'You cant grow cabbages here!'

The most recent numbers show that 2/3's of Americans are overweight, and 1/3 are obese (that would be my category).  Those numbers are staggering.  Everywhere you go, we are bombarded by images of pretty food, drinks, supersizing, frozen desserts, fast food, and all of these images are accompanied by groups of thin, pretty, handsome people. Food network (Hi, my name is Jennifer and I am a food network addict), the Cooking Channel, and countless others channels all cater to our food obsessions. And btw, have you ever watched Nigella?  Food & Sex.  In one show. 

As with any task that one undertakes, you are always hoping for encouragement from your friends and loved ones.  Little words of encouragement, some empathy for the chore ahead of you.  Dieting, I believe, is a special type of situation.  As a fat girl, I have other fat girl friends, I have skinny friends, and I have male friends.  Other heavy women, while being able to empathize with your situation, often are sabotagers in disguise. Since they are unable to lose the weight they want, they really dont want you to lose the weight either. Skinny women don't understand why you are heavy in the first place, after all. it only takes some discipline!!  And men, gosh, don't get me started.  I love my husband dearly, I really do, but this man can eat 24/7 and not gain a darn pound.  And when he wants to lose weight, he can lose 10 pounds in one week!  One!  Week! #hatehimbutstilllovehim

But back to the sabotagers...I honestly don't think they are aware of the things they say or do. They are the debbie downers in our lives. The ones who tell you that it just cant be done.  Its just not possible.  That you just cant grow cabbages here.  Because secretly, down deep, we don't want others to achieve their goals, when we cant achieve ours.  We don't want to people to be prettier, or thinner, or richer than we are.  The little comments, the 'Here, try this!', the invitations out to lunch, dinner, or coffee & dessert.  How come no one ever invites people to go for a walk together?  Why do our social interactions have to revolve around food? 

Hello, my name is Jennifer...

Ive thought about starting a blog for quite a while now.  I am avid readers of several blogs, but have often thought that I would not be as amusing, or witty as needed to get people to come back time and time again.  So I decided today that I am going to start this blog, and am totally OK if no one ever reads what I have to say.  Sometimes you just need an outlet.  A place to write things down.  A place to vent.  

As you might have guessed from the title of this blog, its going to be about weight loss, struggles, successes, and the life that I manage to have through it all.  Its not always pretty, its not always sane, and its not always healthy.  

I am the youngest of my siblings, but for all general purposes I might as well be an only child.  And for all general purposes I might as well be an orphan.  I might touch on these relationships further along.  Or I might not.  

I have two sons and have been divorced and amazingly found the love of my life and got married a second time.  My oldest child is starting high school in about 6 weeks.  OMG.  High school.  And my youngest just turned 13 a couple of weeks ago.   I am not sure where the time has gone, but I swear they were just running around the backyard naked playing in the hose.  *sigh*


I am a teacher and work with preschoolers with autism.  Im sure some of this will make it into my blog as well.  But for now I just want to say that EARLY INTERVENTION IS THE KEY!


I am originally from Vermont, and had a very relaxed and laid back upbringing, location wise.  The details of my childhood have obviously impacted my weight, and I am sure I will touch on these things as I go along as well.


But for now...

Hello, my name is Jennifer, and I had a waisted youth.