I'll be turning 35 in just a couple of weeks (Jan 4, to be exact). Last year around this time, I said to myself, "Self, you are not going to be an overweight, out of shape, unfit 35! You're going to use this year to get rockin' on the weight loss and hit that milestone with a vengeance!"
Yeah, it didn't happen. In fact, I've managed in my amazingly self-sabotaging way to put on an additional 20 pounds or so. So I've decided to take a moment to analyze why, before deciding what to do next.
Why did I gain the weight when I wanted to hit a healthy and happy 35 years? I think part of it is that I experimented throughout the year with different medications to help in two areas: depression and uterine fibroids. I don't think either condition helped much either, come to think of it. I know for a fact that the BC pills the doc suggested caused more bleeding than I was having prior to going on them (after a 30 day period and a 28 day period, both with heavy bleeding, I went off of them, anemic and not happy). In addition to that, I'm lazy -- I have a tendency to want to just grab something for lunch rather than brown-bag my own, and my motivation to exercise has been nil. Eating more (and unwisely), moving less, and side-effects of medication have put me in a position that I did not want to be in at this time, this year.
Now what did I learn? Well, changes in eating habits drastically affected both my depression and my fibroids. I experimented for a couple of months (after going off the Pill) with vegetarian cooking and while I got very very bored, the side effect of my fibroids (intense bleeding, long periods) pretty much went away altogether (rather than 12 days of heavy bleeding, I'm down to one or two, then two or three of light -- well, actually, probably normal, but light for me -- which is a blessing!) I've reintroduced poultry and fish with no change, and red meat only occasionally rather than the double-digit meals per week that I was having it before. My depression has lifted enough that I'm off of the medication for that as well.
So now, I'm recomitting myself. While I'm not going into the age of 35 a healthy, vibrant, normal-weight woman, I can use this year to get ready for the rest of my 30's and beyond.
So that's my plan. Eat less, make better food choices, move more, weigh once a week, and keep on keeping on.