Hi. I'm a 35 year old woman starting out on a complete life overhaul. This is partly an introductory post but also I think I just want to see the changes I'm making in writing.
I weighed 220lbs on Monday morning. I've weighed 220 consistently for the last months. I've never een "thin" but the weight has crept on since I tore my rotator cuff almost 2 years ago. I gave up smoking from September 2010 to January 2011 (I'll get to that later) and put on almost 12lbs. Again, it was another excuse to eat what I wanted.
I'm 5ft 7" and want to lose quite a bit of weight. I work in central London and since Monday I have been walking the 9km from the office to home. It takes me about 1hr 40m. I use the KiFit armband and it's teling me I'm burning approx. 700 calories per trip. I've also been watching what I eat like never before and today, 3 days later, I weight 217lbs. To see a difference on the scales so quickly has been such motivation. I have a day off today and ordinarily it would be an excuse to sit back, eat what I want when I want and be generally lazy. It's just gone midday and me and the dog have just come back from an hours walk. Not as much as I've done every day this week but it's something. I would ordinarily have just let the dog walker come as usual and I'd head off shopping but not this time. I'm also facing an afternoon of housework. More calories.
Completely overhauling my food intake has been fantastic. I know it's only been 3 days but so far so good. I have to say I hate salads. Hate them. I hate cold food. I have no idea why as my family have always eaten salads so you would imagine Id have loved them since childhood but no. I realised I was using this as an excuse to eat what I wanted. Making small changes have added up. I've cut out sugar, completely. I loved sugar in my tea and coffee. I loved Cola. I loved chocolate. My biggest nemesis has been pasta. I could eat it 24/7. I met a friend for lunch yesterday and we went to Spaghetti House (AGH!) I had soup. SOUP!! I would never have done that before.
Lunch at work has always been a challenge. We're surrounded by places like Pret, Starbucks etc and a host of nice restaurants. Recently I've been making a batch of soup on a Sunday, freezing some and bringing it to work each day. I used to skip breakfast. Not any more. Weetabix and banana. Dinner has also been a huge downfall. I'd get home late and go for pasta; quick and delicious but so bad late in the evening.
Walking has been fantastic. I'm not a fan of gyms. They suck the life out of me. For me they're soul destroying and expensive and I've never looked forward to going the odd time I would even get through the door. I did a week of walking home several months ago and it got harder and harder each day. My shins were killing me but I was walking through it. Not smart. Turns out it was my shoes. I hate stiff running shoes, which I was using, and it turns out not only did I just dislike them, they were what was causing my pain. I bought a pair of very lightweight, extremely flexible running shoes. Ta-da! Success. Monday's walk was ok, Tuesday's was even better and yesterdays was a dream. I thought maybe day 4 would be a crash and burn day but after taking the dog out this morning it really is getting easier and easier.
I found I got bored with music on my iPod. Now I'm listening to audiobooks. I'm literally getting lost in a world of my own. I got so engrossed in my book yesterday I forgot to stop at my house!
I mentioned earlier I quit smoking last September. I felt great. I saved a fortune but yes the weight did start to pile on. I wasn't worried about it to the extent I was tempted to start again. I was at a wedding in January and thats all it took; one person who didn't know I had quit to offer me a cigarette. I was, and stil am, furious with myself. I have cut down drastically since I started again but it must stop. It has to, for so many reasons. I'm reading Allan Carrs book right now and finding my hatred of cigarettes has increased tenfold. I'm half way though and I'm feeling very confident that I'm quitting as soon as i finish the book. For those non smokers out there and those who dont know about his book he does recommend you keep smoking while reading the book so for once, not quitting right now isn't an excuse.
So that's about it.
I will be back often to see everyone's success stories and probably give the odd cry for help when things get really tough
I weighed 220lbs on Monday morning. I've weighed 220 consistently for the last months. I've never een "thin" but the weight has crept on since I tore my rotator cuff almost 2 years ago. I gave up smoking from September 2010 to January 2011 (I'll get to that later) and put on almost 12lbs. Again, it was another excuse to eat what I wanted.
I'm 5ft 7" and want to lose quite a bit of weight. I work in central London and since Monday I have been walking the 9km from the office to home. It takes me about 1hr 40m. I use the KiFit armband and it's teling me I'm burning approx. 700 calories per trip. I've also been watching what I eat like never before and today, 3 days later, I weight 217lbs. To see a difference on the scales so quickly has been such motivation. I have a day off today and ordinarily it would be an excuse to sit back, eat what I want when I want and be generally lazy. It's just gone midday and me and the dog have just come back from an hours walk. Not as much as I've done every day this week but it's something. I would ordinarily have just let the dog walker come as usual and I'd head off shopping but not this time. I'm also facing an afternoon of housework. More calories.
Completely overhauling my food intake has been fantastic. I know it's only been 3 days but so far so good. I have to say I hate salads. Hate them. I hate cold food. I have no idea why as my family have always eaten salads so you would imagine Id have loved them since childhood but no. I realised I was using this as an excuse to eat what I wanted. Making small changes have added up. I've cut out sugar, completely. I loved sugar in my tea and coffee. I loved Cola. I loved chocolate. My biggest nemesis has been pasta. I could eat it 24/7. I met a friend for lunch yesterday and we went to Spaghetti House (AGH!) I had soup. SOUP!! I would never have done that before.
Lunch at work has always been a challenge. We're surrounded by places like Pret, Starbucks etc and a host of nice restaurants. Recently I've been making a batch of soup on a Sunday, freezing some and bringing it to work each day. I used to skip breakfast. Not any more. Weetabix and banana. Dinner has also been a huge downfall. I'd get home late and go for pasta; quick and delicious but so bad late in the evening.
Walking has been fantastic. I'm not a fan of gyms. They suck the life out of me. For me they're soul destroying and expensive and I've never looked forward to going the odd time I would even get through the door. I did a week of walking home several months ago and it got harder and harder each day. My shins were killing me but I was walking through it. Not smart. Turns out it was my shoes. I hate stiff running shoes, which I was using, and it turns out not only did I just dislike them, they were what was causing my pain. I bought a pair of very lightweight, extremely flexible running shoes. Ta-da! Success. Monday's walk was ok, Tuesday's was even better and yesterdays was a dream. I thought maybe day 4 would be a crash and burn day but after taking the dog out this morning it really is getting easier and easier.
I found I got bored with music on my iPod. Now I'm listening to audiobooks. I'm literally getting lost in a world of my own. I got so engrossed in my book yesterday I forgot to stop at my house!
I mentioned earlier I quit smoking last September. I felt great. I saved a fortune but yes the weight did start to pile on. I wasn't worried about it to the extent I was tempted to start again. I was at a wedding in January and thats all it took; one person who didn't know I had quit to offer me a cigarette. I was, and stil am, furious with myself. I have cut down drastically since I started again but it must stop. It has to, for so many reasons. I'm reading Allan Carrs book right now and finding my hatred of cigarettes has increased tenfold. I'm half way though and I'm feeling very confident that I'm quitting as soon as i finish the book. For those non smokers out there and those who dont know about his book he does recommend you keep smoking while reading the book so for once, not quitting right now isn't an excuse.
So that's about it.
I will be back often to see everyone's success stories and probably give the odd cry for help when things get really tough
