The Beginning

June 20, 2010

Hello Blog Readers!

Welcome to the Carla/Carla Project Blog. As one of the countless number of Americans who are morbidly obese, I am taking matters into my own hands. Without the help of surgeries or “magical diets,” I will be working to recover from my food addiction and to gain a healthier lifestyle for the first time in my adult life. Over the course of the next two years – yes, it will probably take that long – I will be changing my eating habits and my lifestyle to become an active and healthy woman before the age of 50.

First, let me tell you a little about myself. I am 46 years old and have been struggling with weight issues since I was about 13. 33 years – the entire lifetime of Jesus! I have decided to permanently get off my own cross of excess weight and a sedentary lifestyle for several reasons:

1. I have a 3 ½ year old daughter, a husband, and a mother who need me;
2. I have been over 300 lbs. for more than a decade;
3. I am in danger of some pretty serious health risks if I don’t do something to reverse my weight within this time period;
4. I need to stop worrying about everyone else and dedicate some energy to helping myself.

I realize that these facts could be a little horrifying for those who know and love me. Believe me, I have done my best to hide them over the years. But I believe that my first step toward being real in this battle is to admit my food addiction and where I am today, so that I can move on. It could be followed with thoughts of how I could let this happen, etc. I don’t know the answers to those questions, it just did. So, like me, you will need to just move on, accepting the facts and looking toward the future.

My story isn’t unique. There are millions of Americans who came to the same end albeit by different routes. We all eat for our individual reasons, but the point is that we eat to substitute for something that feels missing or out of control. My issue was more on the side of control. There are many things in life that we cannot control such as work situations or circumstances, and family illnesses, just to name a few. My sense of duty has also made me feel that I need to be available and be all things to all people – except myself. My illogical logic said that I didn’t have to set controls on my eating habits because there were so many controls and limits in other parts of my life. (I realize that makes no sense, but it really is where my head is/was.) I now realize that I need some boundaries.

So, I start on my journey of finding a balance in life and ways to cope with day-to-day living that are healthier.

My stats:


Beginning:
Height: 5 ft. 7 in
Weight: 307 lbs (according to my bathroom scale)
Size: 24 W (that's 24 Womens)

Goal
Height: 5 ft. 7 ½ in. (yes, I hope to gain a ½ inch in better posture)
Weight: Certainly under 200, final ending weight to be determined
Size: A minimum of a size 14 that is not followed by the letter “W”

My first goals are:
1. Set an exercise schedule, start it, and stick to it (Mondays and Thursdays after work and Saturday mornings for 45 minutes at Curves)
2. Identify my support group and set up this blog
3. Identify my food triggers or why I want to overeat
4. AVOID ALL DRIVE THRUS – no good comes of a drive-thru for me, so I have set a line in the concrete that I am not to ever go through a drive thru again – If I want to eat something from a restaurant that includes a drive-thru, I will need to order it out in the open, in public for all to see instead of “closet eating” within the security of my car.
5. Investigate the resources available through Overeaters Anonymous and consider my participation in their groups, if available.

So, I’m off. I hope to post to this blog at least a few times per week and hope that you are motivated to pursue a healthy lifestyle with me. I invite any and all positive interactions with you, blog readers. I hope to do myself, and you, proud.