I'm hungry, but not starving.

Some people have asked me exactly what it is that I'm doing to loose weight. I'm going to the old faithful...eat less and workout more (or, in my case, period). I am watching the calories that I eat, but I'm not going to obsess over them. My main goal is to eat less calories in one day than my body burns. I have done smaller portions, lighter foods, and abstained from certain foods altogether. I also workout every day. Not in a crazy "if I don't workout today I'll just die" kind of way, but simple (yet surprisingly hard) calisthenics that we all learned in school along with making sure that I'm not lazy. There were times that I would put off doing laundry, or put off taking a dish into the kitchen because I was really comfortable and didn't want to move. Now I just get my butt off the couch, do the things I need to do and I have been happier for it. As of today I have lost 7 pounds. It sounds like a lot, but I have a LOT to lose so it's kind of a tiny drop of water in a HUGE ocean. ;-) I'm happy with it, don't get me wrong...but I also know that I have a long way to go and it's going to take me continuing on this path for me to achieve it. In addition to that I am aware that this is a new lifestyle for me. I spent some time last night just looking at fast food restaurants and their nutritional pages so I can go in to any of them and make a wise decision. So far, Taco Bell has the best page. It's easy to use and you can pick foods the way that you would order them and then hit the calculate button to learn everything you need to know about your meal. I was very pleased to see that I have actually not done too bad in this particular restaurant in the past. I just have to make sure that it's not an every day occurrence.

One last thing...I did do a search for the different types of diet plans that are on the market now and it was rather comical. I found the normal ones that most everyone has heard of and then there were some others that are just wrong. One of my favorites..."Think Yourself Thin"......


(hysterical laughter)!! Girl, please!! If you could think yourself thin I would have been well under 125 pounds a LONG time ago. ;-) The one that made me mad was, "10 Simple Steps to a Thinner You". Simple steps? Give me a break!! How many of you out there are just breezin' through your diet without a care in the world? Not me, that's for sure. And I would dare say that my other girl friends aren't either. We have a little network in which we support and encourage one another and hold each other accountable. THAT is the best way to get through your weight struggle...share the burden! :-)




By the way...the above picture of women laughing was taken by photographer Jim Lord. He has some great stuff...visit his website at www.jimlordphotographer.com.

New take on life

It's official. I'm started a new way of living. (If I say it's a diet I won't do it and then I'll be in the same place I started...what's the point of that?)

It started yesterday...simple enough. No visits to weight-loss chains to pay big (or even little) money, no fad diets that seems to "work for celebrities", no starving myself, and no being upset because I'm hungry immediately after eating a meal. This time it's different. I've thought for years that I should do this, but just haven't had the discipline or the real desire. For some reason I am motivated this time. I plan to work out a LOT and eat less. No, I'm not switching to all foods that are "lite" or "low-cal"...just making portions smaller (measuring most things out), and paying more attention in general. I'm using an online fitness helper called FitDay. They are helping me to simply write down what I eat (in easy electronic form) and what exercise I do. There is a journal for to me write out struggles, victories, etc. Joe and I are going to do exercises at home, and at the Family Activity Center here in Shelbyville. Tim is going to do the same but at different times of the day. I'm excited to see how we look this summer! Watch out world!!!! I'm gonna be a HOTTIE!!!!!!!!!