My Happy Weight

So, I’ve been thinking lately. I stress out so much these days about my weight…

I’ve gotta lose ten more pounds…I never made it to my goal…

And I keep doing all these different things to lose that extra 10 pounds:

• a personal trainer
• re-joining Weight Watchers
• fad diets (à la Sacred Heart)
• Isagenix

And they all work. And then I go back to "normal" eating — meaning that once in a while, yes, I do indulge a little bit too much. I make brownies and eat six. Or I get popcorn at the movies. Or I have seconds of pasta. Whatever.

Look, I know I could lose that extra 10 pounds, and probably 10 more. For sure I could. But do you know what I’d have to do to maintain it? I do. I’d have to watch every morsel of food…be on top of every mouthful. Say "no thanks" to popcorn at the movies. And I’d have to exercise a lot more. It’s not that I’m sedentary (I walk a lot, I go to yoga every week, I ride my bike places…), but I’m not a gym bum either — when could I be? I have young children, a husband, a job, a house and hobbies. And unless I also have an extra 2 hours in each day, I don’t have time to exercise more than I do now. Plus I don’t like it that much. Given the choice between going to the gym and scrapbooking, I’ll take scrapbooking every time.

You know, when all is said and done, I have done really, really well. It’s been almost exactly two years now, and I’m more than 40 pounds less than I was when I started. Sure, I have been 10 pounds lighter than I am now, but I kinda think I might have found my happy weight. It may not be exactly within the Weight Watchers ranges, and I might be on the higher side of a healthy BMI, but I like how I look in clothes, and more importantly, I like how I feel.

Here’s a before and after for you:

That’s me about the time that my second child was about a year old. I weighed nearly the same as when I was nine months pregnant with her!

And here I am a few weeks ago.

I like where I am. I don’t want to have to think about absolutely everything I eat, or give up a hobby in favour of daily workouts. I want to make mostly healthy choices, most of the time. I actually think I’m happy to be where I am. I’d rather enjoy life most of the time, without worrying too much, and then work for a few weeks to lose 5 or 10 pounds again every six months or so, than have to be vigilant all the time in order to maintain an "ideal" weight, that isn’t necessarily so ideal after all.