. I was going to get the Lap Band. I was about eight pounds under what I needed to weigh. So, I purposely gained the eight pounds, putting me at one of my heaviest weights ever, 265 pounds.

The insurance companies actually put you on a diet, so to speak, for six months before you can have the surgery. So, for a few months I attempted to lose weight and went to McGee Women’s in Pittsburgh to their program for pre-surgery prospects.

I guess I just wasn’t ready because I didn’t take it seriously, and after three visits to the hospital to get weighed, I gave up on it.

Eventually, I gained five more pounds to put me at my heaviest ever, 270 pounds. And I pretty much stayed there for the past couple of years.

About six months ago, my new doctor and I discussed my weight. I actually brought it up before she did. I told her I knew I needed to lose weight. I also told her how my previous doctor’s office – I used to see several Physician’s Assistants – never even brought up the subject of me needing to lose weight.

This could be because my vitals were always good. Blood sugar, excellent. Blood pressure – textbook. Bloodwork overall – very good. I think it’s almost politically incorrect to tell an overweight patient they need to lose weight. Touchy subject. But maybe if one of them had…I might have done something sooner. Not to blame my bad habits on the doctors; it shouldn’t take a doctor telling you to lose weight to do it. I take full responsibility for my weight.

So how did I get to the point of being 100 pounds overweight? Here’s my story.

My first diet was at age 11. I was just a tad chubby and I can remember asking my mother if I was fat, and her telling me nicely I could probably lose a few pounds. That first diet was successful. Of course at 11 years of age, it’s easier to lose than it is after 25.

I got thin and stayed about average for years. Then in High School, I was on the high end of what I should weigh; I was 5’8 and around 175 pounds. Not fat, but a little chubby, about 10 pounds overweight.

I was on and off diets a lot through my teenage years, always seeking to be thin. I exercised on and off for years. In my teens, I jogged, went to the high school to work out with weights, and did stretching and toning exercises at home. My body was pretty limber and used to getting in shape.

At age 17, I remember at my first “real job” out of high school – I worked as a telemarketer. I had gotten down to about 150, my lowest weight in a long time. I was doing just floor exercises at home, and I was toned and looked great.

One time, one of the guys I worked with said to me, “Are you a model or do you just look like one?” Wow. That was one of the nicest thing I’d ever heard someone say.

I grew another inch and was 5’ 9. At age 19, I was a camp counselor and used to jog in the morning before anyone got up. I was looking good and weighed 165. For a large frame, my top weight according to the charts was 170, so I was right where I should be. One of the camp kids remarked to me that I had a really nice figure.

I started putting on weight that year when I got a job driving a cab (yes, I was a teenage cabbie). I got up to about 195, and stayed there for a while. The culprit to that weight gain: sitting in a cab all day for 12 hours with no exercise besides driving, and the drinking and partying after work.

In 1985 at age 22 I lost 25 pounds. I walked for about an hour a day and did a low calorie diet. I was back down to 170, and looking good. But within a few months, I put it back on.

I got pregnant in 1986 and put on about 45 pounds with the pregnancy, but somehow, was able to lose it pretty quickly. That’s the beauty of being young.

I hovered around 190 for a while, never seeming to get back to the non-overweight status. Then, I really started to put it on.

I was in an unhappy marriage, and food was my source of comfort. Before I knew it, over the years, I packed on 40 pounds and was up to 230, and stayed there for years. There were several attempts at losing weight, and I’d lose a few here and there, but always put it back on.

I remember my one friend telling me this guy had said to her “Mary could be a real fox if she lost 100 pounds.” Ouch!

Unlike most women, I didn’t have that self-loathing that often comes with being overweight. I always looked nice; my hair was cut stylishly, I wore makeup and nice clothes. I felt OK about myself even though I was 60 some pounds overweight. I still had men looking at me, and still got compliments.

But at that time I really didn’t care about losing weight. It definitely wasn’t a priority. I was raising my daughter and was busy working and taking care of her.

Around 1996, I put even more weight on. I was now up to one of my highest weights, at 260. The transition from 230 to 260 was really noticeable. I could now see the weight in my face and even my legs, which usually stayed pretty thin. Not anymore. Even at 5’9”, you can’t hide that much weight.

In 1999, I went on a successful diet and exercise program, doing the original Tae-Bo workout from Billy Blanks. I did the tape (VHS then) about four times a week and alternated that with walking on the bike trail near my apartment. I lost nearly 50 pounds in just five months. That workout was incredible, and I lost a lot of inches everywhere. I got down to 210, and was really starting to look good – but I stopped at that weight.

I put on twenty pounds and stayed there for a while, at 230. Then, by 2005, I got on the scale one day and was 272 pounds – my highest weight ever. I lost around 10 pounds and fluctuated between 255 and 260 for years.

In 2009, I joined a gym and over five months lost about 20 pounds. Again, I was starting to look better, and even my daughter, who hadn’t seen me for a several months, noticed the weight loss. But, once again, I didn’t stick with it.

