Now that the holiday season has passed, Lexus and Kay Jewelery commercials have moved on to Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers commercials. I can't decide which annoy me more - basically ALL commercials - but I do enjoy the cycling of advertising: the excesses of December naturally flow into the strictness of January, as we all try to make up for the damage we did with baked goods.
I've noticed quite a few friends on FB, as well in real life, who have made New Year's resolutions to get healthier. Today at Publix (where shopping is a pleasure!) the cashier noticed all the veggies, fruit, and other "healthy" food in my cart and commented that she had seen many people today who were also buying healthier stuff. I wanted to tell her that this wasn't exceptional for me, that this was how I ate all the time, but the sugar-black-hole that engulfed me between Thanksgiving and New Year's would have made a liar out of me.
The truth is, I don't make New Year's resolutions. Two years ago, however, I made a mid-January decision (obviously completely different!) and started to eat better, exercise more, and by the end of 2010 I had lost a heck of a lot of weight.
Over the course of the next few blog posts I'm going to post about my weight loss - what I did and how I did it. I decided to do this for a couple of different reasons:
1. Several people have asked - mostly via FB messages - for info about my weight loss. I'm always happy to answer questions, but I thought it might be easier to have it all written out here, as a reference for those interested.
2. I need some maintenance motivation. The previously-mentioned holiday sugar fest has my jeans feeling pretty tight. I'm sure that sharing a little about my journey here will give me a boost of encouragement and a fair amount of accountability.
Today's post is just a short intro for the next few posts. If you have a specific question you'd like me to address when I write, feel free to leave a comment or send an email or message me on FB. This is also where I give a BIG, GIGANTIC disclaimer and say I'm not an expert, a physician, or anything other than a person with some experience and an opinion. Feel free to ignore me if you'd like. My sister usually does. :)
Last thing - I couldn't resist showing some pictures of me from 2009 and some pictures of me now. Again, this is mostly just for some encouragement as I resist chocolate over the next few days and remember that I really do enjoy green vegetables.
This is July 2009. I apologize to my friend Becca - I blacked out her head because I didn't know if she'd want to be on the blog. She's adorable, trust me.
This is a graduation at an evening school I used to teach at. I'm pretty sure this is April of 2009.
October 2009, with a class of students.
Brazilian food is delicious and not calorie-counting friendly in the least.
This is from Thanksgiving of this year. Not only do I love the Gators, I now enjoy sweating. What a difference 2 years can make!
October 2011, with my cousin Lindy. She's an LSU fan, bless her heart.
I don't do the resolution thing either. Why put up the pretense? I am very proud of your intentional lifestyle changes. It takes a lot of focus and discipline to do what you've done so well. It will continue to take focused intention to maintain. Things just don't happen for most of us. You're a great inspiration!
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