KimGonzo
07-29-02, 02:03 AM
I mean it - I'm going to LOSE it this time! :)
This is my first post here, I hope I'm not breaching etiquette by jumping in with a journal entry, but I just LOVE journalling.
Background: I was a very thin, very active kid growing up, but my self-image started deteriorating when I was 12 and people started telling me that I was fat or would soon become fat, and I eventually grew INTO that self-image. In high school, I was still an active 140 pounds, but every couple of years I put on another 10-20 pounds, holding steady between 160-180 for a while. Then I got married, moved across the country and my weight got totally out of control. At 260 I realized I needed to get serious about losing weight. It was a process of trial and error, but I eventually discovered what works and doesn't work for me. What doesn't work for me is counting calories. When I count calories I get obsessed and feel myself thinking like an anorexic again. (You wouldn't think someone who is over 200# is anorexic, would you?) In high school, I starved myself on a regular basis and couldn't figure out why I had dizzy spells and was sleepy all the time. It's a good thing I was too lazy to work out enough to really make myself sick! It's all about self-image for me, so I've spent a LOT of time learning to like myself just as I am -- fat, warts, and all! I still struggle with that from time to time, but knowing that's the important thing is half the battle.
Anyway, enough background. I've been holding steady around 220# for a long time now, because I refuse to diet and always thought I was too busy to commit to a good regular work out plan. Plus I don't like the idea of WORKING out, I think exercise should be FUN, not WORK.
But, I just finished reading the book Escape Your Shape and am totally revved up about the exercise plan he outlines for my "shape". I've always been a "spoon" shape, even when I was thin. That was something that I had realized long before I actually read the book. I loved bike riding and horseback riding as a kid, so I had this really muscular lower body, but my upper body was skiin and bones, so when I compared myself to all my skin and bones friends, I thought I was too fat. The workout plan looks pretty simple and fun, so I'm totally revved up about starting it tomorrow morning. It involves a lot of walking, something I enjoy, and some upper body work with light weights - something else I enjoy. I LOVE the way I feel after doing some wieght lifting - I feel energized and powerful :) It also involves some abomdinal and leg exercises which don't look too difficult to tackle. And it's varied enough that I won't get bored -- that's been my big problem with most workout routines, I get bored, I like variety :)
So, tomorrow morning is the Big Day! My husband is going to wake me up early so I can drive over to the lake, take my twenty minute walk around the lake then come home and do all the strethcing, weight lifting and abdominal/leg exercises.
I just got weighed when I went to the doctor a week or so ago, so I should be somewhere near 220 still. (I HATE to weigh myself and in fact usually avoid it at all costs because I get obessive about that too.) If everything goes according to plan, I should feel some of my clothes fitting better by the end of the month :)
Ready, Steady, Go! That's one of my walking songs, it's got a great temp, and I like it for a tag line too :)
By the way, how do you post your picture under your name like I've seen in some threads?
This is my first post here, I hope I'm not breaching etiquette by jumping in with a journal entry, but I just LOVE journalling.
Background: I was a very thin, very active kid growing up, but my self-image started deteriorating when I was 12 and people started telling me that I was fat or would soon become fat, and I eventually grew INTO that self-image. In high school, I was still an active 140 pounds, but every couple of years I put on another 10-20 pounds, holding steady between 160-180 for a while. Then I got married, moved across the country and my weight got totally out of control. At 260 I realized I needed to get serious about losing weight. It was a process of trial and error, but I eventually discovered what works and doesn't work for me. What doesn't work for me is counting calories. When I count calories I get obsessed and feel myself thinking like an anorexic again. (You wouldn't think someone who is over 200# is anorexic, would you?) In high school, I starved myself on a regular basis and couldn't figure out why I had dizzy spells and was sleepy all the time. It's a good thing I was too lazy to work out enough to really make myself sick! It's all about self-image for me, so I've spent a LOT of time learning to like myself just as I am -- fat, warts, and all! I still struggle with that from time to time, but knowing that's the important thing is half the battle.
Anyway, enough background. I've been holding steady around 220# for a long time now, because I refuse to diet and always thought I was too busy to commit to a good regular work out plan. Plus I don't like the idea of WORKING out, I think exercise should be FUN, not WORK.
But, I just finished reading the book Escape Your Shape and am totally revved up about the exercise plan he outlines for my "shape". I've always been a "spoon" shape, even when I was thin. That was something that I had realized long before I actually read the book. I loved bike riding and horseback riding as a kid, so I had this really muscular lower body, but my upper body was skiin and bones, so when I compared myself to all my skin and bones friends, I thought I was too fat. The workout plan looks pretty simple and fun, so I'm totally revved up about starting it tomorrow morning. It involves a lot of walking, something I enjoy, and some upper body work with light weights - something else I enjoy. I LOVE the way I feel after doing some wieght lifting - I feel energized and powerful :) It also involves some abomdinal and leg exercises which don't look too difficult to tackle. And it's varied enough that I won't get bored -- that's been my big problem with most workout routines, I get bored, I like variety :)
So, tomorrow morning is the Big Day! My husband is going to wake me up early so I can drive over to the lake, take my twenty minute walk around the lake then come home and do all the strethcing, weight lifting and abdominal/leg exercises.
I just got weighed when I went to the doctor a week or so ago, so I should be somewhere near 220 still. (I HATE to weigh myself and in fact usually avoid it at all costs because I get obessive about that too.) If everything goes according to plan, I should feel some of my clothes fitting better by the end of the month :)
Ready, Steady, Go! That's one of my walking songs, it's got a great temp, and I like it for a tag line too :)
By the way, how do you post your picture under your name like I've seen in some threads?