I'm sending out a serious plea.

I've lost 60 pounds. I've gone from an 18W/20 to a 7/8. I'm very happy with my weight loss, but here is a truth that goes along with that weight loss.

I was looking at myself in the mirror two days ago wishing and wondering why my rear and thighs weren't diminishing with all the work I've been doing. They are a great deal smaller, but not where I thought they should be by now. Then I noticed the wrinkles in my skin on my thighs and where my bum meets my upper leg. Not rolls, mind you, but wrinkles. I've seen enough plastic surgery shows to know what they signify: extra loose skin.

I pulled the skin up and I have amazing legs! You just can't see them because of all the loose skin hanging over them.

Look, I wish that when I was a kid and my eating habits were being formed that the general public knew that fast food was full of fats. Honestly, the unhealthy affects of fast food have come out since I've started having children. I mean, when I was fifteen who knew that a Big Mac was really that bad for you? We knew it wasn't healthy, but heart attack on a bun? I guess there were some people who knew, but the information wasn't out there like it is now. I wish I hadn't been allowed to eat entire bags of cookies or extra large fries or tons of dip and chips. I wish I hadn't been allowed all the soda and ramen noodles I could ingest.

I wish that as a younger adult I had taken the time to really learn these things. I wish I had taken it more seriously when I hit 180. I wish I had done the research then. If I had, I wouldn't have what I have now, which is probably several pounds of loose and sagging skin.

Don't get me wrong, I look great. I can hold all that skin in with panty hose. Plus, in a dress or skirt, no one sees my thighs. I'm really happy with my weight loss because it wasn't just about my weight, it was about my health and I'm much healthier now and can keep up with my kids.

But this skin will be there forever (unless I win the lotto and they come up with a plastic surgery that doesn't leave scars). This isn't about skin left over from baby stretching. It's about skin left over from eating too much pizza with extra cheese and washing that down with ice cream.

I generally stray away from getting too serious on this blog, but I am making a heart-felt plea to all of you right now. Don't let yourself gain another ten pounds. Stop it now. Don't let your kids end up like me. Take the time to learn to eat healthy and then teach them. I don't care if your kid is rail thin, NOBODY needs to be eating a double cheeseburger from anywhere. I've seen bone thin children have their metabolisms suddenly slow down and end up moderately to severely overweight. I know one little girl who was wearing a size 18 at 14-years-old.

The word "no" isn't evil, especially if you explain to your children that it isn't just about weight, but their health in general (lots of skinny people wind up with clogged arteries having a heart attack and by-pass surgery). My six-year-old understands metabolism, so can yours. All of my children understand metabolism, clogged arteries, good fats, bad fats, simple carbs, complex carbs, the importance of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables. They're learning to eat foods they don't necessarily like because it's good for them. The amazing thing is, after they eat them a few times and understand how good it is for their bodies, they start ENJOYING them. We don't make this a weight issue because that's just a small side effect of the real issue. It's about being healthy. ***For the record, if your kids are eating school lunch, I can pretty much guarantee you that they are NOT getting a healthy lunch. Most school lunches are full of bad carbs, bad fats, and LOADED with calories.. Brown bagging it is a much healthier choice.***


For me, I'll live with the results of my unhealthy choices for the rest of my life. When I ate wrong as a kid, I just didn't know. But the wrong choices I made as an adult are my own personal responsibility. When I hit 170 and didn't stop, the blame falls only on me. I have no one to blame but myself for reaching 208. I will always have a reminder of where I came from and the results of my own personal choices. I guess I'm just asking those of you who read this blog to learn from my mistakes.

And for the love of your own children, don't sit back and allow them to do the same thing.