So, losing weight and changing your lifestyle is easy.....right???? Any intellectual, clear-headed, mature adult can handle this....you just know what to do...and DO IT!! Isn't it that easy?? If that is true, then why is there a meter set up on a website called worldmeters keeping a running tab of the number of people that are OVERWEIGHT in the world...NOT STARVING....NOT COLD....NOT HOMELESS...BUT OVERWEIGHT!!!....which at this very second on this very day is 1,659,585,710...um, yes, that's TRILLION.....and the number of dollars spent on weight loss programs in the USA TODAY...JUST THIS VERY DAY, AS OF THIS VERY SECOND is $156,460,000?? How in any world of sound reasoning does that make sense? If it is easy, WHY, after 40 years, billions of dollars and many pounds lost and gained, are we STILL AND AGAIN hearing from people like Oprah about her weight loss journey with her latest endorsement of Weight Watchers?
Think about it....we've ALL heard it and heard it and heard it again...all the facts...the number of calories you must consume/not consume in order to lose, gain, maintain weight; the kinds of foods we should/should not consume in order to lose, gain, maintain......and it's for our HEALTH....that's the most important thing!! HEALTH, first and foremost.....not how you look, but how you feel, how good your doctor's reports are, whether you can fight off disease, how you measure up to the fittest and the healthiest.....because isn't that how the true measure is taken? Well, that's the way it's supposed to be....but, ah, those society standards..... We've come so far, yet we are so far away......Thus those billions of dollars spent everyday on weight loss....always looking for the fastest way to look like the latest cover girl model.
Now, it would be easy for me to try to stand some kind of moral ground here and say that the "GOVERNMENT MADE US FAT". And while there MAY be some small idea there...after all, we have now learned that the very first food pyramid that was put out by the Department of Health telling us about a healthy diet had the model upside down....saying we should be filling up on grains and bread, white rice and potatoes.... However, blaming the government is no more correct than blaming McDonald's.. I will err on the side of caution here and say you MUST be a savvy consumer....just as when it comes to your healthcare, you can not close your eyes, bury your head in the sand and accept anything and everything you are told. If we've learned anything over the last years and months it is that WE MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR OWN ACTIONS.
All that being said, I digress.....let me get to my original subject....my "QUEST FOR HEALTH" journey. I have been on this latest particular journey (I say latest, because this is also not my first rodeo) for 47 days now. In that amount of time, I have managed to loose 17 lbs and gained more energy and stamina. But, EASY is not a word I would use. I am using a tracker (My Fitness Pal) to log my total calories and to break them down by nutrients - tracking protein, fat, sodium, carbohydrate, sugars, etc. When you download the APP and set it up, you enter all your statistics and tell it how much weight you would like to lose per week, and it calculates how many calories you should eat per day in order to achieve your goal, broken down between protein, fat, carbs, sugar, etc. It also has an entry for amount of water you drink per day ( 8 / 8 oz glasses are encouraged a day -- a standard bottle of water would equal two glasses) and the physical activity you engage in that day. I just added physical activity in the form of walking two days ago. I will try to walk 3 times a week at the local track. Let me insert here to say that I was initially excited to find water aerobics close by in Vidalia. But, in my usual knowing myself fashion, I reasoned this "lifetime" change through and knew that if I didn't make it convenient for my less than motivated self I would never stick to it. So, I bypassed the Water Aerobics classes for walking at the track early in the morning. IF I stick to this, I will check into a gym membership after a few months. Right now, that's too big a step for me to try. One change at a time. It's all I can handle.
At first, I was excited about this new lifestyle, new direction. I am still, but in a much more settled in, accepted way. There are several things I have had to face......no matter how many wonderful recipes I find, I still have to plan, prepare, shop and cook. Most of the time, this is an effort for one. Gene doesn't care for a lot of healthy foods....he never has, and try as I may, I don't see myself being able to change him anytime soon. See, the thing is with him, just like with a lot of men, he can just cut back on the AMOUNT of food he eats and lose. He has tremendous will power...if he orders french fries and he eats 10 of them and is full, he stops. However, if there are 15 on the plate, I will eventually get around to eating all 15! He cut way back on his food intake when I started this and he has already had to take up at least two notches in his belt and has come down TWO waist sizes. I know, I'm with you....NOT FAIR!! Yeah, well I got over the fairness thing a long time ago. If we were to only get what was fair in this life...well, you get my point. He is, however, VERY supportive of me! He's always my biggest cheerleader...always willing to help me in any way. He wants me to succeed because he hates to see me sick and miserable. When we both are in better health, we feel more like getting out and being active together, traveling together and doing a lot of things that we miss out on when we are sick most of the time.
After I posted on FB about my journey and my initial weight loss, I was approached about setting up a private group for those who want to support, encourage, share and learn about a healthier lifestyle. That group now exists. It's called "Strong and Healthy Friends". If you would like to join, just send me a message and I will be glad to help you. We would like to have all the members we can get because the more of us on this journey, the more support we will give each other and and will be STRONGER!!
And so, I am happy to report that so far, this journey is going well. Does that mean that I have it all together??? That I don't have any struggles with this?? That I now think I have the corner on these issues.... ABSOLUTELY NOT! I'm learning more each day as I go. I am humbled by your support and your comments. I am prayerful I will succeed. And, above all, I am thankful for each day I am given to try.....
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