truth

I saw a photo of me from Thursday, and I am amazed at how fat I actually am. It's hard to imagine that I still think of my self as thinner than I am, but I do. How can that fatty be me? I was like, "Oh how nice" when I saw it, but inside I was "God, kill me now!"

I never intended to become a fatty. I guess these things happen when we don't exercise, eat a lot, sit our out butts, and eat some more! It doesn't take too much overeating to gain weight. Damn!

So, my plan is to take measurements of my stomach and other offensive parts of me 'for the record'. IF I do lose weight, I don't want to underestimate the amount of weight I've lost. I know I can look at a scale, but I think the inches are important, too. I did read an article that said stomach measurements greater than 36" on a woman has a huge increase in risk of heart disease. Bummer.

On the more positive side, I'm thinking that I will break down the whole weight loss thing into smaller bites (pun intended). LOL By that I mean, I want to take the 50 lbs and break them into 10 five pound mini-goals. My first mini goal would be 180 lbs. Right now, that seems like a mountain top, unassailable goal! But really, that would be 2-3 weeks of work or maybe 17-18 days of being very conscious of my eating patterns and choices and increase in burning of calories.

I am trying to establish what is enough exercise for me to do in a 'work out' or a day. I have several options. I like walking, so that is an easy one for me. I'm not sure HOW LONG I need to walk to make it burn enough calories, get the heart rate up, etc. I need to research this one. I'm open to suggestions/ideas/input. One idea that I heard at Lifetime this week when I was in to goof off was a mini triathlon. The suggestion goes like this...

SWIM - 10 minutes and count the laps
BIKE - 20 minutes and record the mileage
TREADMILL - 30 minutes and record the distance

TOTAL time is 60 minutes of work (? calories?)
TOTAL distance is the goal to increase over time. This would mean that if I did 4 laps, the next time I'd try for 5. If I rode 3 miles, the next time I'd try for 4. If I walk/jogged/ran for 2 miles, the next time I'd try for 3. I like the concept and I think it is more up my alley than anything else for the moment. I do realize that I'd need to be in the club for over an hour...probably more like 90 minutes, but it would be a good workout and the challenge would be solely against myself.

And I could set new records all the time! Hey, that is setting up for success. :0)

When the weather is not too cold, I like walking. Poor weather is not my favorite to walk in. Walking with a friend is the best, though. ;-)