Inspired

I went to see my chiropractor yesterday, when I checked in I noticed the office manager looked significantly smaller since the last time I saw her. Dr. Jeff came in and he looked amazing. I asked what was going on in the office and he told me they were getting really healthy and losing weight. He is about 80 lbs. lighter and Darlene is down about 55 lbs. She is a little older than me and has been over weight for a long time. She also has many of the same problems I have had including surgery to remove her thyroid.

I quizzed them both and found out how they are doing it and it doesn't sound easy, but it is working. NO CARBS, NO SUGAR, NO APPLES, BANANAS OR PEARS. NO ROOT VEGGIES (there goes my potatoes) and NO PEANUTS. Lots of protein, berries, citrus and veggies. I don't know if this is my cup of tea, I want to lose weight, but I also want to be realistic. I need bread, well okay I don't NEED bread, but I like bread. Darlene is going to give me her diet plan in a few weeks and until then, I am going to keep doing what I am doing.

I do have to admit that I am inspired, if someone who is very similar to me can become healthy, then I can too. It may be in a different way, but it is possible.

Keeping On

Some days are just that, keeping on.

I have been extremely busy and I have to say that has been both good and bad. The good part is I have been so active. I have been gardening and by that I mean, moving dirt, planting and walking up and down and back and forth. I have been biking with my neighbor. We are biking at least 8 to 10 miles in 45 minutes, that may not be super fast, but for two older, slower and overweight women, that is something. I also have been walking my dog everyday. We only walk about a mile or two, but again it is so much more than what I was doing over the winter.

Now the bad part, because we have been so busy, I haven't been preparing the best meals. I have had to make some very quick meals and since I didn't get a chance to shop last week, we didn't have any fresh veggies.

I realize that I need to do so much more, but even a little bit is a good start. I am not expecting miracles, just thinking it is good to keep active and not sit all day long. The one good thing I am seeing, I am sleeping much better at night. Activity equals good sleep.

So here's to keeping on!!!

Eye Opener

Maybe you have seen the show Ruby on Style Network, if you haven't, let me tell you a little about the woman. Ruby was almost 500 lbs. and was told that if she didn't lose weight, she most likely would not live very long. So with her friends and a team of health professionals to help her, she started the adventure of changing her life. She decided that she needed to do this on her own without bariatric surgery. She has all ready lost over 100 lbs. but still has a long way to go and the Style Network is chronicling her story.

I went to her blog (which isn't updated very often) and found her entry for the day she was on the Oprah show. She had this to say...

"I do believe with all my heart that this is an addiction like alcoholism or drug abuse. But let me bring a little awareness to this—and maybe this will make some of you understand: When dealing with alcohol or drugs, you have to completely go cold turkey to beat it. With food, we cannot go cold turkey. We have to eat to live! We have to beat our addiction and still taste our addiction. Do you think, if you were to tell an alcoholic, "You still have to drink this every day"—could they beat it?"

I found this statement very profound. It is so true...

I know I am not a bad eater per say, but I am an emotional eater. So, when I stress I eat and with my life (I am sure most peoples lives) I am stressed often. I want to eat, so I put the wrong things in my mouth to satisfy my need and well, you get the picture.

Unfortunately, I don't have the means to hire a team of health professionals to help me. I am doing this on my own. It can be done, but it will take a lot of work, drive and discipline on my part. I recognise that I have an addiction and I need to be aware of this at all times. I am grateful for the eye opener.

A Good Day

I wanted to do a quick post to remind myself when I look back in a few months, that yesterday was a good day. I did very well with my eating and I took Oliver for a fast walk. I then rode about 8 miles on my bike with my neighbor. We had a great time of talking and reconnecting as well as exercising together. I am a little sore today, but it is a good sore.

Today, since it is Sunday, I will only be walking Oliver and resting the rest of the day. Which is probably good since it is kind of raining out. Tomorrow is back to the gym day. It has been several months and I need to get back into the groove.

"Good job Gina!" I tell myself.

Goals

As I ponder the idea of getting healthy, I realize that I need some goals. Okay. I ask myself what I want to see in my life. Lose a hundred pounds, run a 5K, bike for 26 miles, have glowing skin and tight muscles, be free of joint pain, have so much energy that I can't sit still longer than an hour... Well these goals are silly. At least silly for the me at this time. Some of them may be more achievable than others, but I realize I need to set small goals, attainable goals, goals that make sense.

So here it goes...

I will take my weight loss 10 lbs at a time and if it takes me six months to lose it, that's okay. It just gives me something to work for.

I will begin walking again. If I can work up to walking two to three miles in a few months, I will be happy.

I will go back to the gym to do some weight baring exercises to help with the joint pain.

I will begin to do research on living a healthy lifestyle.

Goals, smaller bite size goals. Take one day at a time to make little changes, that is how I will begin.

Starting

This is the start of an accountability blog.

My dream is to be healthy

To feel good about myself again

To move without pain

To be more productive

To rise above it all and be a person I like

This blog is in it's infancy stage and will evolve over time.

I am starting!