By Cousin Kim"I like the way she's sitting!" The woman next to me offered up her compliment with a smile as I sat with one leg folded under my buttocks. I was twenty five years old and I'd spent the previous year and a half losing weight with Weight Watchers.
At twenty four my mother was married, weighed 175 pounds, and gave birth to me. At twenty four I had stepped onto the Weight Watchers scale single, not pregnant, and weighing 210 pounds.
I wanted to loose twenty five pounds by my twenty fifth birthday, so imagine my surprise when I was told that I needed to lose sixty seven pounds even to reach the top of my weight range. I thought of that sixty seven pounds as the equivalent of a first grade child. When I lost my weight, I told people that I'd lost a first grader.
Fifteen years later, I returned to Weight Watchers weighing 173 pounds. I had less to lose than the first time, but an even greater reason for wanting to lose it. It was November and I'd be turning forty in January. I wanted to look great and feel healthier when I reached that milestone in my life. I wanted to submit my photo to Essence for the Ageless Beauty contest.
My first goal was to lose eight pounds by my birthday and then continue to lose toward my goal weight. By my birthday, I'd lost ten pounds. My face was narrower and I'd dropped two dress sizes. I danced like a twenty year old in a red silk dress and bronze heels all night long and it felt great.By July I'd lost a total of twenty four pounds. I exercise, I eat smaller portions, and I have more energy to dance like I've always loved to. For those who want to benefit from what I've learned over my fifteen year weight loss journey here are five tips to a healthier life.
1) Drink your water. Water helps the skin maintain its elasticity and youthfulness. People guess my age at 27 all the time even though I'm forty.
2) Eat more vegetables. They fill you up and have lots of vitamins.
3) Don't eat the same things all the time. The body likes variety.
4) Move the way you like. Don't go to the gym if that doesn't work for you. If you like to dance, do that for exercise.
5) You have to be willing to change the way you eat and exercise FOREVER. Think about your overall health rather than just focusing on weight loss.
Turning forty was a given, but becoming a healthier me was the ultimate birthday gift that I could only give myself. And yes, I did send that photo to Essence.