Mom. What would we do without her? She went through the pain and agony of giving birth to us so we could delight her with our presence. And I'm sure my mom was BEYOND ready to have me come out of her when I finally did on December 27, 1971.
Her due date was November 27, but I wasn't ready to come out yet because I was having to much fun inside of her.
My mom often reminds me how she'll never forget that Christmas in 1971 in the hospital waiting for the future Jimmy Moore to pop out of her. When I finally did, it was 10 3/4 pounds of POP, that is!
Yes, I was a big baby. Looking at some old pictures of myself as a baby, I was FAT! As big as my momma got while she had me, it was apparent that she had not deprived herself in any way during her pregnancy and I was a healthy baby.
But then during the growing up years with my four years older full-blooded brother Kevin and my two years younger half-sister (my mom's second husband's daughter -- she's still my sis!) Beverly, I began to notice something very peculiar. ALL OF US WERE OVERWEIGHT! My mom had divorced my dad when I was two, so mom starting raising us kids as a single mom and a few years married to Beverly's dad.
With three growing children with big mouths to feed, my poor mom had to make the most of the money she earned at her office job and resorted to purchasing cheaper, packaged, convenience foods so we could eat. It's sad, but she had no choice since she only made so much money at her job. So guess what we ate when we were growing up?
You guessed it: Hamburger Helper, boxed macaroni & cheese, Ramen noodles, instant mashed potatoes, breakfast cereal (when it was still cheap!), cheese toast, canned corn and green beans, Rice-A-Roni, Little Debbie snack cakes, 4/$1 packages of cookies, and on and on...in other words, we ate a lot of junk food.
But again, what choice did my mother have in the late 70's and 80's when she was doing everything in her financial ability to provide for her family of growing children? She was really in a terrible predicament and I look back on those years thankful for how she raised me and my siblings.
Eventually, all of us kids became adults and started living our own lives out in the real world. Unfortunately, those frugal days of our childhood, especially when it came to food, still dominated how we thought we should be eating. Predictably, the weight we picked up in our formative years and sometimes lost with a "diet" here and a "diet" there came rushing on with a vengeance into our 20's and early 30's.
I have previously told you about Kevin's serious weight problem that now has him weighing 600 pounds and on the verge of death from heart disease and morbid obesity before the age of 40.
Beverly is also overweight at the age of 32 and really wants to lose weight, but doesn't know if she can ever "diet" again. She has a very sweet personality and really wants to meet that special man that God has for her, too. She has been inspired by my weight loss, but doesn't think she can do it.
My mom, whose name is Judiann by the way, got so fed up with her obesity that she decided to have gastric bypass surgery in December 2004. She thought it was her only way to overcome decades of weight problems that plagued her. I'm happy to report that she has lost over 100 pounds and is doing fairly well on it despite some complications early on.
Readers of my blog know how I was able to overcome my obesity problem thanks to the low-carb lifestyle in 2004 and it is keeping my weight under control today. But should Kevin and Beverly find fault in our mom for their obesity? I think not.
Mom may have contributed to our obesity inasmuch as we had to eat the foods she bought us when we were growing up. But that was 20 years ago! The excuse that people give about being "genetically" overweight is just plain ridiculous to me. Sure, you may have been in an environment during your childhood that made you more susceptible for gaining weight and eating unhealthy, but that doesn't mean you have to stay there once you move out of the house and become an adult!
My mom overcame her obesity with weight loss surgery. I overcame my obesity with the Atkins diet. The same can be done for Kevin, Beverly and every other overweight or obese person out there who thinks they are destined to be fat forever. THAT'S JUST NOT TRUE!!! Stop pointing the finger at everybody else for your obesity and start taking personal responsibility for getting your weight under control.
When you honor mom with your gifts and adoration today, tell her how much she means to you and thank her for the sacrifices she made to give you the life you have today. But I want you to do one more thing for her if you need to lose weight -- tell her you have committed yourself to eating healthier, exercising more, and getting your life back under control in her honor. Mom may even feel a little guilty that she passed on some poor eating habits to you when you were growing up, so this may be just the thing to brighten her special day even more.
Then go DO IT! Make it happen without the excuses that you were "meant to be fat" or your obesity is an "illness" you can't get rid of. Hogwash! Find a weight loss plan, implement it into your life, and then do it for the rest of your life. That's the BEST Mother's Day gift you could ever give the woman who loved you enough to bring you into this world. Now, go honor her today!
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