My Battle of the Bulge

      My entire life I've had to fight to maintain a healthy weight.  I've never been extremely overweight, but I've never been exactly skinny either.  I was a fairly active kid; playing sports pretty much all year round.  Usually I played the positions bigger kids tended to play.  In played catcher in baseball and for football I played offensive guard.  The closest I came to being at the weight I wanted was after completing Marine Corps boot camp.  However, the weight came back soon after I completed my initial training.  I've stayed within the weight standard for eleven years, but I have always needed to have my body fat measured every six months using the tape measure method.  Until this year when I signed up for Weight Watchers, and lost over 25 pounds which enabled me to officially weigh in under my maximum allowable weight.

     For those who do not know what the tape measure method for body fat measurement is I will briefly explain.  If a male Marine weighs over his max allowable weight a tape measure is used to determine the circumference of the neck and waist.  The difference between the neck and the waist measurement is looked up on a chart and will give a value.   This value will give an indication of health of the Marine.  If the value is over 18 for males under 27 years of age, or 19 for those over 27 then the Marine is considered overweight.  During my career I have always been within standards using the tape measure method.  However, just having to be measured is usually looked at in a negative light by superiors.  Even though I have very respectable physical fitness scores, certain individuals will always view having to be measured as a bad thing. 

     

     As I stated in the beginning I have always wanted to get down to a healthier weight and could never figure out quite what I needed to do.  I had taken various classes offered by the fitness centers on base.  These included better ways to exercise and nutrition tips to eat better.  I trained to what I believed a sufficient level, and tracked the calories that I ate on a daily basis, but nothing seemed to really work.  I had convinced myself that I'm just supposed to be this way.  Since I can perform my duties and maintain the standard I should just be happy.  However, I didn't know that a TV commercial would actually set me onto the path to reaching my weight goal.

      

     While I was home on leave this past September I was watching TV with my family when I saw an ad for Weight Watchers (WW) Online for men.  The commercial piqued my interest and I decided to do some research.  I had heard of WW in the past; even my mother had been on the program before.  I had always associated the program for women and never really thought about seeing what it entailed.  My research into the program details really struck a chord in my mind.  I discovered WW is not a diet program like Paleo or Atkins, and the premise is very similar to what I was already trying to do. 

     I decided to sign up for the program and committed to the program this past September.  Based on my height the system determined I needed to lose 40 pounds to get to my ideal weight.  I was taken aback by the number on the screen.  I knew I wanted to be lighter but I never considered myself to be 40 pounds overweight!  The program takes the carbohydrate, protein, fat, and fiber content of a product to determine its point value.  I was given a daily value of points to budget throughout the day and a weekly amount of points to use as I saw fit.  The weekly points could be used for special occasions, or if I wanted just something extra on any day.  I learned about what a proper serving size for a food is.  Instead of just slapping peanut butter on toast in the morning, I learned a tablespoon is about the size of my thumb.  No longer was I just counting calories; I used points in their place to get a better level of nutrition.

My favorite WW Snack!  Only 3 points per serving

      With my new-found knowledge of correct eating habits and the weight watchers point system I started to slowly lose weight!  I had more energy throughout the day and was less hungry.  Most importantly, I began losing about 2 pounds per week on average and was beginning to notice changes in the mirror.  Since I wasn't following a "diet" I was still able to eat what I felt like, but I was now eating the correct amount.  I was slowly beginning to realize why my prior eating habits were ruining my efforts at dropping the weight.  Certain items which I thought were healthy were not as healthy as I had thought.  I discovered all this because I now had "someone" watching over my shoulder and educating me as I went along.  Losing a little bit of weight each week I slowly climbed down to my goal weight.

     As of today I still have not reached my goal weight but I am well over half way.  Last week I officially weighed in under my maximum weight for the first time in my career.  No one else in the room knew, but I had slight smile when I saw where the scale ended up.  I'm still pushing on and will get to my official goal weight, and I will slowly get there in the months ahead.   I wrote this not as a commercial for WW, but in hopes of maybe helping someone who is in the position I used to be in.  With a little dedication, and most importantly education, anyone can achieve a healthier lifestyle.