Starting

When I got married, the first time, I put on weight because I was content. My ex husband didn't like it, so much, and would put a sort of pressure on me to lose weight: but, as anyone who has done this knows, it never works if you don't do it for yourself. I did lose weight, and then as things went wrong, I put it back on again. It was never a problem to me, just that I was aware of a change in my body. I sort of did a gentle series of rises and falls over the next year or so.

When I moved to California in 1997, though, the problem really began. The first few months brought events like stress and sickness that caused my weight level to drop, but after my gall stone operation in March 1998, the weight started to pile on. The U.S.A. is a veritable repository of good food and good living, and the hamburgers and sedentary lifestyle really did help the pounds to pile on. It's an insidious process... it creeps up on you unawares, or you pretend not to notice, or not to care... but then something happens that makes you say "Enough!" Often it's a cruel comment, like "gee, when is the baby due"... but in my case it was the fact that I could not get my biker jeans on over my hips!

Deciding and starting

Because I was a new member, I was very warmly welcomed, something that I guess is pretty vital to those timid and embarrassed newcomers who creep in wondering if anyone will blame them for their weight gain. I was weighed, and found out that I now weighed 170 lb... ouch! For my 5'4" frame, that was a heck of a lot. With a target weight of 140lb duly chosen, I was suddenly a member, ready and waiting to receive my little motivational stars and bookmarks. Each week we would file past an inspiring notice board of "before and after" photos as we went to weigh - a really good tactic!

I found the programme easy enough to follow - a combination of elements are used to calculate "points", which are allocated based on your weight, and combined with education on healthy eating and habits. I was not too hungry, but there certainly was an adjustment; habits, foods, all had to be looked at and counted: it was fun for a while, but does become a chore and you need to look strongly at your commitment if you will succeed. Every week though, I either lost or stayed even; there was a long period of stuckness and one or two minor gains, but you do expect those, and I was one of a few who managed to lose through both Thanksgiving and Christmas! I also noticed mood swings, so weird in fact that I was asked if I mightn't be pregnant! Don was very understanding, but the hardest part was reconciling my diet with his diet - two very different creatures.

By the New Year the weight loss was noticeable in my waistline, and a couple of months later I actually had a waist!

Carrots and problems

I made a few acquaintances, and was amused to find that at least three other British ladies were members besides myself! Going there weekly, I had become used to familiar faces, and characters, of which there were more than a few.

But the turning point came for me in May... and that was a turning point for the worse. May was when we moved home, and the time both up to there and after there was very busy and chaotic. Around that time my job, which had kept me out of the home, just sort of faded, and as a result I was at home all day every day, with a fridge full of nibbles. Bit by bit the motivation faded, and when the programme offered a "liberty" option I went on it, which meant I was not going to meetings every week. Bad move!

For a while I maintained my weight, then all sorts of stuff suddenly kept getting in the way of both counting points and going to meetings, and my last meeting in the first lap of the journey was on July 3rd 1999. I weighed in at 152lb, a long way from where I started, but there was a long way to go. I went back for what I thought was a just-in-time meeting, and then discovered that I had actually "lost" my membership due to not showing up in time. As I had put on weight, I figured I would try again. And immediately came down with the flu.