The brightly lit room evoked a sterile, hospital like feeling. Several cushioned chairs sat in a circle and my stomach had a weird, twisted feeling like it always did on roller coasters. My fit kicked back and forth persistently and my clammy hands clasped together, thumbs twiddling. People began filling the room and the roller coaster in my stomach picked up speed. A voice said, “Hello everyone! Welcome to the weekly Weight Watchers meeting!”
As a ten-year-old fourth grader I am confident that I was the youngest member of the group. I remember begging my mom to take me with her. The other girls at school were so much thinner than I was, prettier than I was. Thinner obviously meant prettier, right?
I was a latch-key-kid and although I was active in sports year-round, this is a contributing factor to the pounds I packed on. My brother and I would come home from school and make homemade doughnuts, hotdogs, pizza rolls, chips and salsa; whatever junk food we could find.
My parents never kept a lot of junk food in the house, but when they did Sean and I managed to ingest every last bit in a day or two.
“Mom,” I asked one day, “I’m bigger than the other girls because I just haven’t lost my baby fat yet, right?”
My mom must have sensed the hopeful gleam in my eye as she gently said, “Oh sweetie, the important thing is that you learn to eat right and take care of yourself. Everyone is made a little bit different, but we can treat what we have well.”
That’s when I begged her to take me with her to the next Weight Watchers meeting. Having the opportunity to indulge after school counteracted my parent’s attempts to treat my siblings and I proper nutrition. It was no one’s fault, really. It was just an opportunity to create a healthy lifestyle from an early age.
I only went to a few meetings, but my mom and sister took it upon themselves to teach me about healthy meals, snacks and portions. I had the exercising down, with all the sports I played.
At first the devastation of losing my favorite foods hung over me like a storm cloud, but my dedication to becoming healthy soon swept this away. Did you know that peanut butter, celery and raisins combined actually creates something delicious? “Ants on a log” was what my sister called them. Fruit, vegetable and protein combined into some kind of healthy snack.
Apples and low-fat caramel dip was a favorite of my mom’s. A little bit of peanut butter, cinnamon sugar, or honey could be used a substitute for a variety of creations.
You know those nasty, orange sweet potatoes? Turns out if you slice them and put a small amount of olive oil and garlic salt on them they can become a healthy French fry.
I became obsessed with creating new and healthy combinations. In fact, I still find myself reading cookbooks, articles on power foods and the latest in nutrition and exercise. I did learn that junk food is okay in moderation, as is every food item, and that it can be important to indulge once in awhile.
My mom and my sister taught me valuable nutritional tools to help teach me a lesson I still strive for today.
It’s not all about size or weight, it’s about treating the body you have well.
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