Before Nutrisystem: Weighing My Options
Source: Today.com
Hi everyone. This is my first post about my journey with Nutrisystem. Perhaps you've made your way here because you are interested in regaining back control of your health. Or you have started Nutrisystem and need some inspiration. I found a Nutrisystem blog in the beginning that inspired me to stick to the program, and hopefully this will help you as I provide a realistic narrative of my journey.
The goal: Reach a healthy weight, per the CDC guidelines (104-141 lbs).
Specs
Nom de plume: Lunarlady
Gender: Female
Age range: 25 - 34
Height: 5'3"
Size: L or XL; 14; 32 in jeans
Starting Weight: 175 pounds
So, a little bit about my background. I was a swimmer growing up, but I always loved food and ate more than my fair share of it. When I went to college, I stopped playing sports and started a couch potato lifestyle. Then I graduated and started my new profession. I was independent, living on my own. I did cook sometimes as I do love to cook, but I was so busy with my new, insanely difficult job. And I went to the gym quite a bit (while also engaging in my love of wine, so all my working out did not help me lose any weight but maintain it at 145 lbs). Then I met the love of my life, moved in with him after a year on my own, and my body totally suffered a hit. From all the take out food, starting birth control, and no longer having the metabolism of someone in her early to mid twenties, I gained 30 POUNDS IN 1.5 YEARS. Yeah, you read that right.
I never thought I would become....obese. I do not eat super unhealthy. I don't eat candy or soda. I do not eat a ton of fast food. But boy, do I love to cook, especially casseroles. The more cheese, the better. I would have cheese and butter with almost every single meal. I did eat vegetables, but they were loaded into casseroles, beef stew, pot pies, dumpling soup, or sides to fried chicken. Crunchy, fried chicken breasts were a weekly staple. Now I see how I gained so much weight.
We are in an age where I see so many positive examples of curvaceous, beautiful bodies, which I really really appreciate when I shop online. My boyfriend loves me and accepts me. It should not be a big deal. But I began feeling the health drawbacks of obesity. Whenever I ate, I would get really bad acid reflux. Every day, I would burp and throw up in my mouth at the same time. I also found side sleeping really difficult. If I held a position too long, it would hurt my shoulder. I still wake up on my back, even though I fall asleep on my side. My feet hurt anytime I walk somewhere. And my feet became splayed, so I went from an 8 wide to an 8.5 wide. I love love dressing up nice to go to restaurants. And it made me sad to see all these beautiful, expensive clothes in my closet get tossed because they were 4 sizes too small. I used to be considered good-looking, and now I look into the mirror and do not feel beautiful.
So, I knew I needed to change. Now, how? I went to the only expert I knew, a doctor. The first one said I was just a little fluffy. Fluffy? That isn't even a medical term. She gave me tips on portion control, which were great, but the problem was I had NO control. It excited me to go to the store, have the money (finally) for buying whatever I wanted, and then I would go home and make delightful meals, such as garlic chicken Alfredo from scratch. And it made me happy to feed my boyfriend, who loved loved my meals. I would eat DOUBLE what my boyfriend ate, and then when I went to the kitchen to clean up, I would spoon more food into my mouth. Sometimes I baked dessert afterwards and have 3-4 cookies. I was going overboard every freaking night. And I loved it. I have an addictive personality. There was no way I could stop eating too much of my delicious food. Plus, for the females out there, birth control SUCKS. It pumps hormones into your body. So remember when I was living alone, working out, and at 145 lbs? I never craved sweets. Hardly baked. DAYS after I started taking birth control, it was like I took an acid pill and pastries became this heavenly ambrosia. I literally started having these visceral cravings for sweets. I would see pictures of them, and I would moan in delight. Damn birth control...but I looked into other options, and it is the only one that is best for me, so I had to figure out how to lose weight when my second boyfriend was dessert.
So I saw another doctor. This one suggested intermittent fasting. I tried it for several weeks. Got the worst migraines in the world. Can't have a migraine with the kind of work I do, so I had to toss that idea. I begged her for diet pills, but she refused to prescribe them due to the health effects. I left disappointed and fantasizing about getting sick and losing weight, as well as liposuction (an option my boyfriend vehemently opposed). See what being obese did to my mind? Fantasizing about getting the flu, so I could vomit my way to skinniness, even though science proves you just gain the weight back? Crazy talk.
What other option was there? Well, I went to the kitchen and heard an ad on the television playing. I live with my boyfriend's family (because I live in CA near the Bay Area where houses are half a million dollars and a basic apartment that allows pets is $1800 a month). Anyways, it was Nutrisystem. I usually completely tune out that kind of stuff because I am a pessimist and think the stories are all lies. But I was at a point where I was fantasizing about getting the flu, so yeah, my ears perked up. I Googled it and learned it was a food delivery service where you can still eat cookies, pizza, etc. Too good to be true, I thought. And I always felt like having to rely on getting packaged food delivered was an ultimate personal failure. But certainly this has to be better than getting the flu and vomiting my way to health. I googled Nutrisystem to see what independent critics thought of it. It appeared to be a pretty healthy option. I signed up.
Now I am a few weeks into it. Expect more posts that are REALISTIC about using Nutrisystem!
