Going strong!

I know I've missed a few days. If anyone actually reads this...SORRY!!! I've been sorta busy with my new lifestyle. I've been trying to hit my calorie goals every day and shopping for healthier foods, plus working out (PS, my new iPod makes it MUCH more pleasant to do so!!!). I'm coming along very well! I've lost 5 POUNDS in a week!!! It seems to be getting easier to plan my meals and hit my goals. I will be to my ultimate goal before I know it!

I've decided that once I reach my goal, I'm going to go all-out on a new wardrobe, plus I'm going to start getting my nails done again, which I haven't done in quite some time. If I get to that goal...no, not if, WHEN, I will definitely deserve it!

Feeling so good!

Today was a good day! I'm beginning to feel the positive effects of living healthy. I have more energy, I'm in a better mood, and I'm sleeping better, and it's only day 3! So exciting! Oh, and even more exciting, I'm coming into the digital age. I ordered an iPod! I'm sure music will help me stay motivated to keep moving, and probably pick up the pace a bit as well. I can't wait to get it and load all my music on it! I'm such a nerd :)

Victory is mine!

I am so proud of myself today! I managed to stay within my ideal calorie range, as well as the other important nutrients I'm tracking daily, plus I had a great workout! Go me! I find it much easier to plan my meals ahead and put them all into my nutrition tracker at the beginning of the day. That way I can see my calories for the day before I've actually eaten them. It's very freeing because I don't have to worry about it as long as I stick to my plan. Now I'm looking up recipes on Spark Recipes to make for the rest of this week's dinners. All the nutrition facts are there so I can plan my whole day for tomorrow, right now. I'm starting to like these changes :)

Bad Mother Nature! Go to your room!

Yeah, so yesterday and today weren't so good. Let's just say that I hate Mother Nature and she hates me equally. She gives me cravings and an insatiable hunger that it's very hard to ignore. So I blew the weekend. Tomorrow is a new day, however, and it's much easier to stick to a routine during the week, so it should be much better than this weekend was. I start at the gym tomorrow. I'm sure that once I do one workout, it will remind me of why I used to do it so much and will give me that much more motivation to keep on keepin' on :)

Day One...sort of

I ate as I normally do today, to kind of gauge where I'm at as far as meeting my nutritional needs and such. I'm good with carbs, protein, fat, etc., but with calories...that's a different ball game altogether. I ate well over 2000 calories today, while my dietary needs are 1350-1700. Ouch! But now at least I know what I'm doing wrong and I can fix it.

I went to Trader Joe's today to pick up some healthy fare for this weekend/next week. I got some organic hummus and some Kashi TLC crackers...DELICIOUS for a snack, some BabyBel light cheese, Laughing Cow light (I love cheese!), and some stuff to makes salads for lunches at work next week. I picked up some natural, pre-cooked chicken breast that I will use to give myself a protein kick, some grape tomatoes, baby spinach, and lettuce. I have some sort of light dressing...Italian I think...and voila! A perfect meal...with some BabyBel on the side of course! Dinners are a bit more challenging. This weekend we're having spaghetti with extra lean ground beef and organic spaghetti sauce (marinara), and grilled chicken breast with rice and sauteed veggies. Yumm-o! Tonight we had TJ's jumbo cheese ravioli, which put me way over on my calories because I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Today I indulged, tomorrow I really start watching myself and counting things BEFORE I eat them :)

Over all, I'm feeling very confident about sticking to a plan this time and hitting my goal...hopefully surpassing it. I do have an iron will when I truly want something, and I want to be healthy more than anything right now. I CAN DO IT!

Soooooo....

Hmmm, where to start? This is a multi-directional question. Where to start my entry, and where to start my journey...not so easy questions to answer. I've been considerably overweight since I was a teenager, about 10 years now, and now it's time to end that streak for good. I am 5' 3 1/2" tall and weigh 215 pounds. I have a medium athletic build, so that's not AS fat as it sounds, but pretty close. I'm proportioned, which I'm sure will work to my advantage, as well as muscular (under all the fat), so I should be able to burn calories a bit faster than most people. It's just a matter of how to get to that first step of setting out a plan and actually following it.

I've been here before. In 2006, I lost approximately 70 lbs. through diet and exercise. I lost the weight extremely quickly and gained it back even faster, plus 5 lbs. My current goal is to lose those 75 lbs., plus maybe another 10, but it's okay if not. I don't want to be "skinny" by ANY means. I just want to be healthy. It's more difficult for me to lose weight than many women even though I AM so muscular, because I have a condition called PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome). I stopped having regular periods in my teens, and gained a lot of weight very quickly...about 60 lbs. in a year. I never went to a GYN until last year, and learned that my excessive weight gain, acne, facial hair growth (under my chin...so annoying), and high cholesterol could all be attributed to the PCOS. A relief and a new challenge all in one...*sigh*.

I have been so overwhelmed with the amount of work that has to go into this weight loss that I have yet to start trying to lose it. I have to find a starting point that isn't as gung-ho as last time...a plan that will allow me to take baby steps into it this time...otherwise it won't stick and I will fail yet again. That's another thing...I'm afraid of failing again, so sometimes I feel like I shouldn't even bother. But then I think about how much better life is when you feel healthy and vital, and I ultimately decide I MUST do this.

So this is it. This is the beginning of my journey. Right here, right now. No more procrastinating, no more "I'll start Monday"s. NOW OR NEVER. Wish me luck :)