A New Beginning

So the short version of my wars with the scale goes something like this....

I lost my Puberty Pudge by my senior year in high school. I then gained the college Freshman (*ahem*) Twenty Five, and lost it by my sophomore year. I gained 40 pounds of Baby Weight with my first child and lost it by the time he was two. Second baby....best shape of my life and enjoyed being one of those moms that 'bounced right back' . Third baby...the weight was an 'issue' again and I didn't have it in me to get it off until she was about five years old. I half way attempted to get my 'Body For Life', and then took a trip to 'South Beach' before finally having good success with Weight Watchers in 2005. I lost 50 pounds in nine months, and that was without having a formal exercise routine in place. I kept it off for about a year and a half, and then life stresses took hold and I slowly have slowly gained about 25 pounds over the last two years.

I guess that's not such a short story...but it is a confounding tale to say the least. I realize the one piece of the puzzle that has always been missing is lack of formal exercise. I believe that is the key to maintaining good health - it must be part of your lifestyle, not just something you do for two or three months to ''lose weight'.

Everyone has their 'ah-ha moment' (sorry, it just works here....) and I guess I recently had mine. My fancy-pants scale that measures fat, water, bone, weight, and Lord knows what else....well, it surprised me with a 30 pound loss the other day! Obviously the scale is broken, but it felt good to see a nice healthy number for a moment, even though it was not 'true'. I realized then that I NEED that healthy moment in my life again - permanently!

This blog will be a journal of my road to better health and fitness - I am committed to a new lifestyle, making time to take care of me first, so that I can be 'better' for my family and in all areas of my life.

The basic plan is simple ~

Diet: Having done several 'diets' over the years, I pretty much know what to eat and what not to eat. Lean protein, complex carbs, lots of veggies and fruits, and healthy fats. Very simple stuff.

Exercise: Walking for now, working up to C25K, my 'wishful' goal is a 'Turkey Trot' race on Thanksgiving morning, but my official goal is to run a 5K in early spring!

Did I mention I am so NOT a runner? I have never run in my life. I have never been an athlete. I've enjoyed maybe 2 years of steady, productive workouts during one of my scale wars...but really, I am just not an athlete. Hard exercise is painful to me! This in fact is what is motivating me now....I've done the food/diet thing...I know all about what to eat and not to eat, points, flex points etc. I can do it in my sleep. I'm ready to challenge myself to something new and *hopefully* fun. Because if I don't love it, I won't stick to it.

So this time my primary focus will be on moving and fitness, something new and different for me because it's always been about The Food for me. It will be a challenge for me there's no doubt about that...but I'm game!