Despite my success, Nursing School has been doing a number on my health/fitness. Ha! To say that I was "fit" when I began is a gross overstatement, but at least I wasn't technically overweight. However, the combination of a hectic schedule, bad eating habits (made worse by my hectic schedule), and no exercise because of my back problems has resulted in a significant weight gain this past year... particularly this past semester. So when my back specialist told me I needed to lose some weight, it was a big wake up call.
I grew up being the tall skinny girl, and was always underweight no matter what I ate or how hard I tried to gain weight! Even when Ben and I got married, I was about 10-15 lbs underweight. So to actually be OVERweight (and by 20 lbs!) is just ridiculous to me... completely bewildering, because I never thought that could actually happen. 4 years of fertility treatments and hormones definitely contributed, but it wasn't until this past year that my eating habits went completely haywires and my activity level dropped dramatically. So yeah, now I feel like this:
Say hello to my little friend called Adipose. Learn more about him here.
So what now? Torture, that's what! Being a tall string bean most of my life, I've never had to "watch what/how much I eat." Dieting was never part of my vocabulary. Of course I was a lot more active back then, not because I exercised on purpose, but because I grew up in NYC without a car, walking everywhere and taking public transportation (buses/subway) instead of driving all the time. One thing I absolutely LOATHE about not living in a more urban area is the lack of sidewalks and the fact that every store is miles and miles away. I hate having to walk on people's front lawns because I don't want to get run over by traffic. I hate walking on curbs trying not to fall off because I don't want to walk on people's front lawns. So yeah, I just haven't ever walked much here. That's changing... it has to because I HAVE to move more and walking is what my doc said I can safely do without aggravating my back. So I have been walking with Ben and the pups and hating every minute of it, but whatever... I'm doing it.
I've also begun the South Beach diet again with Ben. He had great results with this last year before falling off the bandwagon, so I've decided to really give it a go this year. Like really truly try and not give up after 2 weeks. I loooooove my breads and pastas and sugar, so this is the real "torture" part of it. We've also joined myfitnesspal.com which is great for tracking calories, water intake (another weakness of mine- I hate water), and daily exercise. I'm hoping this will help keep me more accountable!!!
My goal? Well, my doc wants me to lose 20-25 lbs but I would ideally like to return to pre-fertility treatment weight. Not quite as skinny as I was when we got married 8 years ago, but a healthy thin. That's about 46 lbs, yikes! Once school starts again in a week I know this will get soooo much harder (especially finding time to exercise and prepare meals to take with me!) but I am resolved to do this. So much so that I'm blogging about it so that I have more of a sense of urgency and accountability. See my little ticker up there? Yup, nice little reminder for me.
So as cliche as New Years Resolutions are... I'm going for the age-old "losing weight!" I can still hardly believe I've let myself get to this point, the younger version of me would be flabbergasted... oh well, it is what it is... now its time to change it up! How about YOU? What are you doing to be a better/healthier/happier you this year? =)
6 comments:
I know walking is really good for your back. Swimming is too. I know you hate it...but it really really really does help and is not so hard on your body. Not that walking is. So if you want a change up...that could be a possibility. :) You can do this! Drinking the water will help more than you think. Just keep a water bottle with you at all times. :) And don't be too hard on yourself. YOU CAN DO IT! Love ya!
even if it is "cliche" it is a GREAT goal and i know you can make it! :)
Thanks Suz! Yeah my back specialist suggested swimming as well but during the semester that's not really a possibility for me other than maybe once or twice a month, which isn't worth spending a gym/Y membership fee on. I've looking into swimming at OCCC but the free wim/lap times are all during my work hours or when I'm in class in the evenings so that won't work either. Perhaps over the summer when I'm not taking evening classes... but for now walking/modified Zumba will have to do. Oh, and I don't necessarily hate swimming, I'm just afraid/embarrassed to because even after my classes I still can't tread water to save my life and Ben has little to no patience with me on that... so yeah, I avoid it more than I should! =)
Oh and you're right, drinking water has definitely been helping me stay full this week! I've been doing the water bottle thing, and averaging 8-10 cups a day so that's huge for me!
Anyway, thanks for the encouragement! Hope you guys are doing well and the pregnancy is treating you well! Love and miss you!
Awww, thanks Maggie! You're doing an awesome job as well, I'm so impressed with your efforts- especially with a newborn!!! You go girl!
Go Alex! That's got to be a tough change to make, but you are doing it! Keep it up!
I have the same goal as you. I want to get back to a size 8 like I was in last January, and THIS TIME maintain it.
I followed a paleo/primal diet and lost 40 lb / 4 dress sizes last year. It was awesome, I've always been the thickest in my family, so it was a strange feeling being just a size up from my pretty, thin little sister. And then I got the new job and with that insane lifestyle I ballooned, REALLY fast.
My plan is pretty simple; Eat to live, not live to eat. I'm going to give up on spending the travel per diem (we are only reimbursed for restaurant costs, receipts required, and Arkansas isn't exactly known for health food) and keep my food options simple and high protein. Exercise will be keep it simple, too - wearing a pedometer and 10,000 steps a day, saving the circuit and weights for the weekends when I'm home. With weight loss, especially when you're trying to balance out stress and hormones, it's 90% diet anyway.
Suz's comment reminds me, you should check out water fitness classes. It's totally not "old lady aerobics"... I took a class at my gym when I worked in Seattle and holy cow, it was a lot tougher than most people think! You can get a really good circuit/strength training workout out of it, depending on how low you keep the weight buoy things under the water. And being in the water doesn't make you feel gross even though you're working up a major sweat! And no swimming expertise needed! Winning! Anyway, keep it in mind, even if for another semester/different schedule.
I know you can do it! I'm going to look to you for motivation, too, ok? :)
Rach
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