Firelight - Anne
May 2010
Hi my name is Anne and I have been posting on SOP since May, 2010. I lurked on the thread for months before making the commitment to post my plan daily and follow the guidelines. The strength, caring, humor and wisdom of women in this group are a daily inspiration.
My husband Scott and I have four children ranging in ages from 6 to 17; Hannah, Adam and my two stepsons, Evan and Alex. My beloved 13 year old golden retriever Amber died in May. I grew up in on the west side of Cleveland, where we now live. Graduating from Allegheny College with a degree in Geology and a Masters in Education, I taught high school science for several years until I chose to stay home with the kids.
I love to read, bike, hike, cook healthy and fresh real food, and keep up with my love of science with classes, some casual teaching and being outside. Through the years I have biked in Europe and Canada, completed century rides and triathlon relays, climbed and backpacked, sailed, skied, played volleyball, swam and ran track. Active in church mission work and bible study, the kids’ schools, community issues, house projects and friends, I am thankful for this season of life!
At a current 5’9” and 173 pounds, my highest weight in WW has been 205 pounds and the lowest, 156. I hit Lifetime after the birth of each child, lasting there for a relatively brief time (minutes!?). So my plan in SOP is to lose weight to my 162 pound goal, probably go below that, and then maintain the loss. <she says STOMPing her foot> I attend a funny, spirited WW meeting with an outstanding leader each week which helps keep me accountable.
Overeating for me is a combination of nature and nurture...It is most likely both innate, and reinforced by some tumultuous externals in my teens. A sensitive soul in a stressful world, food is how I have coped from early on. I went to Diet Workshop at age 13, did Diet Center paying for it with babysitting money, and went to my first OA meeting at age 17 (and did not go back for 10 years). I read my father’s Big Book cover to cover then, as he was not using it…Through my late teens and twenties, I struggled with binge/purge behavior until a counselor got me to OA. Becoming very active in meetings and the program tenets, OA saved me; and I have not purged since then. Some of my dearest friends are women I met in those early OA years, including the matron of honor at my wedding. Today I attend an excellent meeting weekly, and continue to rely on the program for support and spirit.
I was a vegetarian for 7 years, went no flour/no sugar for a year, went off alcohol for 3 years while with a guy in AA, and have always loved cookbooks and fresh foods. So my food plan today includes pieces of this history.
Given all this, at age 48, I have had to finally accept, and essentially grieve, that I will never think of food like a “normal” person. Even at goal, that will not be the end of the road. Normal for me is planning a daily menu carefully, being honest, avoiding trigger foods and emotional eating and feeling too full, and having a support network of people who know Who I Am. In order to be fully present and available to my family, friends and work, it is critical to keep all this in balance.
My husband Scott and I have four children ranging in ages from 6 to 17; Hannah, Adam and my two stepsons, Evan and Alex. My beloved 13 year old golden retriever Amber died in May. I grew up in on the west side of Cleveland, where we now live. Graduating from Allegheny College with a degree in Geology and a Masters in Education, I taught high school science for several years until I chose to stay home with the kids.
I love to read, bike, hike, cook healthy and fresh real food, and keep up with my love of science with classes, some casual teaching and being outside. Through the years I have biked in Europe and Canada, completed century rides and triathlon relays, climbed and backpacked, sailed, skied, played volleyball, swam and ran track. Active in church mission work and bible study, the kids’ schools, community issues, house projects and friends, I am thankful for this season of life!
At a current 5’9” and 173 pounds, my highest weight in WW has been 205 pounds and the lowest, 156. I hit Lifetime after the birth of each child, lasting there for a relatively brief time (minutes!?). So my plan in SOP is to lose weight to my 162 pound goal, probably go below that, and then maintain the loss. <she says STOMPing her foot> I attend a funny, spirited WW meeting with an outstanding leader each week which helps keep me accountable.
Overeating for me is a combination of nature and nurture...It is most likely both innate, and reinforced by some tumultuous externals in my teens. A sensitive soul in a stressful world, food is how I have coped from early on. I went to Diet Workshop at age 13, did Diet Center paying for it with babysitting money, and went to my first OA meeting at age 17 (and did not go back for 10 years). I read my father’s Big Book cover to cover then, as he was not using it…Through my late teens and twenties, I struggled with binge/purge behavior until a counselor got me to OA. Becoming very active in meetings and the program tenets, OA saved me; and I have not purged since then. Some of my dearest friends are women I met in those early OA years, including the matron of honor at my wedding. Today I attend an excellent meeting weekly, and continue to rely on the program for support and spirit.
I was a vegetarian for 7 years, went no flour/no sugar for a year, went off alcohol for 3 years while with a guy in AA, and have always loved cookbooks and fresh foods. So my food plan today includes pieces of this history.
Given all this, at age 48, I have had to finally accept, and essentially grieve, that I will never think of food like a “normal” person. Even at goal, that will not be the end of the road. Normal for me is planning a daily menu carefully, being honest, avoiding trigger foods and emotional eating and feeling too full, and having a support network of people who know Who I Am. In order to be fully present and available to my family, friends and work, it is critical to keep all this in balance.