andywarholkrystel

I promise you Army Wife 101 is not turning into a diet blog. But  I have talked about my weight so much because it did affect me as a military wife. Let me be clear I am not being dramatic and speaking of being made fun of by stupid people online who make assumptions that all military wives are fat.

My weight affected me in the military life because I begin to feel paranoid being alone, which as you know we do alot of. I truly started feeling the physical affects of my weight. This included weird feelings in my chest, becoming winded without barely moving and just a general feeling of unwell. These symptoms then manifested into anxiety and depression. Any and everything that happened to me physically I attributed to my weight.

Click Here to Read “War At Home: My Battle with Anxiety and Depression

Cosmetically speaking it wasn’t so fun walking around with a fit sexy former Marine turned soldier who worked out everyday. While he was lifting weights I was lifting the fork with that day’s recipe on it to my mouth. Thank goodness I married a Southern man who loves meat on bones hehe!

When we moved to Hawaii I so badly wanted to enjoy it for all it was worth. I mean come on we were freaking living in Hawaii, a place that some people only dream of ever going. Contrary to what I shared with you in my “Why I Hated Living In Hawaii” post, it wasn’t all just because I found Hawaii to be redundant and isolating. From the minute I stepped off the plane  I begin to feel issues with my breathing and my head. I constantly was having headaches and feeling pressure in my head and feeling dizzy. In addition there were times where I felt like my chest was tight and so forth. I was a mess. I knew it was mostly attributed to my weight but I was so frustrated with not ever being able to get a grip on my weight no matter what I did that I continued with unhealthy eating habits.

When my husband deployed (while we were stationed in Hawaii)  is when my weight really became an issue for me. The deployment itself was already tough enough , but the worry of something happening to me begin to creep up on me even more so.  Here I was an entire ocean away from family and any real friends I felt like I could depend on ,and all I could think of was me dropping dead in my house while the kids were at school. Who would pick them up, how would anyone know anything had even happened?

On top of all of this I felt like a horrible parent. I mean my kids were fed, clothed and loved but I often wondered was I doing enough with them to keep their mind off the deployment, or was I letting my fat issues get in the way of proper parenting.

Let me be clear that I am sure these are worries that alot of spouses no matter their size have when their other half is gone. My point is that my thoughts were even stronger because I knew I had one extra strike against me which was my weight.

I know longer want that feeling and that is why I am working so hard to shed these pounds.

I may not have full control of every situation but I do have some control over my weight.

Share your weight issues below in the comment section…I love to read your thoughts!

 

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Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market. She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries.

15 Comments on How My Weight Affected My Life As A Military Wife…True Story

  1. I completely understand and feel and have felt the exact same way. Right now I have another issue, the few friends that I have made here are stick thin, had a baby, and are stick thin again. They want to go on walks and do active things and I am too embarrassed that I won’t be able to keep up. Now that I am pregnant and obviously look a lot different than they did during their pregnancy I am always feeling down and embarrassed about myself when around them. I want so bad to actually get my weight under control after my pregnancy. I feel your pain. :)

  2. Kudos to you for making a change!!! It is hard to do at first and really requires a conscious and committed effort to walk away from unhealthy habits. You can do it!!! You are such an inspiration and have the ability to reach so many others, I can’t wait to keep reading more!!!

  3. Thank you, as always, for sharing and for being real. It is hard being overweight when married to a soldier who is obsessed with his fitness. I’m glad my husband likes curves, but being the “fat Army wife” is always in the back of my mind. I’m working on it though, and that is the important thing.

  4. Thank you for sharing this. People fail to realize that underneath the chubby, is a person who’s struggling.

  5. I completely understand where you’re coming from, in fact, I swear I could’ve written this blog post myself. I’m so glad you posted this! I hope people think twice before talking about someone being overweight because they are obviously struggling with something.

  6. Kudos to you for writing this blog. I struggle with weight myself. I fluctuate alot especially when the DH is away. Funny enough I am more active when he is away, I go to the gym and workout at home, I guess to pass the time and when he gets home all I want to do is hang out with him, catching for lost time and BOOM! the weight comes back. I wish you all the best on this journey.

  7. That was an extremely moving and articulate blog – I’m so excited for you to make these changes in your life. Many people never find the fire that burns deep within that makes them truly, deeply want to change. What you said about your kids really struck a chord with me – My husband and I grew up with obese parents and we both have recognized that we would have respected our parents a lot more and would have been easier to discipline had they been healthier. My parents’ weight took away the “superhero” effect that kids should have.. I didn’t think daddy/mommy is my hero, mom has all the answers… I could see that they were battling something big and it took away that aura. I’m really interested to hear if you feel like your family dynamic changes with your weight. Good luck, and please let me know if you need any help or support – I’m a fitness pro!

  8. I have always had a hard time maintaining and losing weight. It really started in college when I put on 30-40 lbs. I tried everything for years. Even running marathons didn’t seem to get me to where I wanted to be. At some point what it really took for me was to say “NO EXCUSES!!!” That meant, just because you’re out, just because it’s a weekend, just because a friend is coming into town, just because you have to get up early, just because you’re too busy- I just threw all of that out the window. Worked out for an hour 5 days a week no matter what and really watched my food and wrote it down. Recently I got the Jawbone Up and it’s been great if you really use it to it’s full ability, plus I added intense exercise and the paleo diet to it!

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