Thursday, January 6, 2011

It's Just the Beginning

Okay, if you are seeing this post you are either family, a very close friend, or someone who follows my blog because I am not going to "advertise" this post.

So here goes...I am overweight. My medical records read "obese". I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea. Heart disease, stroke, and diabetes run in my family. The high blood pressure can lead to kidney failure, stroke and heart failure. I have been this way since Peggy was born. I have had some success of weight loss a few years back but he has come back.

I haven't tried really hard to do anything about it. I admit, I sit on my butt watching Biggest Loser while eating a bowl of ice cream-not just one scoop, but a bowl of ice cream. I can devour a row of Oreo's in one sitting (or standing at the counter for that matter). I LOVE baked goods and have a really hard time leaving them alone. Quite often I will go on a candy binge...Brach's "Autumn Mix", Candy Corn, Indian Corn, "Cupid Mix" (those mellow creme things), Chicks and Rabbits, Circus Peanuts, and oh yeah chocolate. I'm a sucker for the Hershey's Eggs too. However, I can also stay away from candies and sweets. We still have Easter Candy and Halloween Candy left over from last year in the cupboard in the "candy bucket"...I can leave that stuff alone. But when I get on one of those binges, nothing is stopping me. I can eat potato chips and onion dip till I puff up from too much salt. Veggies are rather nonexistent in my diet. Yeah, I will eat lettuce and tomatoes either as a salad or on a burger. A handful of raw carrots (with ranch dip of course) will sometimes end up on my plate if I'm at a party. Corn and potatoes are staples in our meals. I don't fix veggies very often because I don't "like" them. If I serve green beans, they are Linda's canned beans cooked with bacon and onions, and I will force myself to a "No Thank You" helping. My eating habits have a lot to be desired.

I finally have decided that I AM going to do something about my weight this year!

I follow a couple of blogs of ladies that I have been "introduced to" in the scrapbooking cyberland (and at conventions). I have taken classes from these wonderful ladies at Big Picture Classes (and at conventions)where I interacted with them on almost a daily basis for weeks on forums, web chats, or video messages.

One of these ladies is Cathy Zielske. She is the one that has really given me the inspiration to do something about my weight. Maybe it is because she is from my hometown, a couple of years younger than me, went to my rival high school, or just plain motivational. She has taken on a journey that started out as a weight loss journey but turned out to be a journey of athleticism and better health through "Moving More and Eating Less". She has lost about 30 lbs but is one fit, healthy woman in her mid 40's. She still struggles but is in a much happier place. I want to be like her...a little less hefty, fit, and happy. I am taking her challenge of Moving More and Eating Less.

So in comes the second scrapbooking lady, Ali Edwards. She has a project called "One Little Word" (among others I have mentioned on my blog). I played along in 2009 choosing "Organize" as my One Little Word and in 2010 with "Revitalize". I don't believe I ever shared them opening here on my blog or told anyone else about them except on Ali's blog. I was pretty good in the beginning of the year keeping focus on my word, but as the year went on, they tended to be put on the back burner.

I have chosen "MOVE" as my One Little Word for 2011. This year I am going to keep focus on my One Little Word. It isn't a "deep" philosophical word but more of an "action" word. I am committing myself to MOVE as in exercise, take the stairs, park farther away from entrances, and spend less time on my butt! I have committed myself to a minimum of 30 minutes of moving a day.

I am going to MOVE to a healthier BMI. I am going to MOVE to a healthier way of eating. I am going to MOVE to a better me.

If you have stayed with this for this long...Thanks for reading my story. And thank you CZ and AE...you both have had an influence on both my scrapbooking and my life.

I leave you with a visual of my "Beginning"

(I'm not totally thrilled with how I completed this page so I will be making some minor changes to what I did but this is the "Beginning".) Thank you to CZ and DesignerDigitals.com for the template.

5 comments:

Cathy Z. said...

I just love seeing this, and I'm SO pulling for you.

Okay, you can do this. You can TOTALLY move more. And remember, it doesn't all come off at once. But I swear, if you keep at it, you start to see changes and you will start to FEEL better in your whole body!

I'm pulling for you.

Heather said...

good luck! :) i might look into the move more thing too

Dani said...

You are going to do amazing!! and believe me I understand how hard it is but those pesky doctors tell us how important it is! I'm here whenever you need support!!

Janet said...

Congratulations on taking the first step. I also struggle with my weight and will be tackling this challenge this year too. Part of my OLW, fearless, is in dealing with what lies ahead if I became an energetic, fit woman and no longer reaped any benefits from being "big". And there are always benefits...we just have to look for them. I know you can do this, and I will too. We can keep each other going. I, too, am using Cathy's template to track my progress. We WILL do it. 2011 is our year, girl!!

LCSmithSAVED said...

Good for you for sharing this! I could have been reading my own bio... maybe YOU will be MY motivation? See ya over at LOAD, and as far as that lo goes, your word is MOVE, so MOVE ON to the next thing! xo