The Weighting Game - May 2012 article

Welcome to my first “The Weighting Game” column! First, let me start by saying I am NOT an expert in health and fitness. I’m merely an active participant with plenty of help from other people to improve my health. Most specifically, kudos must go to my personal trainer Molly Piercy who has been an amazing coach and source of motivation. Anyone who has experienced any weight loss at all knows that at some you start to hear “what are you doing?” or “how did you do it?” Translation: “I want to lose weight too. Tell me how.” And it’s those questions that inspired this column from a “real woman’s” perspective.

There are two reasons for this column. First and foremost I want to be able to share my struggles and successes to educate and inspire other women who are fighting the weight loss battle. Second, I started my health and wellness journey this year by being very public about it as a way to hold myself accountable. There’s no turning back once you post “I’m on a diet” on Facebook. Everyone starts to watch you and they really watch you once success sets in. I figured since I am already so public about it I might as well write a column too. This column is more of journal which chronicles my experience. Hopefully it inspires and educates others. If you’re looking for the “silver bullet” of weight loss, this column isn’t for you. This is about committing to hard work.

As of the end of April, I’ve lost nearly 50 pounds since January 2, 2012. Like many women, my weight has fluctuated all of my life. And for the first time in my life, at age 44, I feel like I truly understand what works and what doesn’t work for me. I’ve made a conscious commitment to make a “lifestyle change” versus “go on a diet” and that mentality has made a world of difference. In late 2011 I was dealing with an extremely stressful and bad experience that affected me emotionally and mentally. Already overweight, I gained more and my blood pressure started to skyrocket. I was overwhelmed with feeling like I had no control over this bad experience, which I truly had no control over.  Aside from my physical health concerns I was motivated for the opportunity to have control over something, anything. The light bulb went off and I said to myself, “I have full control over health. No one can mess with that.” And so the journey began.

One thing that kick-started me were Body by ViSalus shakes, a meal replacement shake. My friend and hair stylist Brittney was selling them for extra money and made one for me. They were delicious and I saw an opportunity to start my health campaign. Not only did I like the shakes, but I liked the company and the opportunity to also sell these shakes. Not that I had time to start a full-time job selling shakes since I already own a business, but I thought “What the heck? If others buy shakes from me, it couldn’t hurt.” Quickly I realized that if I expected others to buy shakes I would really need to hunker down and truly commit to losing weight to show that the shakes work and that’s when I hired a personal trainer. 

I know what some of you are thinking, “Personal trainer? I can’t afford a personal trainer.” Well, neither can I. But if you want something bad enough you find a way to pay for it. I knew myself well enough to know I couldn’t do this without help. I knew I needed to change everything about my health and thinking. Drinking two shakes a day and eating one meal wasn’t going to be enough. Maybe initially it would be, but I knew I needed to change my behavior and thought process. As president of my own company I really wanted someone to tell me what to do since I spend most of my day making all of the decisions at work. I wanted to be managed and coached by someone else instead of having to coach myself!


This blog is a re-published article from the May issue of South Carolina Woman Magazine.