Over three weeks into my quest to obtain a healthier lifestyle, I decided to begin a blog to both track my progress and hopefully motivate myself and others.
I’ve never been happy with my weight. I can remember as far back as elementary school when I didn't want to tuck in my shirts because I didn't like how revealing it was, since I often covered myself up with baggy clothes and long tops. At that time I was probably no more than 80 pounds, which makes it apparent that systematically, physiologically, psychologically, I was programmed to hate the way I looked before there actually was a problem.
Looking back at pictures, there really wasn't a problem at that point. I wasn't skinny, but I was average. Now, just shy of 30 years old, three weeks ago, I stood at 235 pounds, being nearly equal distance wide on all four sides, in my petite frame of 5'2". How I ever let myself get to this point, I'll never know. But three weeks into my quest for a healthier lifestyle, I'm down to 219.5 pounds.
Things that I will be looking forward to include: bending over to tie my shoes without turning blue, eating in a restaurant without embarrassment, being able to breathe after meals and while laying down, liking my shadow when I walk at sundown, shopping for clothes, dressing up for work, showing off my tattoos, going to the beach without a multitude of layers to cover myself under different circumstances (i.e. sunbathing, swimming, the walk to the car..), looking in the mirror, and choosing nudity as a lifestyle if I so choose (insert: chuckle).
Daydreaming about being a healthy weight helps me push forward through my desire to binge and/or emotionally eat. It's not easy to change your eating habits and simultaneously begin an exercise regime. So far, my secret to success is to eat more than I've ever eaten while "dieting," which is about 1450 calories a day, and more if I've exercised. I also track every calorie eaten and burned through exercise through loseit.com. It also helps that I live with an extremely supportive husband, who is doing this alongside me and allowing me to fill our cupboards and fridge with only acceptable food for my current diet. I refuse to eat 40 calorie chocolate pops and prepackaged 100 calorie snack packs. I stick with whole grains, 100 calorie thin rolls in lieu of bread, skim milk, light yogurt, fruit of all kinds, flounder and basa fish, chicken, turkey, fresh and frozen veggies with the occasional dollop of regular sour cream, sprinkle of shredded sharp cheddar, handful of olives, ect. It seems to work because I'm eating real food and not processed, fake, unfufilling garbage that leaves you screaming for something real.
I'm not a weight watcher, an Atkins or South Beach follower. Almost every time someone finds out or notices that you are loosing weight they ask you what "program" you are following. Aside from my brief "Deal-A-Meal" stint in the year 2000 (embarrassing, but Richard Simmons is so empowering!), I prefer to march to the beat of my own drum and stick with doing what we were really intended to do as human beings. Which is to eat for the purpose of fueling our bodies.
We will see how it goes as I navigate through my 30th birthday, wedding anniversary and the weddings and other related events of two close family members.
