My First Retirement Hurdle - Weight Gain

Oddly enough, my first retirement hurdle is not of a financial nature. It is not the emotional lack of going to work. It is not even the fear of boredom. My hurdle is my weight gain. Once I "decided" to retire, I proceeded to pack on 16 of the 32 pounds that I had lost on the Weight Watchers At Work Program (WW).

My "decision" to retire came about due to my job being offshored, or sent to Manila. When a job is offshored, a company hires employees in other countries, to perform a particular job, usually for less pay. But that is a subject for a future blog.

I found out about the offshoring project early in 2007, but was so busy with actually implementing it, that I didn't have time to sabotage my own WW journey. As a matter of fact, WW lent structure to the chaos that was my life of deadlines and constant change. In January 2008, even though the job started winding down, as almost all phases had been completed, the contrary result was that my remaining 6 months moved at warp speed. With retirement seminars, retirement decisions, debates with Human Resources, and lunchtime meetings that pulled me away from my WW meetings, I put my attention to weight loss on hold. I could actually hear my own voice saying, "You know, I'm going to concentrate on weightloss when I retire". I think that is one of the biggest lies I've ever told myself. With all of the wining and dining of well-wishers before the retirement, I couldn't even get into that perfect dress (bought as a reward at reaching my lowest weight 6 months before) that I planned to wear to my retirement luncheon. Then, after the retirement, the adjustment to a more sedate, laid-back lifestyle did me no favors.

The first sign that my new lifestyle wasn't working was when my 2-mile morning walk became a sluggish, grueling chore. At times, I felt like I couldn't propel myself not one step further, but I persevered, taking pride in the fact that I was "making progress" in my move to a healthier me. Well, how healthy could I become if I kept telling myself the other ultimate lie, "I'll start my healthy eating tomorrow"? The anwser came this morning, when I felt a sharp pain in my lower back that told me my weight gain was probably putting undue pressure on a not-so-good back.

I always said that if a doctor told me to stop doing "this or that" because the "this or that" was affecting my health, I would stop doing the "this or that". Well, the doctor never did, but isn't that another lie of sorts, putting the responsiblity on someone else's shoulders? I am so angry with myself for re-gaining this weight, after working so hard to lose it, and I want to get past this feeling, so the lying stops now, and the commitment, true work, and accountability begins.

I commit to lose the re-gained 16 pounds by Sept. 15, 2008, allowing myself enough time to lose approximately 2 pounds per week. My strategy will be the subject of another blog.

Thanks to my son, Chris, for encouraging me to blog --- yeah! technology is amazing! To see Chris' blogs (on saving money), please click here.

Also, please feel free to post advice, tips, encouragement, or questions. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.