Back in 2006 I had gotten up to the same weight I was when I gave birth to Cameron, 136 lbs. I was miserable and I finally had enough. I joined the YMCA again and hired a personal trainer to work with me three days a week. It took me a couple of months to get “serious” about it and give it all I had.
I trained with her for a couple of months and then started on my own. My diet changed from “living to eat” to “eating to live” and the results came quickly. I lost 24 lbs in 4 months and I was solid again. I kept it up fairly well until the cancer thing last year. That was when I stopped running and quite the weight training. I just gave up. Eight of those pounds found their way back to me.
I sometimes wonder if it is a competitive thing with me. Let myself get out of shape just to see how fast I can get back in shape. I am grossly competitive, even with myself. I know what to do to get it back and how to do it. I will be joining Planet Fitness next month. It’s time to get my grove back.
I believe everything in moderation is the key. I don’t like saying “diet”. To me it sets you up for failure. Just don’t eat the whole cake or bag of chips. As I have said before, our diets have gone to pot. There are too many processed foods on the market and unfortunately they are cheaper than the “clean” foods. I really do eat healthy and I like to keep it clean. I don’t like fast food or chain restaurants. Don’t get me wrong, a greasy hamburger and crisp, hot, salty French fries sometimes just hits the spot. And I don’t beat myself up over the fact I just ate it. It does not happen often.
I watched a movie called “Food, Inc” and it changed the way I look at food. I think everyone should watch that movie. It actually made me mad, and put things into prospective for me. Cleaning up our diets to me is the key to a healthy life. I don’t believe in taking things to the extreme and denying myself to reach a goal because just as soon as you reach your goal and stop the extreme, you will gain back the weight you lost and usually more. Everything in moderation.
You have to consume 3300 calories to gain a pound. Likewise you have to burn-off or eat 3300 fewer calories to lose that pound. That is a lot of calories but with the quality of food that is on the market it doesn’t take long to consume that much. I purchased a food scale so I could see what was in an actual serving. You would be surprised at how little a serving is and how much we really eat.
I am fortunate that I have been given great genes and I don’t take my health for granted. I do try to take care of myself and “keep it clean”. My Grandmother died at 99.4 years old. I can only pray to live that long. Without our health, we really don’t have anything.
This is my journey…
