The Devil

Three and a half years ago I started on a journey. This journey has been one of the toughest journeys anyone would ever face. The weight loss journey. 

Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight (isn't that everyone?), will tell you it is a journey. A long, tiring, exhaustive trek to a goal. That goal sometimes is unattainable. We set those goals with the hopes of at least having them within reach. Many times I lost weight.....ALMOST met the goal only to gain more weight than I lost. I've starved, been a glutton, drank my meals, everything! But it wasn't until 2011 that my life turned. I looked the devil in the face and dared him to come up against me and my team.

My team consisted of many people. Some whom I had just met and some who I had known a long time. You always heard the saying "never swim without a buddy". Well, the weight loss journey could be summed up the same way. Never try it without a buddy. In my case, several buddies.

My biggest and most handy supporter is my husband. While we hardly ever get along, this surgery was the one time I could fall into his arms and let him carry me. I'm a very strong willed woman but I learned that sometimes you can't fight a war without some help. He was so good to help me by not eating the stuff I loved in front of me while I was learning a different way to eat. He was good to gently touch my hand when he knew I was mindlessly eating too fast. He could look at me in a loving way that wasn't accusatory and I didn't feel shamed as I had so many times in the past. Which leads me to "the devil".

The old red devil. Many of you know what I'm talking about. I have blogged in here about it. It is red and can make a girl fat in an instant! Coca-Cola aka COKE. It WAS such an addiction to me that I never thought I would be able to put it down to never pick it up. When the psychologist said she couldn't believe how many "sodas" I drank in one day I figured I had been found out. I promised her right then and there once approved and surgery complete I would never drink another. Well, I haven't! I've kept my word. I hadn't given it much thought until the other day. There was a bottled coke sitting on my bosses desk and I walked right by it several times. It wasn't until lunchtime that I realized I had passed it and not yearned for it. I did the happy dance right there.....ok, maybe not RIGHT there but in my mind I was dancing and singing. 

Have I broken the addiction? I don't know. I know that I am watching one of my best friends struggle with her surgery and it has given me a boost. I do know that if I give in, the coke wins and I, ladies and gentlemen, am not a loser! 

I am going to keep on keeping on. I'm walking this journey every day. Some days it is stormy and sometimes sunny but never dull. I will say work is the worst time for me. If you are looking to lose some weight look at what you eat while at work. It will amaze you I'm sure. If you are looking to lose weight, check your support system. Are they helping or hurting you? And by all means....kick the can! Kick the devil to the curb! Ditch the soda and watch what a little water can do for you.