Heavy thoughts now at the top of my mind

I have a weight hanging on my shoulders.

Actually, it’s hanging around my gut. … And my thighs. … And the region that was once known as my butt, but has recently been reclassified as a planet.

It’s safe to say I need to lose some weight.

To be fair, I have never been a slim gal. I’ve always carried at least an extra 20 pounds, but I was pretty content with keeping within that range.

I was one of the lucky ones, I’m told, when I gained 35 pounds with my son, and I actually saw a quick pound-shedding after he was born. But the number on the scale started to creep up after my son turned 1 — and up and up it went.

Now my son is 2, I’m about 40 pounds overweight, and it’s time to do something about it.

My friends keep trying to reassure me: “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself; you just had a baby after all.”

I’m curious as to how long society is willing for me to ride on the coattails of that fact. Do you think I could get away with it until my son graduates from high school? Then maybe I can gain the sympathy freshman 15 when he goes off to college? Perhaps I could then be firmly in the grandma classification and just give up?

I have been getting in my own way, really. I work too much, at a desk job, no less. And I was born with an affinity for food. Seriously, there are very few things I don’t like (I’m looking at you, butter pecan ice cream). So inactivity + food love affair = lifelong weight struggles.

When I finally realized I was getting too heavy again — let’s face it, I’ve been in this position a few times — I convinced myself that I shouldn’t bother because I was trying to have another child. It was sound reasoning, I told myself: “Why lose a bunch of weight, only to gain a bunch of weight, only to lose a bunch of weight again?”

But we have not been blessed with another baby yet, and I’m running out of excuses.

It might mean getting up an hour earlier for exercise in the morning, but keeping myself healthy keeps me around longer — for all the babies I hope to have. I’m going to start right away. … OK, maybe tomorrow.

— Sarah Leach is editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at (616) 546-4278 or sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com.