Days 4, 5 & 6

I've noticed that over the years that I've put on the pounds, my portion sizes have gotten way too big. It became really obvious to me a few months ago when I put more on my plate than my 6' tall teenage son. Ugh!

So I'm now being much more careful about how much I put on my plate. Instead of taking 2-3 spoonsfull of something, I'll take 1 instead.

Day 4: visited some friends who were having a cookout/BBQ potluck. Instead of bringing some kind of dip or other fatty food, I brought a couple large fruit trays I picked up at Meijer. When I got there, instead of having a burger or hot dog, I had the fruit, some of the other lighter side dishes, fresh veggies without the dip, and kept the desserts to 3-4 bites. The rest of the day, I had an English muffin in the morning, and a bowl of cereal for dinner.

Day 5: one English muffin in the morning, with coffee. For dinner, I made a fruit smoothie out of just fruit (No milk/juice/yogurt, etc) from the second fruit tray (leftover) from Meijer. It contained strawberries, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, raspberries, pineapple and honeydew melon. And the whole day, I drank only water.

Day 6: a large plum for breakfast, along with coffee. Dinner was a salad of lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, carrots and broccoli, with raspberry vinaigrette; a small slice of polish sausage, and a small serving of orzo with a sprinkling of parmesan. Sunday night, I had some Dorito's and a beer. (:/

The focus is to take less of everything. I'd gotten so used to eating until I was stuffed, and then feeling uncomfortable. Why?!? I would take a perfectly pleasant dinner or lunch and turn it into a physically uncomfortable situation by overeating.

Somewhere along the line, I've read and heard that we should eat more slowly, chew our food more thoroughly. The idea being that its easier for our bodies to digest food that's been chewed completely, and by eating slowly, we give our brain enough time to register the amount of food in the stomach.

I can already tell that just slowing down in the eating process...not really even focusing on the "chewing" part, just pausing longer between bites, has caused me to feel fuller while eating less.

That's a good start, wouldn't you say?

Still drinking lots of water.

Day 3

Well, no junk food today...unless you include mashed potatoes in that. I had too many carbs today (potatoes, english muffin), but on the up side, mostly water to drink. One glass of juice, no soda. I didn't eat a lot, so my portion sizes today were good.

No exercise either....

I'm going to start my re-entry into exercise by stretching for several days first. I'm not very limber anymore, so to avoid injury, I figured stretching first is a good thing.

I'm considering adding a food journal to this blog. Hmm...

I'll get back to you on that.

Day 2

Went for a walk after work. Drank only water or water with lime, and 2 cups of coffee. That's going to be my weak spot...or shall I say my one coveted vice.

No junk food today. Yay!

Day 1

August 25, 2010. Not a particularly important day.

Just the day I decided to change my life. Specifically, my health.

I'm not particularly unhealthy, mind you. But each day, I feel just a tiny bit less healthy than the day before. Sure I have good days and I have bad days. Sometimes I wake up and my back is ***killing*** me. It takes an hour or so of moving around to work that out. Other days I wake up with no backache at all. Go figure.

The unnerving part is the general overall feeling that I am not getting any younger, and this is not going to get any better unless I make a committed decision, and act on that decision, to make some serious changes.

My meals aren't very healthy, I generally don't exercise, and my body is starting to tell me about it. I'm at my heaviest weight and most sedentary lifestyle, and I'm only 43 years old.

It's not that I'm lazy, I'm just busy, and taking care of my health has sorta dropped off the priority list. Now, in my 40's, I'm aware that I'm approaching the higher risk stage of life for things like heart attacks, high blood pressure, diabetes, and all that stuff that my parents had to cope with.

I'm not ready for that. I don't think I ever will be. And the thing is, I know people much older than myself who are in far superior shape to me. It makes me feel....well, honestly it makes me feel a bit ashamed, and on a deeper level it makes me feel a bit angry with myself for letting things get to this point.

Oh, I've had excuses. I have a husband and children. I have an elderly Mom and In-laws, who've needed help. I have a house and a yard and all the fun stuff that goes with it. I've had pneumonia twice in the last 10 years, that left me breathless for months afterward. I fell once and hurt my back. I went to night school for 10 years to get a bachelor's degree.

All important and serious things that have taken time and attention, and rightly so.

And while all of those things have been going on, I've paid very little attention to my health. And now it's caught up with me.

So, no more excuses. I'm not going to wait until I have a heart attack, like my Dad.

I'm not going to wait until my doctor gives me some rotten news.

I'm starting today. Right now, at 3:06pm in the afternoon. It's not a Monday. It's not the first of the month. It's not a New Year's Resolution. It's my life. And I want to spend the rest of it, a very long, long time of it, being healty, fit and active.

I remember what it felt like to have loads of energy and feel the adrenaline rush of a 3-mile run, or to get out of bed in the morning and have nothing hurt or stiff.

I want that back. And I'm going to document it here.

And if anyone chooses to read this and/or follow it, welcome! I hope to learn a few things and pass them on. Feel free to comment.

Starting weight: 155lbs.