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Hey World!

Update time.  As promised, I am sharing more information with you about my journey to weight loss.  Let's start with the timeline.  My journey started in November. November 14th to be exact.  I decided I didn't want to wait for the New Year to start a resolution that probably wouldn't make it 2wks into the year.  I figured now was as good a time as any.  So, I got started, but from where did I began?  Well, my starting information was as follows:

START DATE:                November 14, 2011
BEGINNING WEIGHT:  236.5lbs
BMI INDEX:                  Approx. 30%
GOAL WEIGHT:             136lbs
JOURNEY END DATE:   May 15, 2012

So, why is this so important for me to do?   Well, I'm only 5'3" tall and by a doctors standards, I was classified as being obese.  This fact alone puts me at risk for health issues, such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure, just to name a few.  Clearly, this is NOT good!  When thinking about my husband, my children, and my family, I had to take action NOW! Because in all honesty, my weight can kill me.

The first step was to get mentally prepared for my upcoming journey.  I had to let go of all negativism.  I had to think thin.  I had to want it.  I also had to make myself aware of the fact that it wasn't going to be easy.  Keep in mind that I'm not a doctor or physical trainer, so the methods that I'm using are for me and you should always check with you physician before starting a weight loss or exercise plan.  Once I wrapped my mind around the idea of losing weight, I had to figure out why I was overweight in the first place.  Well, we already know about me having kids and that was a factor, but there was a deeper reason behind it.  I found out that I was an emotional eater, eating based on how I was feeling.  I'm happy, let's eat a happy snack.  I'm sad, let's eat a depression snack.  I'm bored, lets eat a boredom snack.  It was really bad when I sat back and paid attention to why I was eating.  Most of the time, I wasn't really hungry.  It was a huge reality check.  It was time to plan.

I wanted to be serious about getting healthy.  I need to get educated.  I had to find out what would work for me.  I changed what I was eating and made sure it wasn't something that I couldn't do for life. Because after all, weight loss isn't a diet, it's not a fad, it's not a pill, it's not a quick fix.  It's a LIFESTYLE change.  It's about learning to make better choices.  This does NOT mean you can't have the things you like, it just means you have to use common sense and portion control.  You like ice cream, eat ice cream, but eat it in its serving size and don't eat it everyday.  It's a treat that you may give yourself after having a really good week of eating healthy.  It does take discipline to break bad habits, but it can be done if you want to get healthy.  I added plenty of water in my plan.  It is key to losing weight.  It helps you to fill fuller faster which means you eat less.  I also stopped eating three big meals a day.  I now eat SIX small meals a day.  So I'm never hungry and my body can burn those little meals better then the big ones and I don't feel sluggish after eating.  Changing your eating habits starts the ball to rolling, but it's not enough.  You have to get active.

People!!  You HAVE to EXERCISE!! There is NO way around it!!  I got up of the couch and began adding activity into my life.  Playing around with my kids, walking to the store, walking around my neighborhood, and my favorite thing, riding my stationary bike while listening to my favorite music.  I ride everyday, twice a day for about 40mins completing 10miles.  I burn about 350cals everytime I get on that bike.  When I'm feeling really ambitious, I ride about 80mins completing 20miles and burning about 700cals.  Find what you like to do, but make sure it isn't too easy or you won't see the results you want.  Its tough, but if your like me, when you get done with all that sweating, you feel gratified.  Its that feeling that makes me want to do it again the next day.  When my results start to slow down, I know its time to either increase the time that I'm doing my exercises or add to my routine.

So, these are some of the things I'm doing right now and as I add or change things around, I will continue to share my adventure with you.  I dont have that before picture to post just yet but don't worry, its coming.  Next time, I'll tell you exactly what I'm eating and more steps that might help your journey be successful.  Until next time World.....................**muaaaah**