So, there I was, crying in my doctor’s office in the spring of my junior year of college. The news wasn’t life threatening or requiring further tests. Nope, I was 19 years old and nearly 30 pounds overweight.
Dr. Knight had been my physician since I was a child and had helped me through chicken pox, acne and becoming a woman. I trusted him implicitly and I think he knew that. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Heidi, you really need to lose some weight.” The flood gates opened.
At age 16, I started working at a fast food burger joint and in addition to a lovely case of ‘fryer face acne,” I also started to pack on a few. I dropped out of high school after my junior year, got my GED and went off to college instead of languishing in my senior year.
College keggars and vast arrays of cafeteria carbohydrates turned that “freshman fifteen” into “sophomore twenty.” I smoked ½ pack a day, didn’t exercise and felt like crud. I tried all the diets including Weight Watchers, grapefruit and low carb; but I could just not stick to any of it.
Most folks around me (including myself) came at the problem from a beauty angle which further diminished my self-esteem and sent me to the feedbag; thus, the cycle continued.
Dr. Knight didn’t care what I looked like. He cared about me and my health. The advice he gave me that day changed my life.
“Eat whatever you want, only eat one third of it,” he said. ”Exercise at least three times a week and quit drinking so much beer.”
I started practicing moderation. I was picking up some extra course credits and there was nothing to do in Pullman, Washington in the summer. I cleaned up my bike, bought a bunch of fruit and vegetables, made lots of soup and drank iced-tea. I aced my Constitutional Law Classes, lost twenty pounds and have pretty much kept it off ever since.
That is, except for when I was pregnant. The summer I gave birth to my beautiful daughter, I topped off at 200 pounds. Once again, I thought of the advice Doctor Knight gave me – 1/3 portions, exercise 3 times a week, and beware the beer!
Moderation kicked in and here I am.
Live well, eat well
Heidi
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