Celebrating Loss

We're all celebrating Mel's big loss.  No, not the boyfriend,  he's actually quite nice!  Mel has lost 9kgs and that is worth celebrating.  Like many, Mel's story is fraught with twists and turns. 
She was always thin and in her early teenage years under weight.  We would tempt her with 'naughty food.'   Not a smart move as we realised later.  Mel started taking meds for her mental health eighteen years ago and at the age of twenty three she went up five dress sizes in twelve months. 
This is where her story begins.  Her meds increased her appetite and she bowed to it's temptation. She devoured sugary, chocolate covered treats  to satisfy her hunger.  She joined Jenny Craig and went along to her weekly weigh in and consultation with a chocolate bar sticking out of her bag. The consulting staff and I laughed and rejoiced when Mel lost weight.  Before long the chocolate bars won and she stopped weighing in. Since then she has tried;  Light & Easy, protein shakes and a range of pre-packaged meals resulting in little success.  All seemed lost. 


I have lost 9kgs - the weight of this pot!

Mel is just over 160cms and her weight peaked at 100kgs.  Her GP warned her she is at risk of heart attack and stroke, I warned her about hip, knee and foot problems when carrying too much weight.  She didn't care and kept scoffing those chocolate bars, KFC and sugary drinks.
I can't remember what motivated Mel to join Weight Watchers, but I knew weekly meetings would work for her, she needs ongoing structure and encouragement.  She joined at 98.6kgs in March.  It has not been an easy journey and her weight continuously yo-yoed but if we were to graph her weekly results it has consistently gone down. 
I weighed one of Merv's pot plants under the patio
and it weighed as much as Mel has lost.  I asked her to pick it up.  'Oh Mum,  it's soooo heavy', she moaned.  I pointed out she used to walk around with that extra weight on her. The truth finally sunk in; she can see the change in her own thinking and her clothes are looser now.  I am very proud of her achievement.