Now...

I'm so lucky. My parents and fiancé have vowed to help me in eating healthier! They are very kind.. and I hope all of us can achieve our health goals together. The only issue is that everyone has their own battles with diet. We've tried this before, and when one of us is weak, the others often follow. It's nobody's fault, but I'm going to have to be happy making my own diet decisions as well. 

That being said, we have an idea for what might make overeating an issue of the past... NOT eating in front of the TV! The plan is to savor each bite, eating slowly so that we won't feel the need to "taste it again" with second's. I'm certain this will help me especially, since I almost always eat too much. I hate overeating, but yet I still do it, and I feel almost incapable of self-restraint. In fact, I've been a slave to food forever, and I really think a few diet changes will mean the world to my overall health. A proper diet coupled with daily exercise will really help with my weight loss goals. 

Today was a baaaaad day for food. A huge breakfast, snacking, and a fatty dinner. I'm sick with a cold/flu, so my energy levels were very low. Apparently low energy = snacking on chocolatey, sugary foods all day. Eating a banana, apple, or yogurt would have been much better! Easier said than done, especially after a big dinner.

We also bought a new scale... sigh... Before dinner (but after snacking and drinking lots of fluids, and with clothes on) I weighed 194.2lbs ... yikes.. I really hoped to never hit above (or near) 190-ish ever again. Needless to say, I was very upset. Fortunately, I have some smart plans for losing 10lbs by Xmas. I will eat less rice, bread, and potatoes, while having more vegetables and healthy protein. The annoying thing is that I know what to do, but it's in what proportion to do it that I am confused with. How much should I eat? How often? What happens if I'm not eating enough? Will I go into starvation mode and end up storing even more fat?? 

Here's a helpful blog/post: http://www.thedietsolutionprogram.com/ 

Here we go... again and again.

I'm back here again. Here, as in, at this point in my health, again. For most of my life I have been overweight, and now I am apparently considered "obese" in the BMI standards. My BMI puts me at 30.5 (anything at, or above, 30 is considered obese). I am 23yrs, weigh 185lbs, with a height of 5'5. I don't quite expect to make my "ideal weight" of 150lbs, but I would LOVE to reach 165lbs. That will be my goal. I plan to lose the 20lbs by February, and I want to be down 10lbs by Christmas... so there it is, my weight loss goals.

One of my biggest (no pun intended) issues is that I tend to gain muscle when I begin a workout regime. For instance, I was happily living and working at around 180lbs 3 weeks ago. After returning to the gym (I had been stuffing my face with Halloween chocolates after returning home from a 20 day field job.. it included 8hrs+ of hard physical labor daily.. I *think* I lost 10-15lbs from that!) I managed to gain this additional 5lbs, plus my belly is now definitely a "belly" :(

So, obviously, diet and exercise will help me in reaching my goals. I've yo-yo'ed back and forth with 20-ish pounds over the past couple years. Firstly, that's a lot of weight to be playing with! It used to be +/- 5lbs in highschool, then 10 in early university... but this is absolutely ridiculous, and I'm really upset. After two very physical jobs, I've eaten back most of the weight. I believe I'm still about 10lbs slimmer than I was at my biggest (around last April this past Spring). Seeing the looming 200lb mark on the scale (I got up to 195lb at least... eeek!) was a terrible feeling. I normally avoid scales ... but no longer. I HAVE to manage my weight. Sure, I've had a rough 5 years of post-secondary education, and now I'm about to begin another 2+ years. I cannot let myself become this unhealthy again. It has affected my grades, my relationships, and my self-esteem (the most important in the long run!). The amount of time I spent (and still spend) beating myself up about poor diet and laziness is absurd. I just can't function like this anymore. 

Luckily, I'm starting to wise up. Sure, today I ate like 6 chocolate Turtles (sigh..), but I just finished a snack of apple, almonds, and celery. That's something to be proud of: healthy snacks! I have never really managed healthy eating, so I need to concentrate on praising my good choices!

One interesting link I found today is: http://www.wikihow.com/Lose-Weight-Fast

This article mentioned several tips, and some info on the various options for weight loss. Rewarding yourself (in ways that don't involve food!) is a great way to keep a positive attitude. Trying to lose weight while being in a depression is almost impossible! Trust me... Depression and weight gain can go hand-in-hand, leaving you shocked 20lbs later. 

Another important point is support - you need it! I'm about to go hunting for some weight loss support networks online. Maybe I can find a chat room/forum that helps people discuss their issues and support each other. 

All of the weight loss talk is right. It is a lifestyle change, not a diet. A diet is temporary, while a lifestyle change is permanent (hopefully!). Although I will likely blab on and on about my diet, it will be referring to my eating habits, not some crazy 1500 calorie diet plan! Speaking of diet, there is a labyrinth of information out there about which foods will help and hinder a healthy eating plan. Let's see how I choose to eat!

Daily Food Journal:

Breakfast: (ate out) french toast, some strawberries, maple syrup, hash browns, hot chocolate and coffee 

Lunch/snack: apple, hand full of almonds, celery sticks, yogurt (with sugar.. damn you Yoptimal!)

Dinner: (I will be having) spaghetti (white pasta) with homemade sauce (with vegetables, lots of vegs!), and broccoli/celery side dish

Yeeesh! I really need to makes some changes! It's been a very carb-heavy day, and I know that's an issue (I put on weight sooo easily, and my blood sugar seems to spike and plummet often). I'm glad I didn't skimp on my lunch, since waiting between big meals just makes me overeat. I'm incorporating more vegs in my meals, so that's an improvement. One of my no-no's is eating snacks after dinner/before bed, even if I'm full! (biiig no-no!). Watching TV always makes me want to eat.. so maybe I need to re-think my routine or associate drinking water with TV. I'm actually really, really good with drinking water. AND I loooove exercising. You'd think weight loss would be simple, but I always put my own needs last...

From now on: my personal health/happiness comes first, even before family and friends. That's really hard for me to say, especially since I adore everyone in my life, but this has gotten unhealthy, even dangerous. I'm at risk for so many health problems including: diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and in the future: osteoporosis, and Alzheimer's disease. I am dedicated to bettering my own life so that I can better the lives of my family and friends, especially for my fiance. He deserves a happy wife one day, and I am determined to provide him with that :) Now.... off to exercise (lightly, since my back is super sore!)! - every step, every drop of sweat, and every second exercising is that much closer to reaching my health goals. It's not just about weight loss - it's about becoming a better me. 

Sorry this post was massive! The next ones (especially next semester) will be smaller. I plan to do a sample daily food plan each post, along with what exercises have been completed recently.

Exercise: (last Saturday, Nov. 26th)

- 23min on elliptical machine at '14' setting resistance, with varying ramp settings

- ~ 4 laps walking with mom 

- 5min rowing on machine - hardest setting

Anyway! Enough of this.. off to workout! - best of luck to you, and me!