“Losing Weight is Hard, Maintaining Weight is Hard, Staying FAT is Hard….Choose Your Hard”

WHY AM I HERE? 

I have finally grown sick of myself eating whatever I want, drinking whatever I want, and complaining that I’m not my ideal body shape.  It seems that every blog out there is about weight loss and the cool new thing to try that is “guaranteed to drop 15 pounds in one week”. Yeah, right.

MY PAST?

Truth is, I used to be my ideal body shape and weight.  I grew up dancing and cheerleading so in my average 15 hour day, about 9 of those hours were filled with extreme activity.  Since high school I gained the ‘freshman 15’…or 25 in my case and stopped working out like I used to.  Running and being active used to be fun for me and now it’s a huge internal battle to get my ass to the gym.

TODAY? 

I wear lose shirts to hide my tummy and hate myself when I go through the drive through.  I drink too much Coke and eat too many chocolates.  I sit and home and watch too much TV and get tired too fast when I try to be active.  When I do work out it’s short lived and I spend more time staring the girls who have a better body and imagine how amazing my life would be if I were skinnier.  I know that sounds ridiculous but we all think that, right?

If I were thinner I would have that guy. If I were thinner I would want to go swimming.  If I were thinner I could wear any clothes and not have to shop for hours and hours.

We compare ourselves to everyone in the gym and think that for some reason their life is better because of their pant size.  Well, I’m DONE!!

THE BIG IDEA: 

Losing weight is hard work and it’s not going to be the most fun thing ever.  I will have moment of weakness and I will struggle but the end result and the way I feel will make the pain and sacrifices worth it.  This is more than losing weight, it’s about gaining self confidence, being able to keep up with friends, and making healthy choices so that my future is filled with memories instead of hospitals.

MY GOAL: 

I currently weigh 160 lbs and would like to be: 125 lbs

I can run a mile in 12 minutes and would like to run a: 8 minute mile

My natural waist right now is 37 inches and I would like to have a: 28 in waist

I usually have one Coke/day and eat fast food about 4X/week: in six months I want to be able to say I don’t drink soda and don’t eat fast food

THE PLAN:

After researching I have learned a few simple things:

• water is essential and you can’t have enough of it
• vegetables are basically a free for all
• meals should get smaller as the day goes on
• six meals a day is ideal
• abs are made in the kitchen but perfected in the gym
• change your work out routine often
• challenge yourself with a gym ‘frenemy’
• mistakes are OK
• counting calories sucks but it helps A LOT!
• 7-8 hours of sleep helps; no more, no less
• it’s a lifestyle not a six week ab blast with immediate results.

I will post my daily hardships and the things I think are noteworthy in my journey.  While some people may see this and follow, this is for me and for my own results.  Pictures might come, but for now I don’t feel brave enough to post any.