So... It's been a little while. Granted, there have been several minor inconsistencies in my life during the past few months that has kept me from posting (more on that later...). However, for the most part, laziness has overcome my time and I find most of my carefree summer afternoons spent lying on my couch watching reruns of "Frasier."
BUT a new chapter is beginning. Recently, I stepped on a scale and, holy cannoli, the last thing I wanted to see popped up on that little digital box. Weight gain. After this unfortunate discovery and some soul-searching (yeah, right), I realized several characteristics that I have that I'd really like to overcome:
1) I have no discipline or sense of commitment. Sure, on occasion I wake up early to go for a 3 mile run (then feel like it's a foodie free-for-all the rest of the day). But other than the infrequent triumph over my alarm clock's snooze button, I really have nothing to show for the supposed "New Year's Resolutions" guarantees and numerous diet/exercise programs that I've started. My lack of determination and willpower yet again wreck my previous efforts and inconsistent healthier meals.
2) "Excuses, excuses, excuses." I have so many darn excuses! My mind is always coming up with reasons why it isn't a problem that I indulge in extra calories on a daily basis, skip workouts, or give up on weight loss tactics. "I didn't get enough sleep, I shouldn't ware myself out." "I had a busy day at work, I just feel like lying around." "I'm stressed out, the last thing I need to think about is cutting back calories." "It's summer, it's hot, and I don't want to wake up early to workout before work."
3) I'm a chronic boredom-snacker, stress-snacker, study-snacker, and late-night-snacker. Basically, I eat your typical 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) whether or not I'm all that hungry after munching frequent times throughout the day on whatever appeals to my appetite. Obviously, this can hinder my efforts and can easily lead to overeating and abnormal habitual mealtimes.
4) I blame a lot of my weight issues on my family's nutritional environment, which is completely unacceptable of me. WE LIKE FOOD. Always have and always will. Food is a love language, a conversation starter, an ice-breaker, a celebration technique, a gift, a teaching/learning experience, and much more. I love food and will rarely turn down one of my mom's amazing home cooked meals or delectable desserts , yet I continuously fret about what I'm putting in my body and what effects on my health that it could have. It's a rough cycle!
So what did I do today? I signed my life (and a huge chunk of my monthly paychecks) away to California Family Fitness with an 11-month contract. This excuses many of my excuses. Doesn't matter if it's too hot outside during summer or pouring rain, there's a pool or plenty of indoor options. Don't want to get out again once I'm home for the afternoon? The gym is less than 2 miles from where I work, I can hit it on my way home. So unless I feel like wasting $$$ every month for almost a year while skipping workouts routinely, I have no reason NOT to exercise. This, in turn, will hopefully equal some shed pounds and more motivation to keep my eating habits in check.
As far as dieting goes, I'm trying to stay away from the term "diet." It leaves a nasty taste and I hear over and over again not to think in terms of dieting, because the effects won't last long after you hit your goal weight. Diets are temporary and used specifically for something (weight loss, weight gain, body-building). So I'm going with the term "lifestyle change" and hoping for a more optimistic perspective towards the foods I'll be eating. I'm following the 80/20 rule - 80% healthy, whole, nutritious choices and 20% whatever-I-want-within-reason choices. That's about 35 meals per week total (5 meals/day), 28 meals healthy and good for me, 7 meals as treats. And if you're anything like me and want to get really technical - that's 1,200 calories/day while in the weight-loss cycle, which would come out to about 8,400 calories/week. 6,720 of those should be saved for the good stuff, while a leftover 1,680 calories can be spent on whatever I feel like spending them on.
Being the organization whiz/addict that I am, I have graphs, charts, journals, and a lot of Sharpies/highlighters ready for use to finally tackle this beast called weight loss. Join me as I keep you all posted on the probably monotonous journey that I'll be taking over the next few months.
OH, I suppose I should mention, my weight loss goals are around 25-30 pounds by the end of this year. It'd be really awesome if I could say I kept my New Year's Resolution for once in my life.
Also: Encouragement is Welcome!
