Return Of The Scale

5k Walk

This weekend, I participated in a 5k walk. I completed the walk in just under 1 hour. I had a good time and it was fun to get outside early in the morning and have a purpose. My sister did the walk with me so it was nice to be accountable to someone. I am really happy that I participated in this event because it was fun and I felt a sense of accomplishment.

I started preparing for the walk by walking around my neighborhood. Then I drove in my car to estimate about how far I was walking and a made a practice route that was close to three miles. I didn’t train as much as I wanted to, but I was ready and was able to keep a steady pace the entire time.

In the past I have participated in 5ks and even a 10k at one point. However, I ran them (if you can call what I do running). I had the mentality that if you didn’t run, you weren’t really accomplishing anything. I really enjoyed walking and my time wasn’t that much longer than my time was when I jogged.

On the down side, I got a fancy long sleeved T-shirt (the kind runners wear) for participating, and the XL didn’t fit. I am keeping it so that when it fits, I can show off. I am not sure that I am brave enough to post a picture, but you never know.

October 19, 2008 - My First Week

A Rocky Start

Well, the important thing to remember is that I am staying accountable by writing. This is my way of saying that I didn’t have the most successful week. In fact, I gained weight. So now my first picture will be at 245lbs. I ate out a lot this week, maybe every night, and I even ate fast food. I also had at least one soda a day. So I am going to make sure I plan out my meals this week. I also need to find something to replace drinking soda, maybe tea. Soda seems to be a trigger for me to eat other unhealthy things.

On the positive side, I did a lot of exercise. I went on a few walks with my dogs, I worked in the yard, went on a two mile hike (this was a requirement for work) and I did a 5K walk. I had been planning on doing the 5k for a few weeks and signed up weeks ago. If I hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t have gone or done the walks earlier in the week to get ready. One upsetting moment was when I picked up my XL t-shirt for the walk and it was too tight to wear. Maybe I will keep it even though I don’t like it, so I can show off when it fits.

So, I have increased exercise, but I still need to work on my eating habits. This week my goal will be to make dinner Monday through Friday and go on at least 3 walks with my dogs. I am also going to post my start pictures.

My Healthy Weight Game Plan

1. Learn How to Eat – Not Diet – in the past I would pick some random diet and get all pumped up and have a little success, then fail and make up a crazy diet, which didn’t work – so no more diets except for a healthy diet. I am going to plan my meals for the week and cook meals at home. I will eat out only for social reasons, and be mindful of what I eat. To help me grasp a concept of portion sizes and how much I need to be eating, I will be using a computer program to help count and keep track of how many calories I eat.
2. Exercise – I will do some sort of physical activity every day. It may be walking, riding a bike, using my exercise bike, going to the gym, working in the yard or doing sit-ups. My goal is to do something every day.
3. Be Accountable – Here is the kicker, and the reason for this site. I do better when I am accountable for myself. I was very successful at previous “diets” when I had challenges with family and friends or I had something to keep me accountable. That is why I am making this site, to share my successes and failures, but above all, to be accountable for what I am doing.
4. Change Bad Habits – Overeating isn’t just about food. I am eating when I am stressed, when I am sad, when I am tired and when I am happy. I need to replace my bad habits with good ones. Then maybe I can stop the cycle of overeating.
5. Maintain Weight Loss- I am not looking for a crash diet or exercise plan. I don’t ever want to go on a diet again, or force myself to do activities I hate doing. I want to change so that I enjoy eating healthy food and find activities and exercise that I like to do. I want to change so that I am not on a diet for the rest of my life.