Day Seven

Wow! What a week it has been. While I wasn't able to exercise everyday - thanks to my tired ol' muscles - I did exercise both Saturday (yesterday) and Sunday (today). In my world - weekend exercising is a HUGE success!

Also - drum roll please....I am down 6 POUNDS! Yay!

Yesterday I bought the new Wii Fit Plus game. That game is way too much fun to be called exercise and yet, after 1/2 hour of "playing" I'm also feeling the burn! The whole family was up playing, laughing, challenging each other - what a blast!

I can't wait to see what next week brings! Wish me luck...

Day Five (part 2)

Wow! What a night I've had. Who knew that if I just put a little effort in I could exercise and play with my baby. My youngest is 16 months old and playing with him was all the exercise I needed this evening.

I was able to horse around with my little guy, picking him up and throwing him around. That got my arms feeling really good. I ran around with him on the floor crawling, laying, getting back up and then back down again. It didn't take much of that to feel my heart rate rising and cheeks flushing. While I'm looking forward to getting a more specific exercise program in tomorrow, I'm happy that I was happy to find such a happy medium this evening.

I actually think that tonight was good lesson for me to learn. It's not about what you do or when you do it. It's just doing something and finding a way to fit it into your life. Taking time to play with the kids is an amazingly fun way to get some exercise in without having to sacrifice our family time.

So happy with how things are going right now!

Day Five (part 1)

Okay, so it's been a few day since I've blogged but I am still here and doing well. My first day of exercising was quite literally torture. Nevertheless, it was a morning of torture I'm glad I participated in!

Unfortunately, I became so sore as Monday evening wore on and in full sore mode Tuesday morning that I haven't been able to exercise since. In fact, I haven't been able to walk much or sit down gracefully since then – for those are activities that require the use of my severely shocked thigh muscles.

The good news is that my legs are now healed. This healing occurred much faster than I thought it would which I take to be a very good sign that while unhealthy, I'm not quite as out of shape as I thought and my body is clearly ready for the challenge. The second and most excellent piece of news is that I did not deviate from my healthier eating. In my past diet/weight-loss ventures, one setback usually led to a justification of all out slacking. "Well, if I can't exercise there's no point – I might as well just eat want I want too." Therefore, I consider this minor setback accompanied with award winning stick-to-it-tiveness a major success!

I am writing this as Part 1 because I plan to blog about my return to exercise this evening. I think my long-term success will be better served by trying a workout that won't leave me bedridden so I'm going to experiment tonight and share my findings.

Thanks for sticking with me. Talk atcha tonight!

Day One

So, I couldn’t sleep last night. My brain wouldn’t stop thinking about…everything, I guess.  It had to have been nearly 1:00 am before I finally crashed which made the “baahh, baahh, baahh” of my 5:00 am alarm clock that much more annoying. I did however, get up and exercise!  WOO HOO!

I exercised a 12-minute routine (plus a six-minute warm up) on my new Biggest Loser game for the Wii. Mmmmm…actually, calling it a game is stretching the definition of “game.” Modernized mid-evil torture might be more accurate. I even chose Bob over Jillian for my trainer. If I’m being completely honest here…I was ready to stop after the six minute warm up!

Anyway, the exercising was pretty intense and definitely a “real” workout (whatever that means). I had to do push ups, pelvic thrusts, and…JUMPING JACKS! Let me tell you – heaving all of my 288 lbs into the air over and over was – I’m sad to say – an extremely difficult task. Thankfully, I survived the exercise, showered, got dressed, and packed up my lunch.

Other than being pretty tired from a lack of sleep – My day was pretty darn good. No major temptations or setbacks. However, as the evening wore on, I began to realize that my mind was tempting me. Tempting me to make some excuse to eat fast food. I’ve always believed that food addictions are very similar to drug/alcohol addictions. I’m clearly not a medical professional and have never been addicted to drugs or alcohol but quitting overeating has got to be close. Is it possible that I have over indulged in food so long that I’ve actually formed some kind of dependency to it? I swear – just the thought of how that food will smell and taste and feel in my stomach is nearly enough to get me to go buy it. Distraction – both mental and oral (gum, apples, etc.) is what got me through today.

I’m proud of myself for making it through day one but can see that things will get worse before they get better and that’s okay - I’m ready for the challenge. I’m praying to stay strong and make through this tough period of food withdrawal. Yuck.

The Day Before

Well, tomorrow is the big day. Most of my life, I've forgone the whole "New Years Resolution" thing after quickly realizing at probably 20 that I never follow through with them. This year is different. This year I saw my reflection in a store window - which I understand takes its liberty with our shapes - but even considering that I was not satisfied with the looks of that woman.

What I saw was the face of a fairly young looking woman sitting on top of this extremely round and oddly shaped body sitting on top of two really small ankles. I saw a young woman whose clothes didn't quite fit like they should with various lumps and bumps jutting out at odd angles. I saw a woman who pretty much looked really uncomfortable just casually walking around. I began wondering how my children, coworkers, or friends might describe that woman. One issue that was blazingly clear is that the woman in the store window does not even come close to exuding the confidence, hilarity, sensitivity and intelligence that I feel inside myself.

It was this realization that has prompted my decision to embark on this journey. I will not live two lives any longer. I refuse to allow those around me to see a different person than I truly am. From here on out, my goal is for the reflection in the mirror to match the identity on the inside.

As a way to work through what will undoubtedly be a rough, exciting, long, and hopeful journey, I have decided to create a blog. I hope this blog will serve as a means to gain support from friends, family, and any others on a similar journey, a way to hold myself accountable to the commitment I've made, and a way to sort the thoughts I have about my successes and set backs.


So - with that, I'll post this first blog and ask for anyone that comes across it to share a motivating story, quote, or sentiment. I believe this is important because together everyone achieves more!

   

R Thigh: 30 1/4"

L Thigh: 29 1/2"

R Arm: 18 1/4"

L Arm: 18"

Bust: 54"

Waist: 55"

Hips: 58 1/2"

Weight: 288 lbs