Resolution Update

About 3 months ago I made one of these New Year’s Resolution things. Remember that? Anyone else make one? Did you stick to it? Well I’ve been thinking about writing this post for quite some time. My resolution wasn’t the typical “lose weight,” “quit smoking,” “save money,” resolution. Mine was more get motivated, start exercising, start living better. Just get up and do something. If I drop a few pounds along the way, great. But even if I didn’t, I still need to be healthier for me and my family. So after January 1st, I started getting up at 5:30 a.m. every morning. I was kind of watching what I was eating, but not really. I did this for about 2 weeks. Then I got sick. What a great excuse to just quit! I lost 6 pounds, more from being sick than anything else. So after I started feeling better, I went back into old habits of sleeping in and not eating well. And of course, I regained that 6 pounds. At this point, it was the end of January. I wasn’t ready to admit defeat but I was so disappointed in myself. At my work we had hired a “Wellness Coordinator!” What the heck is a Wellness Coordinator? How do you coordinate wellness? This chick is young, cute, and weighs about 90 pounds. So of course, what is my first reaction…Yeah right, what the heck is this girl going to be able to tell me about wellness…eat carrots and exercise 3 hours a day. I’m sorry that’s not realistic for me. So I had a serious personal grudge against her and I had never even talked to her. Another week goes by and I’m thinking about the Wellness person, and decide maybe my personal grudge against her is my problem. Maybe I need to give her a chance. Maybe there is something she can do for me. So I send her an email. In my first email to her I told her that I already didn’t like her, but I was willing to give her a shot! So we sat down and talked for about an hour. She was very nice and VERY understanding. She gave me some informational material and probably the routine talk. We sat out some small goals…start exercising 3 to 5 days a week, she will weigh me every week (this is huge for me…I have to divulge my weight to someone other than my doctor!!), and lose 6 pounds in a month. So on February 12th, I met her at the scale for the initial “Weigh In!” The results were NOT good. I’m very aware of my weight, so it wasn’t a shock, but it sure wasn’t easy to see or to share with someone else. But because she saw it too I knew that I had to make it go down. So getting on that scale every week in front of her would just keep getting easier and easier. She also took waist and hip measurements. That was a little bit of a shock!! Didn’t like those results either. The first week is always the hardest, so I just kept telling myself that. After the first week, it’ll get easier. And it did and is has. Its still a struggle every day. I have had a few minor moments with some Easter candy, but for the most part I have been very good. I give myself a small reward every once in awhile when I deserve it. I am very hard on myself though also. The Wellness Coordinator tells me constantly that I’m too hard on myself. She’s very motivating. She always says stuff like you’re doing great…just keep it up. I weigh in with her once a week. I keep a daily food dairy that I turn in to her. She reads it and gives me tips on where I should be cutting or adding. So here we are about 3 months later. And how am I doing? Well I’m down almost 24 pounds and 13.5 inches!!! Every day gets easier. The hardest part for me isn’t losing the weight, its keeping it off. I’ve lost weight many times…15, 20, even 30 pounds, but I always gain it back. My end goal is to lose it and maintain it. For now, I’m just planning little goals, one day at a time. I know I’ll get there!!!