Necessary Mutilation

Hi Everyone! Jeanne here, attempting to fill in for Broad in Buffalo today. So be prepared for much less wit! I read this blog on a daily basis and, although I have not had any bariatric surgery, I empathize completely with all the issues surrounding food addictions, compulsions, losing and gaining weight, and the resulting emotional and health-related problems.

To show that I truly belong in the land of the blob, my adult weight has ranged from 142 to 280 pounds. Right now I am trying to get below 200 pounds, but I have been hovering near that goal for a long time.

I definitely relate to the recent post concerning still looking “like a beached whale” after losing over 50 pounds. I look at my 280-pound picture and my 205-pound picture and don’t see the dramatic change that I expect. I still have way too much stomach and butt to be satisfied – but then I think, well, 200 pounds is still a lot of fat since I am not 9 feet tall, only 5’ 6” (OK, I really like to say 5’ 7” because I am closer to 5’ 7” than 5’ 6” and that allows me to have another 5 pounds on my body).

I guess in the long run my actual weight today doesn’t matter that much – bottom line is that I need to eat less, eat healthy, and exercise regularly. It sounds so easy, but my body hasn’t heard this yet and tries to talk me out of doing what I need to do. To get inspiration to keep plugging along, I follow a 12-step program. I work with a sponsor, attend meetings, write down what I eat, weigh and measure my food, and try to follow the suggestions of people who have lost a lot of weight and kept it off.

I also find this blog inspirational because Broad in Buffalo is honest and unabashedly pours out her pains and triumphs on a daily basis. To that I say “Bravo!”