Step 2: The scale has nothing to do with it

I was 4 when this song first came out. I swear to you that I was in my 20s before I 

randomly heard it on the radio one day and realized it was NOT about going to the gym. Trufax.

I am no stranger to diets. 

Slimfast? South Beach? A brief flirtation with Atkins? Check, check, and check. EDiets, Weight Watchers, and “Eat less, move more” have all made one or more appearances in my life. Some were healthier options than others, but the aim – what was in my head whenever I started any of these  – was that this time I was going to get thin. This would be the plan that worked. It was going to be magic and the numbers on the scale would be small. I would be normal weight. 

Looking back on my thought process in January 2009 I realize now that something was much, much different than it had been in the past: Initially, I had NO concern about the scale, none at all. I didn’t even own a scale until March of that year, so my “starting weight” is an estimation based on that Christmas doctor’s visit. No, despite the fact that it was a number on the scale that shocked me into doing something, my real concern from Day 1 was that I physically felt crappy . . . BUT I remembered that there had been in a time in my past when I physically felt really good – when I lived in China and had been so active. The kicker is that at that point I was healthy, active, and overweight. So honestly, when I started all this, that’s what I aiming for. Some incidental weight loss was in the back (or front) of my mind, sure, but I was really just hoping to feel better. 

(Here is where I take a moment and express an opinion that might not be popular but which I believe 100% to be true: Fat is not the end of the world. There are many, many, MANY more things that are worse than being fat. The word itself, “fat,” doesn’t bother me. I was fat for many years. I was unhealthy fat, and healthy fat – yep, it’s possible! – and I might one day be fat again. Please be aware that I don’t use “healthy” as a euphemism for “thin,” because I absolutely don’t think they’re synonymous. Is being 500 pounds healthy? Probably not, but being “normal weight” doesn’t automatically mean you’re fit. OK, off soapbox!)

With all that in mind, Step 2 had pretty much nothing to do with a diet, or even food at all. Step 2 involved me getting off my butt and moving again. 

This post is getting a little long, so in the next post I’ll go into what exactly my beginning “exercise” plan looked like. Thanks for reading – now go get off your rear. :)