I was compensated by Med-IQ through an educational grant from Novo Nordisk Inc. to write about the realities of obesity as a chronic disease. All opinions are my own.

I’m just a regular mom.

Once a skinny child and now, an overweight adult.

The weight gain started in college and then, four kids happened.

After their births, I navigated different weight loss programs and succeeded.

But, never ever long term.

And so, here my 46 year old self sits- at a cool 180 pounds- wondering what happened to the slim healthy girl.

I’m learning.

Will-power is a myth.

There is more than diet and exercise to meet my goals.

I didn’t know that obesity is a REAL disease.

Like any disease, medication and sometimes surgery may be needed for treatment.

If I had diabetes or epilepsy, I wouldn’t feel like taking medicine was “cheating.”

In reality, I have to talk to my doctor about my weight management needs and goals AND advocate for myself.

My whole life, I’ve done short term fixes and the weight always comes back.

Diet and exercise alone will likely never get me to a healthy weight.

My goal is to find MY healthy weight and to stay there.

Weight loss success is finding something that I can do for the long haul and maintaining a healthy weight for years to come, NOT just a few months.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint, I shall remind myself.

I matter that much.

Please tune in at 9pm on June 21st for my live Instagram interview with Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity medicine physician, who teaches at Harvard Medical School and practices at Mass General Hospital.

I am super excited for the opportunity to move forward with the assistance of an esteemed researcher and physician in partnership with Med-IQ.

It will be a round robin discussion with several influencers and you can find the recorded sessions on Med-IQ’s Facebook page after June 21st- https://www.facebook.com/MedIQCME

@MedIQCME

Med-IQ is an accredited medical education company that provides an exceptional educational experience for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals.

BONUS: TAKE A SHORT SURVEY TO WIN $100

Med-IQ is conducting an anonymous survey that will take less than 15 minutes to complete!

Your responses to these survey questions will provide Med-IQ with important information about the challenges you have experienced when trying to lose and maintain weight and any strategies that you have used, which will help us develop future educational initiatives (survey responses only shared in aggregate.)

Once you’ve completed the survey, you will have the option of providing your email address to be entered into a random drawing administered by SOMA Strategies to win 1 of 6 $100 VISA gift cards.