Hi Folks!
Haven any of you made New Years resolutions? I usually don’t, because I hardly ever keep them, but this year I had a bug up my butt and decided to make a few.
This is just a bug, and not a bug up my butt. Aren’t you glad?
The “bug” in question has been an increasing dissatisfaction with my weight and my BMI (body mass index). Okay, really it’s just my weight, because I am to chicken to do my BMI. I don’t need to hear that I am “obese”. Getting on the scale was hard enough, although the overall results not as bad as I thought.
I really, truly hate this chart. I have never made it to yellow! Ever!
I know that weight is just a “number” (or so I have been told) but it’s a number that can be used to gauge overall trends in a person’s health. So in my case, the number has gone continually up the last three years. And although I have worked out during those three years, my fuel intake has been more than my energy output, and that equals weight gain, my friends. I can’t really work out anymore than I already do, so it’s time to evaluate the intake.
About 7 years ago, I was very out of shape and overweight. Probably hit ‘morbidly obese’ on the BMI Richter scale. I was saved by my sister, who invited me to a group that helped me recognize my unhealthy relationship with food, and provided a food plan that actually worked for me. However, it involved cutting sugar, wheat and flour from my diet, and adding a lot of fresh veggies and fruits, true whole grains like brown rice and millet, and lean protein. It was really hard but once I got in a routine, it became easier. I lost a lot of weight, felt great almost all the time, and was hardly ever sick. I cruised along for about 4 years this way.
So what happened? I fell off the wagon, that’s what. At some point, I decided life was too short to be so restrictive. Plus I was participating in longer runs like half marathons where I had to refuel, and the easiest thing to carry was sugar. Gradually, I began to allow more sugars and flours in my diet, and now here I am 40 pounds heavier.
Starting January 2nd, I started the first step of my first goal of 2013, by cutting out sugar, flour, and most processed foods. I will be honest with you too – I don’t plan on being a freak about it. Last Saturday was date night, and I allowed myself to have something off-plan – a New Glarus Moon Man. That’s a fancy schmancy beer, if you were wondering. It was pretty tasty. Not as good as a Spotted Cow, mind you, but worth the experiment. You may wonder why I treated myself to a beer, and not a piece of cheesecake. Simple – I can stop after one beer. Not so much on the cheesecake.
It’s been going surprisingly well. I expected more bumps in the road, more nights of agonized wailing and foot stomping (I NEED A FREAKING COOKIE!!), more “a few chips won’t hurt me” moments. And it’s not that I have any super human willpower either. I think it’s more because I have a specific goal, and I know this is the first step to reaching it.
WHERE’S ME COOKIE???
Now here is the funny part. I know I mentioned being unhappy with my weight in the beginning of this post, and you would think that weight loss would be the goal that is driving me, but it isn’t. I do hope it’s a by-product, but my real goal involves something else. My post is much to long already, so I will address it next time. I will leave you with this hint though: It’s the reason I started this blog.
Pray Hard. Dream Big.
Sue
Brick House 