Okay, so I was being really patient until.........

.....the pool club opened for the season and I really looked at myself in a mirror wearing a bathing suit!!! Wahhhhhh!!!!! I just want to hurry up this process and be skinny tomorrow! I know that will never happen but I am just so upset with myself right now for letting myself get to this point. I don't quite know how I got this fat??? Was I so blind that I did not see myself getting fatter by the minute??? There is no way I can be seen in a bathing suit this year in front of people that I see on a daily basis the rest of the year. If it were vacation I would throw caution to the wind and do it but I am so disgusted with my own body right now I can't even imagine how others must view me. I feel so upset because I feel like my excess weight is really impacting my kids now. I know they are going to want me to get in the pool with them this summer and I won't be able to. There is always next year. I will be thinner next year. Things might be a little saggy next year but at least I won't look like a pufferfish! I know that I really shouldn't care what other people think but I do. Okay, I guess it's time to get off my pity party now and do something about it. I have been dieting to get rid of the 18 lbs dr. aranow wants me to lose before surgery and I now have a renewed energy about it!

Eileen: Don't let your weight get you down. Enjoy the summer and the pool. I do not feel comfortable in a bathingsuit either but I am not going to let that stop me from having a good time with my DH and my little boy in the pool this summer. I live in a condo and our pool opened this weekend. I pulled out my suit and went to the pool. I feel if I seem confident (even though I am not) and happy in my own skin than others will see me that way. Don't get me wrong it is hard and I can not wait to loose weight so that next year I will will be more confident in a swim suit but I am not going to let this weight get me down. Enjoy your summer and put that suit on!!!! Chryssie

HONEY! Just GO FOR IT! Don't let your weight hold you down and most certainly, don't let other people's opinions keep you from participating in your own life. Throw some shorts on over the suit!! Don't let something so little get in the way of spending time with your kids. You're there to hang out with them and enjoy yourself, not model bathing suits, as no one expects you to, fat or skinny. From my own personal experience, I know you'll kick yourself down the road for skipping these opportunities. Good luck with losing those 18 lbs. You can do it! Have fun swimming!!