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Bridgette Wilson - The Journey

Long as I could remember.  I was the “cute, but chubby” girl.  In the first grade, I weighed 90 pounds!!  I was the one that adults would say, “She has such a pretty face, if only she could lose a little weight…..” 

 

Fast food was my obsession.  I loved French fries…..they were everything.  I never met a French fry I didn’t like.  When I was in Middle school, every Friday Mom treated us to somewhere special.  I would get off the bus and no matter what had happened that day, I knew we were going to go and eat later that evening.  There was a place where I grew up in Houston, called “Master Burger”.  They had small orders of fries: four for 25 cent with a coupon.  I would get the Master Burger with Cheese and four orders of fries and sometimes onion rings as well.  I would eat it all!! 

 

College was where I had my first wake up call to do something about my weight.  One of my mother’s friends was into fitness and losing weight.  She recommended I try Slim-Fast.  I did it for about two weeks and lost 14 pounds.  I was hooked.  So, then I started exercising, watching what I ate and really giving it my all.  I went from 194 to 130!!  I was wearing a size 8 and thought I was the queen of the world.  But the part I didn’t learn was HOW to eat and WHAT to do after the diet is over.    I was finally thinner, but very unhealthy.  I realized that you can’t live on shakes for the rest of your life.  So, before long, I put the weight back on and was heavier than when I first started out.

 

In spite of my weight challenges over the years, I met a wonderful man in the fall of 1997.  Shawn and I were married on May 20, 2000.   On our wedding day, I weighed 175, which I had accomplished to fit into my wedding dress.  Before I got pregnant, I had swarmed up to 210 pounds.  We had our daughter in 2004, which surprisingly, I only gained 30 pounds, so that took me to about 240 pounds.  After Kayla was born, I dropped 25 pounds just like that.  I thought to myself, hey, let’s try losing some more.  So, I did finally get down to 188 and was feeling pretty good.  I got on a 1500 calorie diet plan on my own.  I exercised and was feeling pretty good about my accomplishment.  But then, the yo-yo dieting started all over again for me.  I returned to my old habits and the weight returned as well.  I was back up to 215 pounds.

 

A job offer came to me in November 2006.  We moved to Austin, TX.   I continued with my bad eating habits, rebelling on being healthy.  I tried to convince myself that since I keep going back to the 200 pound range, maybe this is just where I was meant to remain.  

 

Finally, my turning point came.  I had to get self-employment insurance because my consulting firm was not going to be able to provide group insurance to the Texas employees.   So, that meant every consultant for my company working in Texas had to get their own insurance.  Once the agent found out how much I weighed, they put me in a high risk category, which meant my rate changed so drastically.  This was the wakeup call I needed.

 

On December 28, 2006, I started my weight loss journey, weighing 215 pounds.   For once in my life, I realized, it was an addiction with me and fatty foods.  I didn’t want to go back this time, but go forward.  I didn’t need to be skinny, just healthy.   I started changing the way I was eating and got into exercise.  After a year, I got to my ultimate goal of losing 92 pounds!

 

I have been maintaining my weight loss (between 121-124) since March 2008, which is over a year and half.  I am now a size 4-6 Petite in pants and skirts and small in tops!  I use to be a size 22W pants and XXL in tops.  This makes shopping so much easier and more fun now!

 

But the three things that are the key to my success are:

 

  • You must make it a lifestyle change.   
  • You can not return to old habits.
  • You must do it for YOU.

 

I have learned to find sensible alternatives and still get the same satisfaction as the high fat foods gave me.   Some people want to challenge me to see if I will stick to my new way of eating.  I use this as a tool to make me stronger.   I have adopted a new way of thinking and along with it came a new life.   

 

Before I go out to a restaurant, I research online for calorie and fat counts.  I know what to order before I get there.  I only eat out twice a month, and I make Smart Ones part of my lunch menu at least 3 times a week!

I have learned on my journey that you must plan or you will fail.  I have finally learned that I am a food addict and I have to be aware of that or I will end up back in the plus-size department.   But with a little planning ahead, I believe I will make it this time.    

 

The surprising conclusion is that I don’t even like the way those fatting foods made me feel.  I know that I didn’t like the way they made me look.   So, do I miss it??  Not one bit, because when I look in a mirror, I am so grateful to God for helping me to find a new life.

Comments

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  • WOW...this is such an inspiration...I read this article at work and could not wait to get home to read again.  I can relate to your past struggles.  Thanks so much for sharing

    motivated2010, 4 months ago | Flag
  • WOW you have done great. Great inspiration to us all.

    Starbright, 5 months ago | Flag
  • THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENCOURAGING WORDS! 

    Paula Washburn, 5 months ago | Flag
  • I  just joined and yours was the first one I read.  I'm addicted to food and have been all my life.  Your story was very inspiring....Thank You!  May God Bless you in staying fit and healthy!!

    nanniereese, 5 months ago | Flag
  • I'm a life time member. I became a member around 1975. Went from 180 to 155 felt great. I was a smoker. as the years went on I gained the weight back and some. Then in 1990 or 1991 I went back to ww at 222. I lost 80lbs. and felt great. Before that I quit smoking and that is when I gained the weight again..After I got to my gold again I started to gain it back again. Then I went back to smoking but I still kept gaining. I am a chocolate freek. I also love fried food. Chinese is one of my favorite places.. In Nov. of 2006 I quit smoking again, started to gain again. By the end of Dec. I weighed232 so I started to lose weigh on my own. Kind of going off of the old ww way. In 10 months I lost 32lbs. Then to top it off I had a heart attack. I had a stent put into my heart. I was mad that I had quit smoking lost 32lbs then had a heart attack, so I went back to eating. Then on Dec. 9, 2009 I ended up back into the hospital and had another stent put in. Of all things it was our 37th wedding anniversary. By the first of Jan. 2010 I decided to go back to ww. I joined again on Jan. 5, 2010 at 246lbs. This is now April 16, and I have so far lost 25lbs and am feeling great so far still have a ways to go and I pray to god that I make it this time.  Hopeful from Michigan

    Lyndell, 5 months ago | Flag

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