So Much For The Domino Effect

Bad, bad, bad calorie day. I can't believe I let myself get so out of hand. I didn't even keep count... it was that bad. I did, however, work out today. I was happy with the workout. It takes a whole lot more to get my heart rate to stay up where it needs to be these days. It makes me feel like I am doing something good for my overall health; even if I'm blowing my calories completely out of the water.

So tomorrow's a new day and another chance to do what I know is the right thing. And that is to be honest about how many calories I am consuming. My biggest excuse is that I don't know how many calories a particular item contains. I know that with some extra time and a little more forethought, I can keep my calories within a specified amount. This is going to be one of the hardest things for me to do. But I will get there, I know I will. I want this. I will do this. Tomorrow is a new day.

Thanks for reading,
Rachel

A Better Day

Yesterday I did absolutely nothing. That was the first time in two weeks I did nothing and I felt horrible about it. Today was a better day. I had a 140 calorie fiber one bar for breakfast and my lunch came to a larger calorie count than I'd like - 522 calories (Sonic corndog and small cheese tots) Later I had a 3 musketeers for 240. That was probably... well, I know it was a bad calorie value but I had it and that's that. So that brings me to 902 for the day so far. For dinner, I am having a turkey sandwich with 45 calorie bread so my sandwich was 150 (just ate it) and the salad I am having with it comes to about 100. So I have only spent 1150 calories and it's 8pm. I will probably have a fudgecicle here in a bit and call it a night, so I am well under 1500 for the day. But that's not the best part of the day. I went to the Y this evening and I walked for almost an hour on the treadmill. 54 minutes to be exact. It would have been a full hour, but I am on call today and the emergency phone rang, so I had to take the call.
Nonetheless, I feel really good about today and I can go to bed with that feeling. I like that. It even inspires me to do as well the next day. It's like a domino effect. Do something to make you feel good one day and you want to do the same the next and the next and the next. Before you know it, you have a whole month's worth of going to bed feeling good about what you've done that day.
Well, I feel like I'm rambling. I'm going to get a little work done before going off to bed.

Thanks for reading,
Rachel

A Long Time Coming

So, this is my first blog ever, and I'm not sure what to say. I guess I should let you know who I am and why I'm blogging...

My name is Rachel. I am 37 years old and I am EXTREMELY overweight, and I have been ever since I can remember. (I'm sure I am obese, but I don't like that word. So I chose to use overweight. It sounds friendlier.) My mother has a picture of me when I was about 6 or so and I was overweight even then. I have never "felt" overweight, though. I mean, I have felt the effects of obesity (cringe at the word) but I haven't felt like you would think someone feels who is overweight. I have always felt bouncy and energetic. I have felt like I was full of life, not full of fat. I see pictures of me and I say, "There is no way that is me... I don't feel like I look." But nonetheless, it is me that I am looking at and the time has come to change me into the me I feel inside. The bouncy, breezy, flirty, happy-go-lucky me.

I have been watching what I eat and going to the YMCA daily for about two weeks now. I have my friend Sean to thank for the inspiration to begin my journey. I will tell you all about him very soon. He is on a fantastic journey with incredible results so far. And so many more ahead of him. But for now, let's talk about me. At first I had a hard time keeping my heart rate where I wanted it while on the treadmill. Now, only two weeks later, it is often hard to get my heart rate up enough to reach my "fat burning" rate. That's a great improvement... and in such a short amount of time. Also, my blood pressure has gone down considerably. My best friend Melissa joins me at the Y daily. She is and I'm sure will continue to be a great support for me. I feel blessed to have her on my side.

So that's it for now. I hope to learn alot about myself and my habits as I become the person I feel like I should be. This will be a long journey, but I have put me on the back burner for far too long and it's time to stand up and take responsibility for the body I have created. It's time to become the person I have always felt like I was inside. It's time to take the longest journey... a journey to me.

Thank you for reading,
Rachel