My Secret Weapon

You may not want to hear this, but exercise is essential to losing weight and keeping it off. I decided that the only way to burn off the calories was to get out and walk. I weighed too much for any other type of exercise. So I got up and got dressed early in the morning. I left home and only got about a quarter mile. I was tired, so I turned around and headed for home. I tried again the next day, but it started to rain and once again, I turned around and headed home.

It occurred to me that I was not mentally prepared to do what was required. I needed to be heading home the entire way, and I needed to have no option other than moving forward. So the next day, I got up and dressed and climbed into my husband's van. I asked him to drop me off on his way to work at a spot about 2 miles from home. He thought I had lost my mind. But really, I was just doing the logical thing. From an intellectual standpoint, I was headed home the whole way. I carried a cell phone for emergencies, but I had no choice but to walk home. There were no cabs or buses. I couldn't turn around if I was tired, or cut it short if it started to rain or if I got cold. I had no choice but to get home by my own locomotion.

I began to call it the death march. It represented death to my fat body. I did it every morning, rain or shine. And when my weight loss started to slow down, I started doing it every evening after dinner as well. I was walking 5 miles a day and losing weight consistently. I walked off over 70 pounds in about 6 months.

You too can do the death march. It is absolutely worth getting up a little early to lose that stubborn weight! M.E.