OMG! How did this happen? Okay, I know, “HOW” it happened, now I have to solve it!
And what am I talking about? Well, today, for the first time in obviously way too long I had a reality check. Over a year ago I had taken down a mirror in our bathroom in order to paint the frame. And I didn’t get it painted and rehung until yesterday. This morning as I looked in that mirror (half-length, not just face!) a stranger was looking back at me!
So I had to do it, I had to drag out the scale………….I am now almost at my heaviest since I was full-term pregnant with my now 28 (soon to be 29) year old son! I was only 4# heavier before he was born!
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
I was a bodybuilder in the 80’s, I know exercise and nutrition. In 2003, just before my dad died, I was in the BEST shape of my life. Of course with dad sick, I was super conscious of my own health. Was that only five years ago? Then dad died, and my MIL died and my world was rocked and I ricocheted into depression. Fast forward a couple years and I started getting sick myself. Last year the neurologist diagnosed Aspertame poisoning (yes some people CAN be poisoned by that innocent looking stuff!), and I took all diet or reduced calorie foods out of my daily intake. And I started eating…..whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted as I broke a 30+ year addiction to diet sodas (I started drinking them at 13!).
Add to that the lack of exercise I had become accustomed to while I was sick, and forward to this morning’s reality check.
So, I went and did it, I got out the tape measure and the notebook. (HORRORS, the dreaded tape measure!!!) I have a system I used in the 80’s and it worked. I’m going back to it. On the last page of the book I take today’s current measurements and weight and all that vital (and disillusioning) stuff (that I’m not going to publicly post!). On the front page of the book I start daily with a record of what I’m eating and if how much I exercise. When the sections meet together, hopefully I will have lost some weight.
According to the charts, I have a BMI right now of approximately 29. Not quite in the obese for my height and gender, but almost there. This is what just one of the BMI index sights has to say about my number and it’s associated risks:
If you have a BMI of 27 or more, you double the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and gallstones, and are 14 times more likely to contract diabetes.
So, let me see, high blood pressure runs in the family, but mine thankfully is extremely low. Heart disease also runs in the family, and diabetes in on both sides of the family.
Methinks it’s time to take responsiblity and get back on track. After all, I’ve got many many years ahead of full creativity and I’m not going to let a little thing like lack of food intake control stop that!!!!!!
Of course this means THREE meals a day, regular schedule, healthy food. EEKS! No more grabbing a couple cookies and a coffee and heading back to the studio. No more having ice-cream for lunch (yes, I am airing all my dirty little diet secrets! LOL). This means ONE slice of pizza with a salad and some fruit, NOT splitting the entire pizza with DH. This means breakfast EVERY morning to balance out my blood sugar…..can you see where I’m going with this? And can you see how I got here?
Wish me luck, breaking habits and replacing them with healthy ones is hard work. It takes dedication, determination, motivation and a whole lot of effort. But I figure if I”m still going to be making art when I’m 98 and breaking Gram’s record for lifespan, I just better get to it!
So, to get to the weight at which my Dr. warned me I was getting a bit heavy (which would make it my minimum loss number), I need to lose 16 pounds. To get to the weight I need to be at a comfortable to my Dr. number, I need to lose 29 pounds.
Goal #1, lose the 16 minimum pounds.
Goal #2, walk up the steps to the quilt shop without losing my breath
Hmmm, aren’t you “supposed” to start stuff like this on a Monday? LOL Oh well, Tuesday is as good as Monday, no time like the present!!!!!!!!!
I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going!
Gawd, I’m am so with you. I actually don’t know how I gained 15-20 lbs. over the last several months… slowly. I truly don’t over eat and am not a snacker but the weight came anyway and I do not recognize the body I see in the mirror and it frightens me. Eeks! 15 years ago, I exercised 3 hours a day and was in incredible shape! Now, I get on an elliptical machine and can’t even make it 5 minutes! I want this weight off and I guess that instead of being discouraged that all I can do is 5 minutes… is to continue with 5 minutes and work my way up. I hate this!
Angie, I just did some math and on paper, just by changing my 4 cups of coffee each day to black (no more french vanilla creamer) and changing my 2 soda’s a day to water, I can drop 560 calories off my day. Now the question is whether I can TOTALLY break the soda habit after all these years! The coffee I can do relatively easily, but the soda???????????
Oh it’s so hard when reality stares us in the face, when we reach the age we are…..beautiful, wise, content BUT a little bit heavy…..when we really need to rethink things and get on the ball with our health. All I can say is I’m glad you put the mirror back up because we have a long time to go thru together sharing our art with each other.
So go…get on whatever exercise machine you have….PUSH, PUSH, PUSH.
(and don’t forget to push back please).
I think you can do it!! I think the artificial sweetner was harder than this will be. I made the cabana boy bring me back some junk food this weekend. I couldn’t finish it. It had been years since I had this one treat I was craving and we’ve been off the junk food for years….. and I couldn’t take more than three sips and I was done. It didn’t taste good anymore. I broke the sodas by cutting them with healthier things like orange juice and then moved on to lemon or lime in sparkling water that I buy at costco by the case. HTH!! And I say burn all the mirrors!!!!!
I have no comment for this yet ……….
signed
love, big fatty
Judy,
Good luck! My current goal is 20 pounds. That would put me back where I was when they took my exercise away from me 3 1/2 years ago. I’m up to about 15 miles a week walking, without an ounce change in that pesky scale!
Well, you already know I’ve been struggling with this…and here I sit, eating hot wings & cheesy bread sticks…