Friday, September 4, 2009

Week One - Jul 3 2009

My name is Lacie Carroll and I am fat! I have tried every fad diet, I have tried ignoring the fat and I am especially good at denial (I’m not that big…this shirt hides it…). I’m 34, married and have three kids, a full time job, am a student, and I have a mission. I have steadily gained 10 pounds a year for the last 10 years and I am ready to lose it. The problem is I had no idea where to start…until now.

Are you, perhaps the kind of person who accomplishes nearly everything they set out to do? I am a person not accustomed to failure. Failure is not in my nature in all areas except weight. I have tried to take matters in my own hands and failed…and tried again…and failed…tried…and failed. Which is why, when I turned my attention to my ever-growing weight problem, it was like being hit on the head by a grand piano while standing in a meadow. “Where the heck did that come from?” How could this be any harder than anything else I have attempted? This is an area in my life where I know the answers to the problem. YOU know the answers. WE ALL know the answers…but we just don’t seem to do it. We know we need to drink plenty of water, shop the perimeter of the grocery store and move our bodies…much more than we do. And yet we sit on the couch, eating our carb soaked food items out of a plastic bag, watching the Biggest Loser and make plans to start tomorrow.

This weekly article is my personal journey and battle against food addiction (and possibly couch addiction). My personal war on justification and rationalization. It’s my commitment to myself, my family and all of you to not give up. Quitting is easy. I once quit a diet after 1 day because I couldn’t stomach the freeze dried, pre-packed mail order food delivered to my doorstep. I’ve made promises to start walking every night after work and instead came home and took a nap. Every time I fail, it reinforces the “I can’t” attitude that’s kept me in a size 20 for years.

I realized the things I needed to motivate me into action. I needed the support of my family, a local facility to force me off the couch, the professional advice from people who are trained in fitness, nutrition and life style coaching, and above all, accountability to my friends, family, and the greater Lake Stevens area (if you’re gonna go…go big). Maybe we can start something here, a community dialogue or just a few folks to commiserate with the struggle of weight loss.

If your fat, I know you will relate, if your thin but think your fat, you will relate. If your thin you might find the personal turmoil interesting, much like the unspoken urge to see the carnage as you drive by the scene of a car accident. In the same light, I am making my collision with my personal demons public, in hopes that my journey will inspire others, and I hope to gain the encouragement from all of you also. Nothing is more motivating than the potential shame I would expect each of you to heap upon me should you see me scarfing down Oreo’s in isle three.

Starting weight: 242
Current weight: 238
Weight Loss: 4 pounds

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