170
The Columbian, The Portland Observer, and even my own blog posts have mentioned my weight loss to date as 170 pounds. You may have even noticed, this number has been at a stand still for months. Perhaps, I’m in the midst of a plateau. Although some health professionals say there is no such thing as a plateau — if you do the work and eat properly you see the results. Heavy sigh.
Okay, so maybe this is not a plateau, maybe I just needed a break. I’ve been in a space like this before so I haven’t hit the panic button because, well, I know my track record. Losing this amount of weight and battling obesity is no small feat. Eating well, practicing healthy habits by exercising is a relatively new lifestyle for me. I’m still trying to figure this all out. I know how to eat poorly and be inactive – that was my specialty for 30 plus years.
So here I am in a state of uncertainty about my next move. My next healthy move. I jab and I duck. I know, in order to get to the next level, I’ll have to find the next gear, kick things up a notch. My body is fighting me, maybe my mind is too a little. My goal is attainable and within reach. But, it will not come without hard work. None of this has come without hard work. I want this, I really want this. I want to kick my old childhood nemesis obesity to the curb. So here I go…Time to lace up my gloves and get back in the ring. This is only round nine of a heavyweight bout. I’ll have to do something dramatic to get myself to the next level. Rest assured, like, Rocky, I’ll go the distance.
Surely, I’m proud of where I am today — I’m happier, healthier, and 170 pounds lighter. But, I will not rest my laurels here. Like coach always tells me the best is yet to come. He’s right. My dukes are up.
Chrisetta Mosley
I am a product – and now a survivor – of childhood obesity. As a child, my family always told me that my extra weight was merely baby fat and I’d eventually grow out of it. I never did. Instead, my childhood is filled with memories of not being able to ride a bike, flattening its training wheels from being over the recommended weight, and avoiding P.E. classes by any means necessary. For years, I wore my fatness like a wounded soldier wears a Purple Heart - with pride. I owned the look. I dressed it up. I worked the room. There wasn't a skinny girl who intimidated me. I made sure my hair was laid just right. Nails polished. Outfits coordinated to the tee. Accessories to compliment every outfit. But everyone has a breaking point, and mine came in the spring of 2004 when I tipped the scale at nearly 400 pounds 388 to be exact. I was MISERABLE trapped inside of that body. I no longer wore my Purple Heart with pride. Rather, I was ashamed and frightened. Ashamed that I had allowed food to become my everything – frightened I would die because of it. Drastic times called for drastic measures... Today, I’m bound and determined to live a better, healthier, active lifestyle. I realize I’m no longer a passenger in my life, I’m the driver. I’m overcoming my inhibitions and I’m slowly but surely saying farewell to my old childhood nemesis, obesity. For once and for all, Farewell Fatso!