I gained the weight back again, and that brings us up to the present. In September, I turned 50. A milestone birthday like that causes you to really assess your life, and one of the things I decided to do something about was my weight. After seeing pictures of myself at the restaurant where I’d eaten on my birthday, I was really unhappy with how I looked.

But I’d been down this road before. What makes me think this diet and exercise program will yield the results I want and need? Honestly, I’m more motivated then I’ve ever been. Turning 50 has had that affect on me. I don’t want to be fat anymore. I don’t want to end up with diabetes, or high blood pressure, or any of the other myriad of diseases I’m at risk for by being so overweight.

So, I began my diet and exercise program on October 14th, a few weeks ago. I weighed myself after a week, and was discouraged to see I’d lost only one pound. I’ve decided I’m only going to weigh myself once a month.

I am not on a specific diet; I watch what I eat and I try to eat low fat and relatively healthy. I don’t count carbs or calories. I am thoroughly experienced in how to lose weight.

I go to the gym four times a week and do 30 minutes of cardio – 10 minutes on a bike and 20 minutes on an elliptical. I then do an hour of weights, one day focusing on arms and the next day legs.

Just a month ago, I was loading up my cart with Cheetos, bakery cakes and cookies, Private Selection Kroger ice cream (the stuff is amazing; you gotta try it!) and just about any other fattening cholesterol clogging food loaded with fat and calories that I could put in my cart.

How things have changed! My refrigerator now contains lots of yogurt, bottles of water and Perrier, frozen Lean Cuisine dinners and Protein drinks. Nutrition bars are my new friend.

I know I probably have at least a year or more to get to my goal weight of 170. For some, they would think that’s still fat, but I know I am never going to be a size 2, as I never was even when I was young. I will be thrilled to be not overweight, and look forward to looking and feeling better.

I am determined this time to make this plan work, and to finally keep the weight off. I know I will be happier, healthier, and feel better about myself. And it’s worth all the sweat and pain I go through.

I’m not serious? Excuse me, but you don’t know me. Diets don’t require “investigation” as you put it, they require two things: eating less and exercising. So I guess you don’t think an hour and a half of exercising four times a week is sufficient. And Lean Cuisine, Protein bars and water beats the hell out of what I was eating before. What a pompous jerk.

Atkins. It’s not bacon and butter. Lean meat, steamed veggies, salad’ nuts, jello cheese, cheesecake and very little hunger. After a while you can even have wine or throw down ashot. Just keep the carbs way down. If you can cook it’s not even that costlly. Scour the net for low carb recipes and be creative.

You are so right!

Same physical type here! Never thought that I ate too much, but I kept putting on weight. Went on NutraSystem back when they had meetings and such. The standard NutraSystem day was 1200 calories. Back then there were no “add on’s” like today, and it was very strictly controlled. I did not cheat. A six foot tall man, weighing 205 pounds, ate no more than 1200 calories a day for three weeks and lost 1 pound! It wasn’t until they cut me back to less than 900 calories a day did I start losing significant weight!

It’s pretty good. Marble cheesecake made with splenda and a pecan crust. SF jello can be jazzed up using cream in place of part of the cold water. The cream wil rise and make a creamy layer of flavored jello. Often, I’ll have a cappucino made from some kind of decadent decaf beans. I use extract like vanilla, coconut and almond with some splenda to sweeten the milk froth. A few smokehouse almonds goes quite nicely with it for dessert. Zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash can be subbed for pasta. Cauliflower can be mashed in place of potatos or grated and steamed for rice. You can also drizzle bit of bacon fat on the flowerets, roast or nuke ‘em and finish with bacon bits, shredded cheese and chives or green onions and get that twice baked thing going on(the kids will actually fight over that stuff!) Look on the net for low carb, caveman, keto and paleo recipes and have fun with it. There’s lots of creative cooks out there making lots of yummy stuff.

“I’m not serious? Excuse me, but you don’t know me.”

You've got that right. I thought that you were the poster; not the author.

“Diets don’t require “investigation” as you put it, they require two things: eating less and exercising.”

Anything, done well, will require investigation before implementation. In my experience, the diet is more important than exercise in simple weight (fat) loss. That required research, investigation, and trial and error.

“So I guess you don’t think an hour and a half of exercising four times a week is sufficient.”

Sounds great to me. My joints are bad, so I have to manage my weight (fat) mainly through diet.

“And Lean Cuisine, Protein bars and water beats the hell out of what I was eating before.”

That's great! Well done for trying to eat better. I've been on diets all my life, and after much trial and error I have found that the only practical as well as satisfying way to eat is low carb. That means cooking real food such as meat, dairy, vegetables, herbs and spices. I am not a talented cook, but there is a ton of info on how to cook food on the internet.

“What a pompous jerk.”

Are you saying that you, Mary C. Kirchhoff, wrote this and posted it on Free Republic, but didn't want any comments? I apologize. I must have misunderstood your intentions.

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