...and then I stopped blogging altogether, but I have run into a few people who were surprised with where I have been - or what I have been doing - in the last year. So, I thought maybe a blog entry was due.
Last summer, sometime in July, I decided that I needed a lifestyle change. I just wasn't happy. Wait. I take that blanket statement back. I wasn't completely happy. Sure, I loved my work. Yes, I was blessed with a wonderful husband, two fabulous kids, supportive family and friends, and a little place I call home. What more could a girl ask for?
Honestly, there was one aspect in my life that had been bugging me for years - yes, years. I was fat. I'm not saying this to get compliments or to hear, "NO. You weren't fat." This is the truth: I was fat, medically fat. At my annual physical in 2007, my doctor told me that I should probably lose about 10 lbs. - eat healthy and exercise - in order to get my cholesterol under control, or plan to go on cholesterol meds in the near future.
Being the person that I am, I agreed with him, drove home, and proceeded to live in denial: I then gained 20 lbs.
What the...?
Yes, that's right. Over the course of the next few years, I proceeded to get more unhealthy, if that was even possible Truth be told, I had several health issues prior to gaining more weight: severe sleep apnea, fatigue, insomnia. It was bad. I was bad. And it went from bad to worse when I gained the additional 20 lbs.
However, barring one failed diet in high school I did with my mom (a 3-day diet where we ate particular foods in order to lose 5 lbs. based on some mumbo jumbo food chemistry), I had never been one to diet - and I still don't believe in diets as a whole. To me, the problem with a diet is that it is, in effect, temporary. People will say they need to go on a diet and then they either go off the diet or finish the diet when goal weight is achieved. Plus, the idea that people had to restrict themselves to a certain amount of food and only certain types seemed unrealistic to me. That was never going to fly with me.
So, I opted to overhaul my lifestyle. Last July, I decided enough was enough. I started by tracking my foods on a phone app called myfitnesspal. (It also is available online - synched and available for free.) That app helped me change my habits. I realized that I was eating way too much crap foods. Yea, yea. We all know that. And while I admit that I knew that, too, I didn't realize the extent of how horrible my eating habits were. Logging said food was eye-opening.
The first couple weeks were rough. After years of eating, by my guesstimation, 2000-3000 calories a day, dropping down to 1400-1700 calories a day seemed impossible. I learned quickly that if I worked out, I would be "granted" exercise calories. Meaning, I could then eat 2000 calories a day still, if I worked out.
I didn't want to work out at first - and I only did so because I wanted to eat more. The little, baby 15 minute workouts turned into 60-90 minute sessions on the elliptical trainer. Burning the calories allowed me to eat more.
This awareness made me a tad obsessed. I logged in my food daily. I never wanted to go over my calorie goal - because then it would be red, which meant failure to me. Couldn't have that now, could I? Also, I started researching more about healthy foods and exercises; I made better food choices and implemented a workout regimen. The elliptical trainer was easy. Shortly after I started working out 45-60 minutes on it, I added in a kettlebell workout routine - first with a measly 4 lb. weight, then a 7 lb. weight; My 10 lb. weight just arrived in the mail today.
I've eased up a little in the last few weeks. If I go over my calorie goal for the day, it's not a disaster. I don't hop on the elliptical late at night to burn off the overage. And I don't work out 7 days a week like I did for months. I'm trying to be a little less obsessed and wean myself off the insane workout schedule I had followed, but I still do work out 4-5 days a week: elliptical trainer mixed with kettlebells are the norm; taekwondo classes, occasional fitness DVDs, and fitness classes at the gym can substitute the elliptical trainer sessions in order to change it up!
It has been over 6 months since I started this healthy lifestyle - and I haven't felt this great since college. I feel better and I have more energy. Overall, I'm less tired (unless I idiotically pull an all-nighter) and I feel happier. I guess that's what losing 30+ lbs. does to a person.
That's right - 33 freakin' lbs. to be exact. If I can lose 5 more, awesome. If I can't, I'm okay with that, too.
So, doc...I'm ready for my check-up. I'm down to the weight he had suggested about 5 years ago. How ya like them apples?
Just to show you I'm not making this up, here's a photo from October 2010 and then from last November 2011 (after losing 20 or so lbs.) I've lost 10 lbs. since the last photo, but you get the idea.)
