Full steam ahead!

Okay so I didn't lose weight on 'their' scale but the one at work is still showing I did. I looked it up and maybe, just maybe it is because I last weighed myself in the morning there and this time I did it in the afternoon. Well, I am determined to show her (the nutritionist, Susan) that I can lose weight! I started by having a banana and a drink for breakfast and a drink for lunch. It is now after 6 pm and I am getting hungry but I think a shake will do it. I am going to go to lunch with peeps from work due to them paying for a Perfect Attendance luncheon and we are going to a Mexican restaurant, which just happens to be my favorite food in the whole wide world. Soooooo how do I order food in a restaurant? I am thinking a salad, oh yum.. NOT. I will just not eat all the chips & tortillas and watch the carbs and fats. I won't eat dinner tonight, just have a shake and just a shake for breakfast and dinner tomorrow and that should cover it. It is just too bad we can't have Margaritas at lunchtime on the company! LOL...

I have upped my walk time to 20 minutes today. My legs are getting so much better and I was actually tired from walking instead of stopping due to leg cramps. I also slipped in 8 minutes at break! Tomorrow I plan on walking home and will not only walk it off but sweat it off due to the heat! It is only a 20 minute walk from work to my apartment. I am hoping to start walking in the mornings to work too... that would get me in 40 minutes of walking per day!

OH, and on a side note, I have found out that excess protein that you put in your body tends to want to stay put, as it were... and I was told to get lots of fiber so that my green eyes don't turn brown! Next trip is to get some Metamucil so that I don't have to go through that stage of unhappiness!

I have worked out some stress in my life as well today so I am feeling very good emotionally and mentally. Due to stress being one of the reasons I want to eat, I am going from here on out to resolve any conflicts I have so that I can move on and not dwell on crap I don't need to trouble myself with. Taking care of myself is number one so that I can do this and better my outlook on life and get not only healthy physically, but also mentally & emotionally. It all ties in together and it is listing your priorities to get the job done correctly so that I won't have to do it over again from step one!

Eat to live, don't live to eat!

Today is the first official day of my new life!

First off, I am way over weight with a BMI of 45 and have been trying to lose weight ever since I was 21.  I keep gaining more weight every year, diet after diet, and have put my foot down to stop the cycle.  The first step was to correct my left foot so that I could exercise.  I had real bad heel spurs and other issues with my left foot which resulted in having 3 different procedures all done together on Oct 6th 2008 to get me walking again.  It still hurts with weather changes but I don't limp anymore!  woo hoo.   I have done my research, have gotten all my paperwork in, met the surgeon, and am now just waiting for the insurance to okay the Roux-en-Y-gastric bypass surgery to lose weight.  I am probably looking at having it some time in July.  

I am starting my journal since I started my exercise program today and today is the last day for enjoyment of food and carbonation.  I am adopting the *eat to live, don't live to eat* motto!   My mother told me this when she was trying to lose weight many years ago.  

My mental awareness...

I have thought this over and have come to realize that I look at food as entertainment.  A quick way for comfort and enjoyment.  Just throw a snack or something yummy in my mouth for a fast way to feel better by the taste of the food itself and not because I am hungery.  I don't want to get my enjoyment anymore from eating but rather from living!  I have become sluggish, lazy, and just don't want to be around people anymore.  I am ashamed of myself, I feel others think that I am repulsive for being overweight, and want to hide from everyone.  What my goal is to be able to feel better about myself, not tire out while walking in the grocery store for 20 minutes, and to be able to wear high heels again with clothes bought off the rack.  To do this, I am adapting a different way of looking at food.  It is just gas for my engine and if I over fill my tank, it is just being wasted.

My physical regime...

I went to the small exercise room in my apartment complex.  It is not a long walk to the exercise room with about a 12 step stair leading down to the sidewalk which goes about a forth of the way around a pond to the pool area where the exercise room is located.  There are 2 treadmills, 1 bicycle, a stair stepper, a skiing machine, and free weights with a bench.  There is also a flat screen TV too but I took a book to read.  Taking it easy on my first day, I walked on the treadmill for a whole 6.5 minutes and then the bicycle for about 7 minutes.  Not much of a workout but I stopped when my legs were hurting since I didn't want to over do it.  It is a start though and every day I will get better and better.  I love to weight train so I will put a bit of that in my workout too.  I want to tone up while I lose my flab so it won't look like I just melted and it slid downwards!  LOL  My goal is to exercise 6 days a week working up to 40 minutes a day and if I am not cooking & eating then I will have plenty of time to do this.  I have figured out that right after work works best and helps reduce my stress level as well.

My nutrition...

The surgery calls for a protein drink diet for 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after surgery.  I am told that after the surgery my tastes for food will change.  I will not be able to tolerate high sugars, fat, fried, or carbonation.   I will have to take chewable vitamins twice a day with a calcium supplement as well for the rest of my life.  Since my stomach will be much smaller and part of my small intestine will be removed, not only will my intake of food be greatly reduced but also the means to absorb what I do eat.  Now, believe it or not but I hate eating breakfast and lunch at work.  I don't like to pack it, I hate trying to plan for it, and then I usually end up just nibbling all day on it, which is not good!   I am going to get the shakes early and see if I can just do them at work.  It will be easier and will help me keep on track.  I am, as I write, drinking my last diet coke.  I will be switching to just water for now.  I like to drink water so I don't see that as a problem.  What I see as a problem is staying awake in the mornings without my caffeine!  LOL..  My body will adapt and with my exercising I am also hoping to increase my metabolism which will counteract the lack of energy from a decaffeinated low calorie diet.

This journal will be my way of making me log everything, keep exercising, and keep me honest.  I will also be taking pictures to log my progress.   

This was one heck of a long post!  I guess I had a lot to say on my first day...