As a kid, I could eat anything I wanted. I could eat as much as I wanted. So..... I did.
In elementary school, I was the girl who would clean up all of the food on my tray so I could go back for seconds. And, I would clean up the food on my friends' trays... the stuff they didn't like.... so they could go back for seconds. Remember Mikey? Mikey will eat anything? Yeah, it was like that.
I have always had a raging sweet tooth. My favorite was Hostess Raspberry Filled Donuts. Yum.... white, powdery goodness. My favorite after school snack after school was a box of donuts and a giant Diet Coke. Yes, I said a box.
Of course, you have to understand, when I say "favorite" I really mean "one of" because I just loved the sweets that much.
I ate because I LOVE FOOD. If a little tastes good, a lot tastes better. Why have a piece of cake when you can hold the pan in one hand and a fork in the other? I ate when I was happy, when I was sad and angry, I ate when I was bored. I ate because I LOVE to cook. I especially love baking. Creating the sweet stuff is almost as good as eating it. Oh wait.... for me, they are one and the same. Bake it.... eat it. Of course.
And why not? From 7th grade through the end of my senior year, I ate like that. And I weighed 112 pounds. Never went up, never went down. I was so thin, my collar bones stuck out, my hip bones stuck out...... and yes, my nickname at home was Bones.
My mom said it would catch up with me one day.
My dad said "Once through the lips, forever on the hips."
But what kid ever believes their parents? I didn't.
During my senior year in high school, I was on the cross country team. During the latter half of the year, I started coughing my guts up all the time and running became difficult, then impossible. It would be a year before I was diagnosed with asthma. But this is important, because when I quit running, suddenly everything changed.
I started gaining weight.
Because I was so thin, I was totally unconcerned. I needed to put on some pounds. I actually looked good there for a while. And it happened so so fast. I had always worn a Size 7 in Wranglers. In July, I was a Size 9. In September, a Size 11. By October/November, it was a Size 13.
I never in a million years thought it would get out of control, so I didn't try to control it. By the time I was 21, I was 180 pounds, and pregnant with my first child. I gained 50 pounds just during that pregnancy. And then I began the cycle....... care for baby, gain more weight, finally start losing weight, find out I was pregnant. Four baby girls during ten years.
Those baby girls are growing up fast.... they are now 17-13-9 and 7. And Bones is long gone.
