I've been fat for too long. Those extra 35 pounds are no longer called "baby weight" but must be thought of as "toddler weight." Imagine constant fatigue, chest pains, and an inability to run further than the distance it takes to get the monster off whatever dangerous thing he is climbing. Add a horrible self image and nonexisten self esteem, and you'll get the picture. Before we have to abandon toddler weight and plow head-first into the label teenager weight, it is time to do something constructive. I have learned over the past two years that you can't will away weight just by imagining yourself thin. Dangit.
I come from a long line of obese sweets eaters, so years of observation (both internal and external) have taught me that diets just don't work. Maybe for weeks or even months but rarely forever. What works are lifestyle changes. [Side Note: I don't consider the gastric bypass or LAP-BAND surgeries lifestyle changes since 100% of the people I know that have gotten them use them as a way to lose massive amounts of weight without changing their eating habits. They still eat exactly what they want... only less of it. Yes, that causes extreme weight loss (and extremely loose skin), but all of them have plateaued at a higher weight than they wanted or gained some of the weight back. Either way, they still aren't happy. Just a personal observation; the observees would argue.]
Resume thought train: the creation of the Exercise Extravaganza program! I have decided to change my lifestyle including healthier food choices, a decrease in sugary things (since diabetes runs rampant in my family), and a lot of exercise. Now, I know myself. I'm a lazy procrastinator. I have to ease into these things or I will burn out in a couple weeks and go back to my sweet-eating, "a moment on the lips forever on the (expanding) hips" ways, forever unhappy with the way I look and feel. On to the point.
Today was Day One! Step 1: cut my food portions and avoid the sweets. Check! Step 2: EXERCISE! That one is slightly more tricky since organized exercise is no fun. I have to find ways to trick my mind into thinking I'm playing so my body won't know what I'm doing is good for me. The main idea? Zumba on the Xbox Kinect during the baby's naptime and the movie elliptical after bedtime. (The movie elliptical is where I set up the portable DVD players and play a movie so I forget I'm sweating like a pig.)
Tonight, I didn't have the movie player set up, but I decided to get out there and sweat anyway! I got my jug-o-water to avoid dehydration. Check! I got my workout clothes on, including the sports bra to keep the ladies under control. Check! I got my Pitbull music mix on (nothing gets my blood pumping faster) the iPod. Check! I'm ready to go! Timer set for 30 minutes.
I hop on and get started but quickly turn the resistence down to 1 since I don't want to burn out. Oh, boy, this is easy! I'm chugging along, sweating like crazy, listening to great music and feeling the burn. Hell, I do so well I even manage several texts. Time is flying, so I start patting myself on the back that I can do this way longer than 30 minutes. Maybe I should push it to 45 minutes or even an hour!
I open the clock app to adjust the timer... and it's only been 6 minutes. SMACK! That's the sound of my hand hitting my forehead and my heart hitting the floor. The next 24 minutes were torture... but I did them!
No comments:
Post a Comment