Updates

Happy Wednesday everyone! So Sunday was my weigh in day, and I was VERY happy with my results. I lost another 4.6 lbs last week, which brings my total weight loss to 39.8 lbs. Now, I know that number needs some clarification, so here it goes.

I started tracking my calories and weight on MyFitnessPal about a year and a half ago. My highest loss there was 40 lbs. Over the course of the year and a half I was using MyFitnessPal, I yo-yo'ed and slacked off. For awhile I was able to maintain most of my loss, but when the holidays came around, I had a bit of a free for all and gained quite a bit between Thanksgiving and New Years. I'm just NOW back up to my 40 lbs lost, but I have lost around 14 lbs since the beginning of 2013. Either way, I'm on a roll and I'm feeling great about it. It's always easier when things seem to really click in your brain.

I've continued to walk, but I am still having issues with blisters on my feet. When I get paid tomorrow, I'm going to check into getting some kind of insert for my Reeboks that I'm hoping may help. If not, looks like I may have to get on the market for another pair of sneakers. We'll see though, I'll keep you posted. As always, if any of you have any suggestions or tips/tricks.. I'm ALL ears.

One thing I did want to cover is what made me jump back on the "get healthy wagon." It's a very sobering feeling listening to your friends and loved ones tell you things like "I want you to be around for a long time," or "I don't want to lose you in your thirties/forties." We as people like to feel like we're different than the statistics. When we read the health studies, we may be able to identify with some of the people in the studies, but part of us is always like "I'm not that bad," or "That's not me." We take what we read with a grain of salt and go on with our lives pretending like we're invincible. It's only as I've gotten older that things my loved ones have said to me have begun to stick. I know that if I keep neglecting my health, I won't be able to live a long and happy life.

One thing that really rings in my head is something my mom says to my dad pretty frequently. Some of you may know, and for those that don't, my dad was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in July 2012. He's been through the mill with radiation & chemo treatments, and often times I'm not really sure how he deals with all of this. It's definitely been an uphill battle, and it just puts so much into perspective for me. As the medical bills began rolling in, they are INSANE mind you, my dad started to stress about them. My family, like many others out there, is not exactly in the situation to be able to afford all of these medical bills. My dad stresses about them each time more come in the mail and my mom laid it out for him this way: What price do you put on your life? Life is a valueble thing, and my dad wasn't ready to lay down and take it, so he seeked treatment to buy himself some time. Yes, it's expensive, but in the longrun, it's worth every penny to have him around longer.

The same goes for your health... We all make excuses about what we CAN and CAN'T afford when it comes to our health. I won't even lie to you, I AM one of those people. I am on an VERY limited budget, as is most of America. It's hard sometimes to afford everything I need to get healthy, but I've started to take a look at what I'm spending. So maybe I don't need to eat out every weekend. Dinner out with friends has become almost a weekly thing for me. Granted, I'm not going out a fancy shmancy places, but that still adds up. Yeah it's little bits here and there but if it helps me get the healthy food I need in my home, or helps me pay for a gym membership, that's something. A little give here and there can really add up in the end. 

I guess what I'm trying to get at is, if something is really important to you, you will do what you can to grasp what you want. I want to get healthy. I want to be the person I know I'm supposed to me. I'd like to fall in love someday. I'm not at all saying no one can love me in my current state, because they can. But dammit, I'm not happy like this. I'm not happy with myself. I can't expect someone to love me and be happy with me if I'm not. Ya know? Also, I would like the option to have a family someday. Not saying I will, but I would like to be able to make that choice on my own, rather than my weight making it for me. There is just so much I want to do in my life that I know if I don't fix things now, I won't be able to accomplish my goals. My goals are important. If that means logging my food, working out, and cutting some things out so I have the tools I need to succeed, then so be it. That and, each year I get older, it'll get harder and harder to get healthy. So there you have it, those are my reasons for jumping back on the "get healthy wagon."

I think my next post will a list of motivations, and maybe some short term and long term goals. Maybe I'll get that up later this evening after I've gotten my walk in, and watched the Blackhawks game. ;)   Thanks for reading!