Cindy

That seems to be the constant chant on my mind.  What happened to me that I got trapped in this huge marshmallow body??  I used to be thin, not fit, but thin.  Well, let’s see.  Marriage.  Going from working 2 jobs to 1 job to NO job!  Two small kids.  Hhmmmm.  What else can I blame it on?  Aaahh, yes.  Getting lazy and eating too much.  That is where the real problem is!!  Because, in reality, I started getting heavy before I had my kids and while I was still working.

So, what am I going to do about it?  Well, I’m working on that now.  Cutting back on the calories was an obvious starting point.  That might eventually get me back to thin.  Okay, I started there and it helped.  I lost a few pounds before joining buddy slim.  But, it was going so s-l-o-w !!  And, what about getting fit?  Eating less sure wasn’t going to help with that too much.

Let’s think.  What could I do to get fit?  Okay, I’ll exercise a couple of days a week.  Did that for a while.  Helped a little.   Alright, this can’t be that hard to figure out.  I’m a nurse for goodness sake.  I should know what I need to do.  Reality check.  I do know what to do.  Cutting back on calories is great, but gotta watch those fat grams (a very wise woman reminded me of this…WW).  Exercising is good but just a couple of days a week?  And at a low intensity?  Come on…..I know better than that.

So, I’ve cut back on calories and fat grams.  And I actually have a plan to follow.  Notice, I said “plan” not diet.  I know me well enough to know that I won’t follow a diet.  If I can’t do it for life, I won’t do it for long!  So, calories to 1200-1400 per day and fat grams to 30-45 per day (I’m still working on this one but I’m getting there!).  Good, now for exercise.   Increased cardiovascular workouts from occasional to  at least 5 times per week but preferably 6 times per week.  Good, good.  Now, throw in some strength training.  I have to do it every day or I’ll forget.  So, upper body one day, lower body the next day with a rest day on Sundays.  And my low level of intensity took a climb up a steep hill!!   If you ain’t sweating and “feeling the burn” then it ain’t worth doing!  I can go for a leisurely walk any day and enjoy it.   But, my workout has got to be intense!!  And increasing in intensity as I go along.

What has all this gotten me?  25 Pounds lighter and SEVERAL inches smaller!  I’m still a work in progress but the little voice in my head that continues to scream “Let me out of this body!!”  is getting a little calmer and louder as the fat falls away.  Calmer because she sees the light at the end of the tunnel.  Louder  because she knows she has to keep me motivated.  Will I ever reach my goal of 150?  You better believe it!!  I’m smaller now than I’ve been in over 4 years but that just isn’t good enough for me.  I plan to get down to my goal weight as soon as possible.  I have less than 50 lbs to go and while it might be coming off slowly, it’s still coming off!!  My plan is to have it gone for good by the end of January 2008.  I realize that seems like a long time, but I have to be realistic.  With an average of  2lbs per week, and an occasional bad week (TOM), I figure the end of January is reasonable.

Why am I telling you this?  I’m not really.  I’m reminding myself of where I’ve been and where I’m going.  If it helps you out too, then wonderful.  I’m in this first and foremost for myself!!  Aren’t we all?  And second, for my family (hubby and kids).  Sorry to tell you that you all run third.  But that’s okay.  I’m sure you’ll all agree that you and your family come first.  I want to motivate others and show them that it CAN be done.  I’m living proof.  Still working, but getting smaller all the time!  And once I reach my goal, I’m still going to workout.  You have to or you end up right back where you started and I don’t ever want to go back there.

Thank you to all my buddies with a special thanks to Wonder Woman, Kama, Tasha, Molly, Mark, Barry and all the WildCats for keeping me motivated and encouraged.  Thank you Dr. Marc for setting up this wonderful website.  Could I have done it without this site?  Of course.  But, would I have been as inspired and motivated?  Maybe not.  Would it have been as much fun?  Definitely not.   And, yes I did say fun.  I am enjoying this journey to a smaller, more fit and active me and a large part of that is because of the people I’ve met and become friends with on this site.

Now, I have to go get some water.  That little voice in there is demanding that now too!!  She wants at least 64 oz a day and sometimes she wants even more than that!  She’s awfully greedy!