This is an important journey.

I received a phone call a few minutes ago from an old friend. We reconnected on facebook recently and she has been following my journey. We'd both been pretty proud of our curves in the past. Calling ourselves PHAT( Pretty Hot and Thick) . So I kinda of dreaded having the conversation  with her regarding my weight loss journey.
We made small talk but when the conversation turned to her health, she had horrific news. At five feet tall weighing two hundred and eight pounds her health is failing. She has has type two diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and her joints hurt when she walks. This woman is thirty years old and dreams of doing so many wonderful things. She is a social worker and has a beautiful spirit that matches her amazing smile. With a husband and a daughter to take care of, it is a scary  that these preventable ailments are endangering her life right now.
So when she asked me what made me want to change. I explained that I wanted a long life, so that I could see my children grow and develop into the men. That I was tired of being tired,sluggish  and out of shape. That I wanted run and walk with my children without being tired and out of breathe. Over the years I let overweight become obese, again and again. I would diet lose weight and work out for a period of time. Then abandon it because it was too hard.  I thought  I was big boned and that being the correct weight would not look right on me.  I maintained thoughts that kept me chained to a body image that I was unhappy with. I listened to people in my life who wanted me to be happy. So they lied to me and told me, that I was not "really" fat, just thick.
The reality is that I made unrealistic goals and expectations for myself when it came to weight loss and  could not meet them . So I quit when I realized that I could not continue and  reach my goal.  Knowing that I am a motivated and determined person. This issue bothered me non stop, that I failed to get my weight in order. So I realized  when I was pregnant with my son, that I needed to change. I had to go see a a cardiologist  and they found some minor blood flow issues with my heart. They doctor said  in a very nice way that, I was too fat. He explained that once I had the baby and lost weight I would be fine. To imagine that my weight would endanger my heart devastated me. It was that scary moment that catapulted me to want to change FOREVER!
So I am not on a diet, I committed to a lifestyle change. That is why I call this a journey because I know there will be up and downs. I don't think for a minute that this will be easy but I am in this for life. Each of us have different struggles in our lives. This is mine and I am not ashamed of it but I am doing something to change it. I asked her permission to include her in this blog post. So if your reading this, I hope that you are ready for  a change because I am going to call you and nag you constantly. Get ready!!!