Getting Fat

During casual conversation with a friend, I mentioned that I was unhappy with the weight I am currently at. He suggested that I write about it, so I am. Don't get me wrong, I don't by any means fall into the "overweight" category for my weight and height. I know that I still look ok and shouldn't complain. The problem I have with gaining weight is that I can feel myself being lazier, more tired and my brain doesn't seem to function quite right. I am still happy with me and my size, I'm not one of those girls that focus' on just being "skinny", that's not my goal. My goal is to stay healthy and fit, I have always been an active, athletic woman and have a certain amount of pride in keeping myself that way after having children. It's not like I've put on 50 pounds or anything like that, we're only talking 10 or 15, but I can still feel the difference, and I'm just starting to feel uncomfortable all around. My jeans are a little tighter, I get hot much easier, and I don't like the feeling of my stomach hanging over when I sit. I understand that there are many people out there who have medical conditions preventing them from staying at a healthy weight, and for those people, I try to empathize. On the other end of the spectrum, the other percentage of us, especially Americans, have just gotten lazy about staying healthy. Then there are those who go overboard and end up praying to the porcelain god after every meal. My point to him was that I was simply trying to say I am lucky enough to be a mostly healthy person in control of my life and my body, and I refuse to let it get out of control. If I'm not comfortable and don't feel healthy, then I'm going to change it. I'm not neurotic about it, and I don't ever expect myself to be a size 0. I'm happy when I'm at an 8 and try for the most part to stay there with exercise and right sized portions. I don't starve myself, or throw up or take pills to make me skinnier. I just put my mind to it, tell myself I will lose weight and control those things. You'd would be surprised at the power of mind and body and what they can do when you believe it. Doesn't really take much work at all. Growing up, there was a family that lived not far from us that had 3 boys. They were my brother and I's only neighbor's and we played with them all the time. Their mother was slightly overweight, could probably have stood to lose 40 pounds or so. Suddenly when we were about 13, their mother and father divorced. Their mother's best friend also divorced her husband about the same time, and lo and behold, we suddenly have a gay couple. Our friends now had two mom's. In a small town, that's no small occasion. You would think the ridicule and laughter would drive them out, but instead it made them stronger, and happier. Their mother lost the weight, very quickly and the next time I saw her, I noticed. We hadn't been allowed to visit for a few months, because of the ordeal, so the weight loss came as a shock. I asked her how she did it and she simply replied,"I got happy."