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Morgan Carson, 2, eats a healthy meal cooked by her mom, Courtney, who has shed serious health problems since changing her lifestyle.
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By KRISTIN DAVIS
Courtney Carson can keep up with her 2-year-old daughter. She can climb stairs and push-mow the lawn without gasping for breath. She can fit into size 8 pants with room to spare.
Three years ago, Carson, who lives in Stafford County, could do none of that.
At 5-foot-5, she weighed more than 220 pounds. She suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure. And just after the birth of her daughter in 2003, she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Doctors said she couldn't have any more children.
Carson was 29.
She had battled weight problems all her life. She'd watched her parents struggle, too.
She wanted something different for her daughter.
So nine months after giving birth, Carson walked into a Weight Watchers meeting and committed to a different way of eating. She'd have grilled foods instead of deep-fried, salads instead of fries, lean meats instead of burgers. And so would her little girl.
Carson wanted her daughter to grow up on fruit, not chips.
But at her first Weight Watchers meeting, she felt apprehensive. Program leaders said losing weight wasn't just about dieting. It meant making a lifestyle change. Carson would have to read labels. Buy apples instead of cookies. Push her plate away after eating just half of a restaurant meal.
"I had to re-learn everything," Carson said.
For the first time in her life, Carson would be accountable for how she ate. Weight Watchers participants attend weekly meetings and weigh-ins. If Carson didn't follow the plan, the weight wouldn't come off, and her team leader would know.
The first month was agonizing. She wrestled with the temptations of ice cream and cheesecake--her favorite desserts.
"It would have been so easy to stop and give up, so easy to order a double quarter-pounder," Carson said.
But Carson thought of her daughter. She thought of her own health. And she thought of what the doctors had said: No more children because of your weight-related problems.
Motivated, Carson stuck with Weight Watchers, and the pounds began to fall off.
"I was shocked," Carson said. "It was unbelievable. I felt like I should be deprived, but I wasn't."
Her snug size 18 clothes got loose and her energy level shot up. She faithfully attended meetings--and always brought her daughter.
From the start, Carson stood out to Weight Watchers team leader Cindy Dillon because she brought baby Morgan with her.
"She did this for her daughter," Dillon said.
Following Mom's leadMore and more mothers are joining Weight Watchers for reasons similar to Carson's, Dillon said. They want better health for themselves, and for their children.
More than half of all adults in the United States are overweight or obese, according to the American Obesity Association. And 16 percent of children are overweight or obese.
The number of overweight Americans has quadrupled since 1980. Health experts warn that the trend will continue.
Most households these days have two working parents who are extremely busy. It's easy--and cheap--to swing by the fast-food drive-through on the way home, said Lynn Ostrowski, author of "Seymour's Weight Loss Challenge," a children's book on obesity.
Children are more sedentary than in years past. They've got TV, computers and PlayStations. These factors contribute to America's obesity problem in children, Ostrowski said in a recent telephone interview from her Springfield, Mass., office.
The danger is that obese children will grow up to be obese adults with serious health problems.
"Obesity in childhood is the No. 1 predictor of obesity in adulthood," said Ostrowski, who holds degrees in health, fitness and health education.
A healthy lifestyle starts at home, by example, she said. For children, that means healthy habits start with their parents.
Carson has lost 85 pounds since joining Weight Watchers. The weight has stayed off for more than a year.
And daughter Morgan, who turns 3 in January, is growing up craving healthy foods. Cucumbers and apples are Morgan's favorite foods. It's a sign that she's following her mom's lead.
A stronger heartCarson said she used to lie in bed each morning and think about which fast-food restaurant she and Morgan would lunch at. She used to stock the house with junk food. And she used to polish off oversized portions at restaurants even if she was full halfway through.
She slipped into these habits so long ago she can't remember when they first began. She figures she was raised that way.
"I was a pudgy kid," Carson said.
She dieted, sometimes sensibly, sometimes not. She'd slim down and gain back.
She has a family history of high blood pressure, diabetes and weight problems. She hopes that now, with her new lifestyle, she is protecting Morgan from all that.
Her lifestyle change wasn't about looking like the waif-thin models in magazines.
"I thought, now I have my daughter, this little miracle," the stay-at-home mom recalled. "I didn't want to die."
Carson recently won the Weight Watchers annual "Then and Wow" essay contest--and a $150 gift card. She bought new, size 8 clothes.
She still struggles to eat well at times. "I have bad days like everyone else," Carson said. "But I get right back on track. My greatest fear is gaining the weight back."
Losing weight "really changed my life," Carson said. "I'm proud of it."
Carson loves the blank look of friends she hasn't seen in a while. It is followed by recognition, then shock.
Carson's husband, a project manager at the Pentagon, tells her he's proud. He's eating healthier, too.
"I've done a lot in my life, but this is a major accomplishment," Carson said.
The best part is that her diabetes disappeared with the pounds. And doctors recently told Carson her heart is healthy--there's no sign of failure.
That means she can have another child.
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