The First Day of the Rest of My Life

Actually....I think the first day of the rest of my life started back in May....when I  stepped on the treadmill at the DRC for the first time. Although I had no confidence that I was going to come back the next day....I still took the first step. For the most part, working out has not really been that bad. The only issue I seem to have is the hour that I tend to go.....5:30 a.m. It really is a double-edged sword for me. I do much better when I workout first thing, and by doing that I have no excuses as the day goes on to NOT go. However....5:30 a.m. is an ungodly hour to have to hit the floor running. Most days though, I am up and there. I find the workouts challenging and I made up my mind from day one that there would be no excuses or quitting!!! So far....I am good.

In the weeks that I have been working out....I have not had the large weight losses that I had hoped for. I have seen many health benefits; (blood pressure, cholesterol, heart rate), and I sleep better, seem to have more energy, and feel a little less stressed, but I have only lost 10 lbs. I was hoping for more along the lines of 30. August 19th is just around the corner and that is our annual town celebration of Old Settlers. There are parties, bbq's, and many activities.....not to mention you always run into people that you haven't seen in years. My goal was to look and feel a lot better than I did last year. Perhaps I should have started this all last year, but I was licking emotional wounds and nursing a bruised ego (a story for another time) and I just wasn't quite ready. Oh well...better late than never. At any rate....I am doing it now and my goals are just a bit loftier than looking good for an event or the month of August for that matter. My goals seem to be becoming much more long term. That is why when the weight wasn't coming off, I knew that the next change needed to be my eating habits.

I am such a profound self deceiver. I can convince myself that a whole cheesecake will NOT wind up on my rear end and that a bag of tortilla chips and a whole jar of salsa is health food. After all...salsa is made from tomatoes and tomatoes are good for you.....right???? So all the working out in the world is not going to make me lose large amounts of weight....if the eating habits suck. Mine did. Although I will say that I have done much better with the salads and the fruits and veggies, the late night peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and the craving for ice cream have most likely held me back. That is where Weight Watchers steps in!

Many years ago when WW first began, my aunt who had heart issues and was many pounds overweight began a lifestyle change with WW. Back then WW had the same precepts....but the diet itself was much more restrictive and not nearly as evolved, but she went at it full force. One year I saw her at a family reunion and she was very large wearing a moo moo type dress and spending most of her time sitting. The next year I did not recognize her. She was a size 8 bundle of energy, who looked 15 years younger. It was amazing and it was a lifestyle change that she held until her death many years later. She was a proud member of the WW maintenance group and her dr. told her many times over that she saved her own life and added at least 2 decades to it.

My mom also had put on 20+ pounds and decided to jump on her sisters bandwagon. Within six weeks she had lost all her weight....never starved herself once and looked fantastic. So WW was something that I had seen work over and over, but it is not a lazy persons "diet". (I hate the word diet and from this second forward we will call it a lifestyle change!) WW is not about prepared food that you pop into the microwave and call good. It is a program that teaches you what is good for you, will fill you up, and will keep your body running efficiently. You learn to make good grocery buying choices, eating out choices, and you learn portion control. But YOU do it all. You buy the food, prepare the food, and eat the food.....all the while learning that this is not just for the here and now.....but for forever. For those that like the convenience of having your food delivered to you and all you have to do is nuke it and eat it....WW might be a little too much work for you, but I can't afford to have someone do all the work for me.

So yesterday was my first meeting. My previous 10 lb weight loss was only known to me. So this feels like starting from scratch. The number glaring back at me on the scale was a couple of pounds less than last year at this time, but still way too high for me to want to associate with it or be comfortable with. it.  If I lose all the weight I hope to lose.....I am going to lose a small child from my body. (Okay....maybe a "not" so small child). I am hoping though, that finally getting both the eating right and the working out....I will start seeing results. While I have some energy back....it is in no way anywhere near where it should be. I am so tired of walking in the door in the evening and being too tired to function the rest of the day.I am ready to feel closer to 20 something than 70 something.

Back to the meeting. Yesterday was my first and just as my luck always is....there will be NO meeting next week, so I will have to wait 2 weeks before I know if I am getting results. It is all about goal setting, so my goal to begin with is to work out at least 5 days per week and to eat the 5 recommended fruits and veggies a day. This should prove to be interesting. The group of ladies that is also attending the meetings are mostly women I know. Mostly they are acquaintances but all are very nice and seem like a fun group. It really won't be a bad way to spend an hour a week.

So with my cupboards empty.....I headed to the grocery store as soon as my workout was complete at 7 a.m. this morning. I had read the WW first handout/book from cover to cover yesterday, so I had a pretty decent idea of what I needed. I shopped mostly the perimeter of the store and stayed pretty much away from the isles where quick frozen meals loaded with salt, sugary goodies, and those ever popular boxed meals reside. Instead I did my best to purchase my dairy products, fruits, veggies, and lean meat. I am now all prepared for a week of healthy eating that will help me stay within my allotted 24 points. Tomorrow might be a challenge because I am having an open house of sorts....filled with goodies.....and of course....cheesecake, so staying accountable won't be much fun. Thank goodness for the extra 35 weekly points we are given. Have a feeling there won't be many of those left by the end of tomorrow.

Well....this is it. The beginning. Maybe it is not exactly the first day of the rest of my life....but it definitely is part of the journey....and away we go!