I gained 10 pounds in a month.

I gained 10 pounds in a month. It was not intentional.

I know everything I should be doing, but some how it all got away from me.

If I'm being honest, it was a rough month. It started off with me being sick, I had pneumonia. I thought to myself, what's a few days of just letting my eating slide; after all I'm sick.

Then I got bad news. I found out both my parents were very sick.

Eating became the last thing on my mind. Or maybe it was the biggest thing on my mind. I'm still not quite sure, but all I know was my eating went down the drain.

Life got busy, I was busy, and I stopped putting myself first. After all, how could I think about me with all the craziness life was throwing at me. I had to be selfless, everything but me had to come first.

I am not proud of this story, but it is completely true. I gained 10 pounds in a month. The real reason I share this with you is so you can find comfort in the reality that weight gain is normal.

I wish I could tell you how uncommon this kind of weight gain is, but I want to reassure you that this kind of weight gain is not your fault.

No, it is not healthy; but yes, it happens.

So what do you do when life hits you hard and you start gaining weight faster than you can count?

You stop.

You Breath.

You accept reality and you take back control.

Your first goal shouldn't be to start losing weight immediately. Your first goal should be to stop the scale from going up.

The morning I got back on the scale, was the morning I took back my control.

I did not jump into some crazy diet, after all, I was treading water just trying to cope. I started focusing on what I could control. Maybe every meal wouldn't be perfect, but I started filing up on the foods that helped me thrive, and tried to avoid the foods that didn't.

I started focusing on my portions again. Half a plate of veggies at every meal with a healthy serving of protein.

I started avoiding the comfort foods again. No I do not need a bowl of ice cream to get me through the day.

I'm not saying I was perfect, but I did get my head back in the game. I did start focusing on my needs and that's the first step.

So when crisis hits, and you feel like you've lost control, remember you are not alone. It happens to more people than you think. Remember, the first thing you need to do is stop the spiral, take back control, and start living your healthiest life.

Remember: Weight gain is a natural process, it means your body is doing it's job. Stop beating yourself up when weight gain happens, and start accepting it. Make the changes you need to make to get the results you want to get, but dwelling on the challenges won't make you any healthier. Focus on what you can change rather than what you can't, and start taking back control to living your healthiest life.

Cheerfully,

Serial Dieter 911