Who is that FAT chick in the photo?

I haven’t been fat my whole life. I was average for a short time in the mid 80s. But for the rest of my 40 something years I’ve been fat, fatter and fattest. Right now I’m fattest. I’m the girl you look at and wonder, “How did she let herself get so fat?” The short answer is this: I ate too much and moved too little. And the bigger I got, the harder it was to move so I just didn’t.

February 2010

One thing you need to understand about me is that when I look in the mirror I don’t see myself as fat as I am. And when my husband, my magnificent Eddy, when he looks at me, his loving eyes make me feel like a beauty. It’s not until I see myself in a picture that I’m startled and say, “Whoa. Who is that FAT chick in the photo?”

So, a few weeks ago I was with my MD and he was shocked, literally taken aback, when he saw the three digit number representing my weight. He said he knew I was heavy, but he had no idea I was that heavy. He said maybe it was time we talked about surgery. As in bariatric surgery. GASP! Surgery? Oh no, no, no. Surgery is not for me. Other people, sweet loving family members or friends trying to be helpful, had suggested surgery before (via my parents, or my husband), and I paid no attention, but this time it was official. It was my most trusted medical professional telling me it is time to consider surgery. When I left his office, for the first time in my life, I truly realized: This. Is. Serious.

We’ve already established that I won’t have surgery. And we’ve recognized that I got this fat because I ate too much and moved too little. Well, this should be easy, then. Right? All I have to do is eat less and move more. I can do that.

There will be challenges. There will be temptations. There will be cravings. Some days will be a breeze, but others days will be a full on war with the fat chick in the photo. But when she tells me that one container of Ben & Jerry’s won’t hurt, I’ll have to shut her up, then put on my sneakers. Yeah! I can do this! I CAN DO THIS!

Over the next few days I am going to establish a set of goals. Weekly goals, monthly goals, yearly goals. I’ll share those goals and record my successes (and my frustrations) here on the blog.

My ultimate goal is to weigh less than Eddy. I thought a great deal about what I would do first if I weighed less than Eddy and I decided that it would be totally cool if he could pick me up and twirl me around a dance floor. Something sexy like Latin dancing. Hence my Blog name: The Mambo Project.

So here it begins. The Mambo Project. My life changing quest to eat less and move more so I can stop being the fat chick in the photo.