Hi everyone. I have been gone for too long. It is good to be back.
I had gotten down to 270 when I was here before. Then I gained a couple pounds around Christmas time and shortly there after gave up and got back up to 294. I do not want to end up over 300 again so I have to do something
NOW.
Part of the reason I stopped following my plan was that my husband injured his legs and since he was my workout partner, I "recovered" with him. And since I wasn't exercising I lost focus on my eating plan too.
I think the other part is more psychological. At 270 I was really close to my 1st big goal of 100 lbs gone. And I panicked. I find that when I lose weight I get anxious. It is like someone is taking away my security blanket. But now that I am consiously aware of it I can work on the reasons behind my anxiety instead of just gaining the weight back and hiding. And I now realize that sometimes just sticking to the plan, whether or not I'm having emotional issues, is all that is needed. I sometimes have to remind myself that in order to reach my goals, it doesn't always matter how I feel, only what I do.
So my plan is to count calories and exercise. I will focus mostly on calorie balance. I plan to have a negative calorie balance of 1250 per day. Which motivates me to exercize, since I will be able to eat more calories the more I exercize.
AND WATER WATER WATER...
Before Christmas time my husband got us a home gym with elliptical, treadmill and a smith gym and free weights. The TV is also located in the basement so I can do workout videos. I really have no excuse to avoid exercizing.
So what's different this time?
Our latest purchase/obsession is mountain biking. We got bikes and I am learning how to ride. The last time I was consistently on a bike, I was a kid. And I got that one taken away from me because I accidentally rode into the road. So learning again is taking some time. But wow, what a work-out. I can get my heart rate much higher for longer periods, and it is easy on my joints. I am not in pain at all the next day. And the best part is...it is
FUN!
Where I live there is a network of trails all over the city so eventually I could get anywhere I wanted on my bike. And the parks here are beautiful...so much to see...It is so freeing to be able to get somewhere on my own steam and to explore the city I live in. (Thank God for DH's GPS so we can find our way back home after all this exploring
)
Right now I get out of breath and my HR is in the high 90%'s going up any hill and I can only do the easy trails, but that will improve with time. And going downhill is a blast! It is nice to finally have a fitness goal that is independent of the weight loss goal. I am no longer exercizing just because I have to. It is honestly something I am look forward to doing. (Oh no I am turning into one of
those people.
So at this point, I have absolutely no reason not to stick to this. I have all the equiptment I could possibly want, a supportive husband (who doubles as exercize partner & trainer) and the time to devote to this. It would almost be harder to stay fat. I guess this is what people mean by setting your self up for success.
Things I have to watch out for...
I have to keep an eye on my emotions and not use them as an excuse to eat or to give up. I have recently learned that emotional issues do not excuse you from the rest of your life, and now I have to apply that to exercize.
I have to watch the "I didn't have time" trap. As DH says "You wouldn't say you didn't have time to shower before going to work would you?...Same thing" It is all about priorities.
And I need to watch my letting things slide after the initial motivation wears off. I tend to start strong and then after awhile bad habits creep back in and I find I am exercizing less and I start saying "well I will get back on plan tomorrow...one day can't hurt" and then I've gained 20 lbs before I know it. Coming here will help me to keep focused on my goals. Faithfully using fitday will keep track of my eating. And using the software that comes with my HR monitor will keep me accountable with my exercize.
So I am back (with a vengance
) and am going to do this, and not give up. I can't wait to talk to everyone here again. It has been too long.
(Original "I'm Back" post 11/2005
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68640 )
I'm back! (again)
back Victoria!
your enthusiasm is contagious 
