On the Right Track

Howdy, all! I've actually found the time and energy, now to begin and continue posting. Let's see, where to begin...why the beginning, of course! I was born in Atlanta and when I was two, we moved to L.A. At 8.5 years old, we moved to Nashville. I went to college in Clarksville and now, I'm currently living in the land of mormons...Utah. I've been here since '98 and let me tell you, it's like no other state I've ever lived in. Talk about culture shock! It's like the freaking stepford wives, here! Everyone is exactly the same. It's like someone took a cookie cutter and went bullistic! Anyway, I must like it a little bit because I'm still here.

I'm a southern girl at heart, but I don't plan on ever moving back. There are a lot of things, however, that I miss like how green everything is. You really take that for granted, or at least, I did. Moving to a desert will do it to you. I also miss the food. Ah, yes. The greasy, double deep-fried goodness that is the south, which is what brings me to my next thought.

I'm just under five feet, three inches in height and I weigh approximately 173 pounds. What's crazy is, I've been much heavier. After having my little girl, I was tipping the scale at 195 pounds. What a nightmare! I suppose I was in denial because everyone kept saying, just after I had her, "You're so skinny! Look, no more belly!" I guess I let that get to my head. Duh! Of course I looked skinnier. I wasn't carrying six pounds of belly in front of me anymore. I felt lighter, and therefore, I must have been, right? Wrong with a capital "W"! No one at my height should ever weigh that much. I hadn't even glanced at a scale, since before the baby was actually born.

During the 2002 Winter Olympics (held here, by the way), my sister and I were getting ready to go the Medal's Plaza to see Nelly Fertado. I was fully clothed and wearing enough layers to keep a whale warm. For giggles and kicks, I decided to step on the scale and to my horror...188 pounds. Ughh! I couldn't believe it! Even with all the layers and the fact that it was the end of the day, I was still mortified. From that moment I swore to make changes and I promptly did.

During the following months, I adopted better eating habits, began exercising and changed my total outlook on being healthy. By June, I was down to 176 and by September or October, I was down to 160. Unfortunately, the holidays came and that was it for me. It was the maintaining that proved to be so hard, especially during those months (Now, remember I'm a southern girl and we know how to put it away)! I couldn't believe how fast the weight came back on! So, here I am again with my new frame of mind.

In January, my office relocated and placed us square behind a fitness gym. As a perk, all employees were given free memberships (a sign). Then, my husband found a killer sale on a proform treadmill. He promptly purchased the treadmill (another sign). Oh, and in January I turned 29 and by God if I'm going to be an overweight 30 year old! So, it was off to the gym and on to the treadmill.

Now, I'll tell you, I have no problem with exercise. I can walk circles around retired mall walkers. It's the getting started that's tough. Why can't you just start where you left off? It sure would make things easier. I really hate doing the granny speeds, but that's exactly what you have to do when you haven't been at it for a while. So, 3.2 was my starting speed with no incline. I thought I was gonna die, that first day and I felt like a total wussy! Fortunately, I'm up to 3.7 and now I'm incorporating the gym during my lunch break (elliptical trainer - burns lots of calories in a shorter amount of time). I started at 180 or so and now I'm down to the weight I mentioned above.

Anal at heart, it's an absolute necessity that I journal everything I eat. That way, I'm held accountable. I also like to give myself goals with rewards to make the process a bit easier. The first reward is one of the movies from my Half.com wishlist. I absolutely love movies. My hubby and I (before we had our daughter) used to go every weekend. He's an officer, so we got the best discounts and sometimes we'd do two or three in a weekend. I sure miss those days. I can never get enough of them! (but I digress)

My plan is simple and can be found on lots of websites. Of course, most people know that you can't go under a calorie intake of 1200. That places you directly in the path of starvation and your body will hold on to every calorie for dear life (literally). So, I do about 1200 (a little over or under, some days). Also, I drink the recommended 8 glasses of water a day (which works out to be 1/2 gallon.) They also tell you to drink 8 ounces for every 25 pounds you want to loose. I'm not drowning in that much water yet, but I'll get there. Plus, I do know how hard it is to suck it down. It can really get old, quick. The newest trick I've found is to bring a 32 ounce bottle and put 1/2 a tub of crystal light (generic Wal-Mart brand for me) in the bottle with the water. There are not enough calories to matter and it's sweet. I get two down before the work day is over. (I'm also having a torrid affair with the office restroom).

Anyway, I do the low calorie intake, the buckets of water and I also keep it under 30 fat grams. Any dietician will tell you that the only way to loose weight is to burn more than you consume. Logically, that means taking in less and burning off more. It's not rocket science, but we sure have a hard time doing it, don't we?

Well, I've prattled on for long enough. I'll give details of the days, from here forward. Feel free to write. I'd love to hear your suggestions.