My Battle with the Bulge - Part 2

In Part 1, I left off at the part where I started a period in my life where I don't recall having to think much about my body image or my weight. This was when I started to play organized basketball heading into the 8th grade. What I remember most about the time that I played organized basketball was that my weight was not really an issue for me until my senior year of high school. I played so much basketball from my 7th grade summer through Spring 1999 that I really didn't think about what I ate or about my body. I worked out a lot, between conditioning for basketball, weight lifting and playing basketball during season and off-season.

I finally stopped growing for the most part and stopped around 5 feet 10 3/4 inches. I weighed somewhere around 175lbs in my junior year of high school (photo on left). I was the tallest girl on my basketball team and was known for my strength. I recall benching somewhere around 135lbs and doing squats around 280lbs or so. I loved weight training and while I was never a really fast or athletic athlete, basketball became my vice for maintaining my weight and making my weight and body image a pretty minimal part of my life.

In my senior year, however, things changed. I started driving and more and more responsibility was given to me. I was expected to pay for my personal items, including my car, car insurance, gas, and other car maintenance. So, I started working on top of the many other things in my life (student government, AP courses, applying to colleges, club basketball, captain of the Varsity squad, president of CSF, and a member of several other clubs). And before I knew it, food became a means of coping with the stresses and demands in my schedule. I wasn't able to condition as much and recall starting my senior year of Varsity basketball severely out of shape and my basketball coach (and possibly my teammates) disappointed. I just went through the motions of my senior year basketball season and when that ended in the spring, there was no more physical activity for me at all.

Before I knew it, I had packed on 15lbs. The start of how I got to where I am today.

I graduated in June 1999 and spent a very brief summer with my grandparents before I went off to college at Pepperdine University. And it became apparent why the concept of "Freshman 15" exists in the first place. Too bad, it was "Freshman 15" per semester for me.. and I managed a "Sophomore 15" and so on and so forth. It's clear why professional athletes and people in the military also gain a lot of weight after they've retired or are done with service. A lot of physical activity to little activity (or, in my case, none at all) and no conscious effort made to adjust your diet accordingly is an obvious consequence.

What was even worse for me was that college also came with a whole new way of living and life, which was a hard adjustment for me. Being away from friends and family. Starting a new schedule and way of studying and attending school. Working close to 20-25 hours per week at 5 different places of employment. Living with strangers, including having to share a room for the first time in my life (including my first roommate being Miss New Mexico candidate for the Miss America Pageant). And then, the root of all evil and the match that ignited much of my weight gain.. an ID card that served as an "All-You-Can-Eat" pass in the cafeteria that served amazingly (bad) food.

Breakfast went from a bowl of cereal and toast to ham, egg and cheese omelets, hash browns, loads of ketchup, a bagel with cream cheese, and some kind of sugary juice. Lunch went from a PB&J sandwich, chips, and fruit to cream of chicken soup in a bread bowl with a Caesar salad with loads of dressing, croutons and cheese. Dinner varied with hamburgers and fries or pizza or some other type of amazing food they served or I got off campus. All this feel good food to bring me comfort during a time that was so difficult for me.

And before I knew it, my pants were no longer fitting. I started a new addiction. Spending money on new clothes to make me feel better, but it included buying larger clothes. Larger clothes I then filled up and then required even larger clothes. An endless, demoralizing cycle.

My body seemed to plateau and my weight steadily stabilized at 275lbs - - 100lbs over me at my prime during my high school, basketball days.

And just when my body had slowed down and "normalized", I went through another change in my life again. I graduated, landed a full-time job and moved back home to start another chapter in my life, which of course brought on different kinds of stresses, transitions and schedules to adjust to.

To be continued...