Be a loser with me
by Karin L. Nauber
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| This is what I want to lose. |
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The problem of being overweight or being obese is a "growing" problem, no pun intended.
Local people don't need to be told these statistics, that's because most people in the county are overweight or obese, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
In fact, estimates by the MDH show that in 2004 there were approximately 59.5% of adults in Todd County who were overweight. In 2005, that number rose slightly to 60.2%. The most recent estimates (2007) show that 62.3% are either overweight or obese.
According to MDH the proportion of adults in Minnesota who are obese has grown from 10% in 1990 to 20% in 2001.
Since the problem is so prevalent and because I fit into those statistics, I thought it would be a good idea if I did something about it.
In talking about it, the idea was born for a community weight loss challenge called, "Be a Loser With Karin," which would be promoted by the newspaper.
You might ask yourself why I would want to be the center of such a challenge and submit myself to the embarrassment of people knowing how much I weigh.
My story
The main reason is because I have seen my health gradually worsen over the last several years as I have gradually packed on pound after pound.
Coupled with the pack or so a day cigarette habit that I had, I knew I was headed for disaster.
I quit smoking nearly two months ago. So now I figured it was time to take the next challenge, that of losing some of the weight I had gained since graduating from high school.
I actually weighed 160 pounds when I graduated from high school. I thought that weight was too much.
However, I maintained 160 for almost ten years after graduating.
I was an active person during my high school years. I grew up on a farm and you just can't help but be active on a farm. I was moderately involved in sports and I rode bike and walked for miles a day.
When I went to college, I continued to work physical labor jobs, was moderately active in sports and continued to walk several miles a day.
Around my third year of college, I started smoking. At that time, it didn't bother me. I could still walk several miles a day and work my two jobs.
I continued to work a physical labor job after college graduation, but my walking routine had shriveled up to next to nothing.
Because I was very active in my job as a housekeeper for a 26 bed mental health facility, I managed to still eat like a pig and maintain my weight at 160.
Then it happened. Probably the worst thing that can happen to a person like me. I got a promotion.
I know, a promotion is a good thing, but in my case, the promotion meant that I was not very physically active anymore. I sat a lot doing paperwork.
That first year wasn't too bad. I only gained 10 pounds.
I wasn't happy about the weight gain, but I rationalized that it was only 10 pounds and that should be easy enough to lose.
It wasn't. In fact, the harder I tried to lose the ten pounds, the more weight I gained.
It was like my own body was waging a war against me.
By the time another three years had passed I was up to 237 pounds and it seemed as if there would be no end to the weight gain.
You may be asking yourself how I remember my weight from 1992. The reason is simple, I was very compulsive about my weight. I sometimes weighed myself several times a day just to see if I had lost any weight.
Suffering from low self esteem every time I weighed myself, it just made me feel worse.
Up to the point when I reached 237, I was at the absolute heaviest weight I had ever been. When a person reaches a pinnacle, they remember it.
At that time, I was the program director of one of the group homes I worked for. I had a resident who wanted to lose weight also, so we became weight loss buddies. We encouraged each other when we failed to lose and bolstered each other's self esteem when we did lose.
That time I was fairly successful in losing weight. I managed to get down to 190 and stayed at that weight for the next four years.
I've never been especially good at avoiding temptation, however. And soon enough, I was starting to sneak a few pounds on.
The last five years have probably been the worst for me. I had gained close to 75 pounds and was nearly topping the scales at close to 300 pounds.
I was the person that "fat" jokes are told about.
According to my home scale which I weighed with tonight, I am 276 pounds as I write this.
So as you can see, I have a "huge" reason for wanting to lose weight.
In the next few weeks, we will be telling you more about the "Be a Loser With Karin" weight loss competition. Watch for more information on how to become a participant.
In the meantime, I keep thinking about how nice it was to be an overweight 160 pounder. I know I won't get back to that tomorrow, but maybe with several of you signed up beside me, we can battle the bulge together.