Hello, I'm Mary!

I'm glad to meet all of you! I just happened to discover this Christmas Crunch Challenge by reading comments from another blog, so I emailed Dani and was invited to join in!

Just a little history...I never had a weight problem growing up. I was never skinny, but I was never overweight, no bulges or rolls anywhere, and I never thought about what I was eating. My adult weight averaged about 125 lbs. I ate a normal,healthy diet, with an occasional snack, but never binged on sugar....unlike the way I eat now. I start my day with at least two or three cups of tea, dosed up with 2 teaspoons of honey! Talk about a sugar high...then a sugar loooowwww...a real energy drainer and weight gainer.

After my son was born, I gradually began gaining weight, til I hit 140, and felt very fat. Then in the early 80's, I went on a high protein diet, went down to 116 lbs....I'm 5'5"...and wore a size 4. Within a year or so, I had gone into menopause at age 36, and shortly after that, I developed hypothyroidism. By 1991, I underwent a hysterectomy and thyroid radiation...two big contributors to weight gain, and difficult to control. I'm still struggling with balancing these two hormones...along with extra pounds on the saddlebags, I have to deal with hot flashes, a mustache and thinning hair to boot!

Yesterday, I thought perhaps I'm better off accepting this out of shape body, buying a new wardrobe, and be happy about who I am, extra pounds and all.

Then I remembered why I can't do that. I have some major reasons for wanting to be healthy; my special needs daughter and my husband who is legally blind from retinitis. BTW, I have to tell you that I've never met so many women who are married to pastors! I went to a bible college and set out to marry a pastor, but my husband is a faaaaaaaarrrrr cry from being a anything like a pastor...but he's a great husband, and we will celebrate 39 years of marriage in a couple of weeks!

Even with the extra care that DH and DD need, which is very stressful most of the time, I have a wonderful life, and I'm not complaining. The only thing I want to change is the number on the scale, and how I feel physically...I want to feel good, really good, with energy and the ability to see my toes past my tummy, for my body to feel a little lighter than a two ton truck driving at a snail's pace through the hallways of my house, to bend over and tie my running shoes...oh, if I could only run..sigh. The point is, I want live a long and healthy life, to be here for them AND for me. They aren't the reason I'm overweight...but I do use them as an excuse to neglect my own needs. Where did I learn that I couldn't take care of myself, too?

I don't want this to be too long...but I do want to say that my biggest weight loss challenge is to renew my mind. This isn't about hunger or dieting for me ...its about how I think. The poor eating habits I've developed and the lack of physical exercise I blame on not having time are just excuses, but it is really the thought process, that self talk, that needs to change.

Thanks to Dani for bringing us together...I'm anxious to hear what programs you're using, and I'll share mine. I know mine work...they've worked beautifully in the past, but as soon as I stopped working it, it stopped working for me.

I'm really looking forward to all of us getting healthy and slender together. Let's do it!


God bless you all!

Mary