My entire life I had been thin.  My metabolism was awesome and I ate pretty much whatever I wanted.  I was active in sports and was hardly ever tired, though at some point everything changed.  I’m not even sure when.  Of course, aging and many other factors can contribute to weight gain.

Right around my fortieth birthday I was going through some particularly stressful times.  I am a nurse and the hospital I work for was going through a hostile corporate takeover.  Our entire upper management was ousted in one day and every day thereafter, there were more shocking changes.  I felt as if my job was in jeopardy almost daily.  I was completely stressed out!  I hadn’t worked at any other hospital for more than 16 years and my kids were still in elementary school.  The hospital I worked for  was the only hospital in my small community and I didn’t want to go to another hospital far away in the city, as more driving time would keep me from spending as much time with my kids.

Finally the day came, I received the “quit or be fired” ultimatum.  I reluctantly put in my resignation, as it seemed too shameful for me to be fired.  When I got home my husband told me I should have let them fire me, so I could get unemployment.  Who knew?  I had never been in a situation like that in my entire life, I’d only been praised for any job I did.  I was angry anyway.  My job loss had nothing to do with my performance. I realized I was being let go so that the new management could hire younger and cheaper nurses, but I had my pride.

It didn’t take long for me to find another job, and thank heavens it was a good job.  Unfortunately, it was in a Cardiac Cath lab in a hospital that was 45 minutes away on a good day. On a bad day I could be stuck in traffic for more than an hour on the way home.  This immediately became exhausting, as if working in a busy Cardiac Cath lab wasn’t exhausting enough.

My time in the evening with my kids was suddenly limited, if I was even available, I rushed to get them to their activities and I lived my life in a state of complete exhaustion.  Meals were whatever was fast and easy and I had no time for gym workouts or eating right, my weight began to climb slowly.

I was 10-15 lbs overweight, but I didn’t feel fat, I did feel lumpy.  Unfortunately, I really didn’t have time to worry about myself.  I had two kids in school and activities that needed their mom every minute she wasn’t at work.  I threw on my Supermom cape and continued to take care of my family at the expense of my own body.

Fast forward to now, I am 51 years old.  My kids are both out of the house and somehow my 5′ 8″ frame has 193 lbs on it.  I could ask, “how did this happen”, but I know exactly how it did.  I’m a snackaholic and I haven’t worked out consistently in the last 5 years.

I have halfheartedly tried a few diets in the last few years but nothing seemed easy for me to stick to.  I had lost all my post pregnancy weight by following a low fat diet, but that no longer worked for me, my body had changed.

I was watching TV one night, wondering sub consciously if I would really do “Hip Hop Abs” or if it would stay in the package right next to the DVD player and collect dust.  Then a commercial came on for Nutri system.  I am usually skeptical of celebrity endorsements, but Marie Osmond looks fabulous and she is just a little bit older than I am, which means her metabolism is not what it used to be either, so that seemed relevant.

I had been considering doing something similar for some time, I have even got on the actual websites, but I couldn’t make myself push the “buy now” button.  It seemed so expensive.  I have had close friends who have found success with this particular diet, so I knew it could work.  Finally, I decided maybe if I invested this money in myself, for once, I would finally find success. So it did it!

So join me on this journey.  I have decided to completely immerse myself in this.  I started the plan yesterday.  My first shipment of food arrived Thursday so I jumped right in and began on Friday.  Friday evening my frozen food arrived and I can’t wait for my first week to be over so I can try out some of the awesome looking snacks!

I know this first week is going to be the hardest.  Instead of cool snacks I get shakes and bars, which so far, have tasted good and seemed to do the trick as far as satisfying my hunger.

I am well aware that portion control is your friend when you are trying to lose weight, so I appreciate the fact that everything is portioned out for you.  If you are considering this diet, don’t be surprised when you open the double chocolate muffin for breakfast.  You know, that gorgeous chocolate muffin, the one that looks so awesome in all the pictures?  It is awesome, don’t get me wrong.  It tastes delicious, especially if you microwave it for 20 seconds.  Just be forewarned, when you open it and see it in all it’s teeny tiny glory you are going to say “really?”

So here we go, I am committed to make this work and you the readers are invited to come along with me as I update you to my progress.  It seems as if I have a long way to go, but if you all follow along with me I know I can do it.

So here is my beginning stats February 3 2017:

5’8′ 193 pounds, chest 43, waist 38, hips 43.  It makes me cringe, but things can only get better right?  I sure hope so!

Author Jean Marie Stanberry

Author of Laying Low In Hollywood, One World United, The Illusion Of Order, Blood, Sweat and Fears and Heartless-A Star is Dead

jeanstanberry.com