Laura: Why This Blog and My Weekend Progress

Why this blog?  Maybe so I have a public accounting.  Ha ha ha!  Maybe that's part of it, but truthfully the biggest part is that I totally believe there's strength in numbers.

I think it helps knowing that I'm not alone, that there are others who act and react just as I do at times.  Maybe knowing this, I can quit beating myself up about some of my actions and just keep on going.

I'm not the first person who has decided there's nothing "decent" for breakfast so I'm going to have toast with six pats of butter on it (two pieces of toast, that is... not six pats on ONE piece).

I'm not the first person who went shopping while starving and totally cleaned out the snack food aisle.

And I'm not the first person who said I'm too tired to make dinner, what fast food place is on the way home?

But if I let any of these stop me from picking myself right back up and getting on the health wagon, then I'm just using them as excuses. 

One fall does NOT mean the game is over. 

So yeah, I did have toast with butter for breakfast today.  A lot of butter.

A few years ago, I would have said, "Oh well, I've already blown it.  I'll just eat whatever's around today and I'll start my healthy eating tomorrow."

Um... yeah, we know how well THAT works.  Tomorrow never actually happens because IT'S ALWAYS TODAY.  But the diets that start TOMORROW are so much easier to stay on.

So TODAY... for the rest of the day I ate a lot a fruits and vegetables along with some grilled salmon for lunch and soup for dinner.

I also went to the park with my kids and we played catch for an hour or two.  Since I suck at catching, I burned a lot of calories chasing after the ball I kept missing.

I'm not going to worry about what I'm eating tomorrow or the next day or the next week or the next month.  I only have to think about today.

I can eat healthy for one day, right?

And then tomorrow, all I have to do is eat healthy for one day, right?

:-)

Marina's Mission

My name is Marina and I am glad for the help and support of this group.

I am a happily married mom of a lovely daughter who will turn 14 soon.  My life is filled with good things and happy events. 

Why I have been unable or unwilling to control my weight is a source of much frustrated internal conjecture on my part.  I have no tragic story of early childhood damage, and yet I can watch the TV program “Heavy” and see myself in each of the participants to one degree or another.

I weigh about 120 lbs more than I should and have been overweight since college (a long long time ago).  I have reached the point at which I am not only uncomfortable exercising (which has been a problem all along) but am now uncomfortable doing some of the things I normally have done.  That’s some serious de-conditioning! 

Last week (coincidentally a day before the post in the LE Bathroom) I made a commitment to myself to DO SOMETHING about it rather than just feel sorry for myself.  I’ve only taken baby steps so far but I am working on it. 

So far I have shared my goals with my family (and now you).

The treadmill has actually seen some use (walking only so far, but walking at an uncomfortably fast pace. Yay!)

And yesterday I spent the day cleaning and purging the kitchen of some things I no longer welcome in my life.  I am not swearing off any particular foods but I do acknowledge that pre-prepared processed foods only SOUND like easy fixes and don’t fit with what my body needs.

Laura’s model is what I’m aiming for.  Moderation without craziness.  

I feel my biggest challenges are:

1.  Moving my body is uncomfortable.  But I know the only way to change that is to actually MOVE.  I’m working on it.

And

2.  Time.  After work, I have always in the past found excuses not to make time for myself to exercise and/or prepare healthier foods.  This must change. I have been robbing myself and my family of lifetime not just time in any given day.

It is my hope that this support group will help so that I have a place to report back both my accomplishments and my struggles. 

Yours sincerely and with hope,

Marina

Jill's Deal

I turned 50 this year  :\

In my late teens through my 30s I was at a healthy weight (110-118) and active. Exercise was a regular part of my life, plus I walked everywhere.  I started swimming in college and went from struggling to swim 10 laps (probably took 45 minutes including all the rest time in between laps) in January to swimming a fairly quick paced non-stop 40-45 minutes by June.   I loved swimming!  I loved the feel of the water, the sound it made and the pleasure I got from propelling myself through the water.  I discovered swimmer's high (just like runners high) - all those endorphins coursing through my body. After I graduated college, I added weight training to my routine.  I was fairly regular with working out 3 times a week and swimming 2-3 times a week (I feel tired thinking about it now) and I ate quite healthfully - lots of fruit & veg along with protein and carbs, including the occasional cookie, candy, bowl of ice cream (occasional being the operative word).

Somehow over the years the exercise fell away and the weight came on board.  In the last 10 years, I've gained 30 pounds, which is substantial for a 5'2" frame.

So here I am in the Healthy Bodies Blog!  I have started swimming again and am trying the South Beach diet for the first time (worked very well for my sister who is doing it with me now).  I think I'm a carboholic, so if it helps me break that pattern - yay!  I purchased a Groupon for a one month membership to a gym 2 blocks down from my office that I need to activate.

My goal is to lose 33 pounds and get back under 120, renew my love and commitment of exercise, feel better, and feel better about myself.

Cheers!