Today Is The Day

Today is the day of a new beginning.  Why did I pick today to start?  Well honestly, I thought I started six days ago but last minute dinners out with friends going back to school kind of destoryed that ambition.  My next goal date was tomorrow… a Sunday, the beginning of a new week.  It would make a lot more sense than Saturday, especially since I’m probably going out with friends and planning to enjoy my night.  So why did I start today?  Well honestly, I woke up this morning and had to be at work by 8am.  As I was walking out at the last minute, (something I am very well known for), I realized I was a little hungry.  I grabbed two bottles of water, a bowl, and a packet of my healthy oatmeal that I had not yet tried even though I bought it over a week ago.  ”This will have to do,” I thought.  And so it began. You probably are wondering what I am even talking about when I say “the beginning.”  I mean the beginning of my… *cringe* diet.  I hate the word diet.  It’s probably one of the most disgusting, horrid words in the English language.  So I don’t want to call this a diet but instead, the new beginning to how I am going to live the rest of my life – healthy.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  I am not some organic eating size 0 health freak, oh no.  In fact, that is the complete opposite of what I am and what I desire to become.  I am a twenty year old female who has been overweight all of her life.  My family has a history of high blood pressure and a lot of related heart diseases.  I do not want this to be me.  I’ve started my “diet” a billion times before… some even very successfully but I always find some excuse to stop.  But not anymore.  I am so SICK of feeling the way I feel and looking the way I look.  I’m sick of never having any clothing.  I’m sick of telling someone I can’t go to a party because I have nothing to wear or can’t stand what I see in the mirror.  I’m sick of emotionally eating which makes me gain weight which just stresses me out more and causes me to pig out.  It’s all a vicious, vicious cycle and I’ve been living it for far too long. My cousin’s fiance (who is one of my best friends) and my cousin finally set a wedding date: September 10th, 2011.  It is going to be an absolutely BEAUTIFUL wedding and I already picked out the dress I want to wear and the hell if I’m going to buy it in plus size (or ever wear plus size again!).  This is my goal date… not a final date in any way.  I’m no going to go back to my old habits after this wedding, but I am going to look and feel DAMN GOOD at it.  I don’t really know right now how much weight I can lose in that amount of time until I start losing, and then I can make a reasonable estimate/goal.  Until then, I just am setting the date, firmly in stone. THE BATTLE PLAN: My plan is simple.  I want to lose over 100 pounds.  I don’t really have an IDEAL weight I guess.  I would like to say 130 but I hope to build muscle and be very toned.  I remember my PE teacher in 7th grade who was fit and beautiful said she weighed over 150 pounds and I know it was because of the muscle, so that is a perfect goal too!  I don’t want to just be thin, I want to be fit and there is a very fine difference. STRATEGY: 1) Exercise daily.  I will FORCE myself to.  I know they say you can excerise like three times a week but I don’t want to settle myself to that because I know I can do it daily (except in cases of travel, etc. etc.)  When I can’t find the time, I plan to keep moving!  My job is very physically demanding and I’m glad because it keeps me moving.  I walk and lift heavy objects and although cannot replace exercise, it is a good substitute when I can’t do my routine workout (of which I will be developing here in the next couple days).  As far as that goes, I want to alternate workouts because my cousin’s fiance’s trainer said that is what is best for you.  Burn more calories than you take in… simple. 2) Eat right.  No, I am not going to become a health freak but I do want to try to cut and count calories (maybe even a few weeks of carb cutting because it will take the weight off FAST and that really makes you want to keep working hard!)  I am not going to cut bad food completely, it is okay to splurge once in awhile.  I plan to allow myself one splurge day ONLY and be very strict about that because I haven’t in the past.  I don’t want to just eat foods that say “fat free” and etc. though, I want to eat very healthy for me.  Nuts, meat, fruit, vegetables, yogurt… all the foods that are GOOD for you.  I also want to drink more water. 3) Blog about it.  It is so hard to keep a “diet <-eeeeek!” going, especially when you are going at it alone.  I have already lined up a few work-out buddies which will make it more fun, but that is not quite enough.  I feel like if I have to report to this blog and publicize what I do, I will be more motivated to not stray from my plan and let myself down!  All it will take is ten minutes everyday to report my progress.  This will also help me to create menus, exercise plans, goals, and other related information and make it easily accessible for me and everyone else.  That’s another thing.  I hope to gain followers!  I know there are a lot of people out there struggling to lose weight like me, so I truly hope to be an inspiration to someone!  There is power in numbers and if you can motivate each other to keep working, it will be easier for you to keep trying as well.  There’s nothing I’d love more than to create/join a circle of people who are starting a new beginning so feel free to contact me if you are doing so!  I thought about joining a weight watchers group or something but I am just a poor twenty year old! THE RESULT: I will no longer look in the mirror and say, “Well, this is as good as it’s gonna get.”  I will feel better about myself.  I will be healthy.  I will be able to sleep better, work harder, and play longer.  I will be able to find a pair of jeans and a bra that fit in the stores – not by special order.  I will never buy a plus size item again.  I will donate all of my “big” clothes to the Salvation Army as SOON as I lose the weight so I know there is nothing to fall on, no going back.  I will never feel bad about eating in front of ANYBODY.  I will wear a bikini at the beach and not be ashamed to walk from my beach chair to the ocean.  And I will, ABSOLUTELY will wear this dress to the wedding: Current Weight: Loss/Gain: n/a Breakfast: Whole Grain Cranberry Oatmeal ( fat, calories) Lunch: Sheetz Grilled Chicken Salad from the Eat Schmart Menu (5g fat, 263 cal), NAKED Cherry Pomegranate Power Drink (complete with 15 cherries, 1 pomegranate, 1 1/2 apples, 1/3 a banana, and 33 red grapes – 0g fat, 280 cal) Dinner: Zucchini & Squash sautéed in wheat pasta & light olive oil, lightly battered halibut, 2 low fat cornbread muffins. Snacks: One cup of light orange juice. Water Intake: Two Bottles - Jessie

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