New Beginnings/New Rules

It's only taken eight years, but I'm finally taking myself and my weight seriously. Sure, I've attempted to lose weight on more than one occasion: Slim Fast (twice), Atkins (three times), Weight Watchers (three times), 1200 calorie diet (twice), a few cleansing diets here and there...and I'm sure I'm missing a few. I've had success at some level with all of these diets. However, I don't think I was truly committed to staying the course, because as soon as I hit a plateau or a rough spot I would throw my hands in the air and give up. The past two years I've totally given up on dieting and watching what I eat all together, and as a result I'm at my HEAVIEST WEIGHT.

So, what's different now? Why do I think I will stay committed to changing my lifestyle?

For once in my life I care about myself...and my "journey" there is for another blog. But, the point is that I want to be healthy for ME and I don't want to miss out on life anymore. I don't want to hide in the house from my friends and family in embarrassment. I want to be there for my husband and son in ways that my weight has limited me both physically and emotionally. I want to do things like ride a roller coaster, not stress about the airplane seat & seatbelt fitting me, slide down the slide or swing in a swing with my little boy; not have to worry about if I will fit in a booth or a chair at a restaurant or movie theatre. I don't want to have spend the rest of my life paying double the life insurance premium because my weight is not only a health risk, but a risk to my LIFE.

It's just time.

So, what is my plan? There is no diet...only a lifestyle change. I plan to follow Six Rules:

1) Eat to Live: as opposed to living to eat. I'm learning to accept that the quanity and quality of the foods I consume has to change. My focus will be on eating whole grains, lean proteins, and vegetables. Of course portion sizes directly correlate with this rule, and I will turn to the portion sizes that I learned from Weight Watchers.

2) "Treat" Yourself: While I will be trying to make better food choices I don't want to completely limit myself, because as soon as I put a food on the "NEVER" list it's all I can think about. I will occasionally treat myself, but not let my treat consume me. On days that I do treat myself I will either have to cut back at a certain meal or have a longer workout.

3) Move that Ass: I plan to get at least 45min of exercise five days a week. My goal is to eventually achieve six hours of exercise every week.

4) Bedtime: I'm a firm believer that the amount of sleep we get directly correlates with our weight. I do not get enough sleep, simply because I choose to got bed at midnight. My new bedtime: 10pm. I may not be asleep by 10pm, but I will be on my way, which will give my body the rest it needs to function at its best.

5) When the Going Gets Tough - Kick ASS!: I'm going to have bad days. Days when I eat too much. Days when I don't exercise or stay up too late. Days when I just want to give up and return to the comfort zone of food. But, that is when I'm going to come to this blog and post my frustrations and then look through the blogs on my Blogroll of Inspiration to keep me going in the right direction. I'm going to accept the bad days and limit them to just that: A BAD DAY...instead of letting them keep me down.

6) Food Journal: I plan to keep a food journal to not only help me track what I eat, but also record the emotions I feel when I eat certain foods, when I'm hungry, when I'm full, etc. I'm an emotional eater and I feel like I need to understand how my emotions affect my eating habits.