I remember my first real attempt at dieting. I was about 12 years old and doing Weight Watchers, 80s style. Anyone who subjected themselves to the same misery will remember the endless weeks of tuna, cottage cheese, skim milk and rice cakes. Repeat. Not much has changed in the 23 years since.
Despite being a competitive swimmer for many, many years, I was always a big kid. My weight was was regularly assessed and discussed, primarily, by my grandmother. One day, I received a copy of YM magazine in the mail, because Grandma decided that this would make a perfect birthday present. She also enrolled me in a self-improvement course for girls, with, I'm not kidding, an "instructor" named Barbie. In addition to educating us poor slobs on how to cross our legs and arrange a proper place setting, Barbie told us what our colours are (and which to avoid, at all costs!), and how to select three key pieces of clothing that would get one through even the apocalypse in style. I learned (and was regularly told) that pretty girls looked like Sharon from the Young & the Restless. Blech.
Fast-forward to present day and I find myself weighing the most I have ever had. I've experienced ups and downs, and until 2005, was at a weight that I was really comfortable and happy with. However, I've recently crossed a threshold that I swore I never would. You see, I lost a significant amount of weight (nearly 70 pounds) between 2001-2002 on the Winning Points / Weight Watchers system. It was like a part-time job and it was a hell of a lot of work, but it did work. I'll admit that I'm mostly terrified about this project: where am I going to be in a year? Can I really do this again? But there's much more than vanity at stake now: I don't sleep or move the same as I used to, and a day of shopping leaves my feet and knees in a hot mess. Quite frankly, I can't afford to do this. Plus it's way better when you do it with a friend.
So...let's try this again.
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