Learning to be Healthy-Training this Body!

This weekend, my sister, brother-in-law, boyfriend and I all participated in a 5k (about 3 miles) called Color Me RAD. Part of the proceeds went to a local charity too, so on top of it being amazingly fun, it was for a good cause. It was a really good experience and totally worth every penny. It wasn't as cheap as some of our local races, but it wasn't timed and it was very very fun. The race started with small non-toxic, gluten free, cornstarch color packets. Then as you walked/ran the course, they had different color stations where they would throw color at you and you'd walk through giant clouds of it. Or they had stations where they would hose you down with colored water! The race started earlier in the day, so it wasn't too hot and everyone had a wonderful time. I've learned that doing walks as motivation to start exercising works really well. They are always fun and if you sign up to do them with other people, you definitely won't be disappointed ...

I saw this line today and it really hit home. I had been feeling pretty discouraged after only losing 4 pounds on this round of the 3 day diet, and although in all honesty that is really good, I wanted to lose more, be healthier and thinner faster. I wanted to look amazing overnight.  On my way to work today, I walked by a group of men who called me beautiful. Not sexy or hot or cat called or "OHdayummmm"; "beautiful". Which even from a bunch of wannabe street thugs, is a wonderful compliment. It made me feel a lot better and helped me realize that even if I can't get to my goal weight as quickly as I want, I am still beautiful- inside and out.  I'm secure in my identity, regardless of my weight. Whenever I have dieted, I've lost enough weight for my body to feel good again and I've been satisfied, even if it wasn't as much as I should lose to fit in with the popular crowd. I'm able to do the activities I want and still be in shape enoug...

I can't believe it's Wednesday already. I was hoping for it to be Friday at least, but I'm still in the throes of round two.  Yesterday started out alright, though I didn't have my grapefruit and didn't end up eating anything else to replace it. Then finally when lunch rolled around, I was too busy. By the time I was ready to eat, my boss had asked me to go to lunch with him and our other boss. I thought it might be something important and work related, so I thought it was in my best interest to go.  Unfortunately I was wrong and it was a group lunch. However, we were going somewhere that I knew had decently healthy food options, even if it wasn't tuna on bread. I ordered my lettuce wraps and only ate about half. I figured that was going to be fairly close to the calorie content of the lunch I was supposed to have. Then when work finally wrapped up, I had to eat a quick dinner since we were hosting family game night at my place! I had steak again, w...

As of today, 3 days after I completed the first round of the 3 Day Diet, I have a net 5 weight loss. That is my goal for every 4 days off that I do this, to lose a total of 5 pounds in the 7 days (3 diet, 4 off). So far, I'm on track and I hope to stay that way.  This weekend went really well overall for the healthier eating and maintaining the weight I'd lost.  Friday was my first day off and I went to Chipotle with some work friends! I love eating out and they have a really good salad option. My boyfriend and I had talked about me going out the night before and we calculated the calories at their website . Which honestly, is a really cool feature. So I only had about 550-600 calories when I went out to lunch. That is such a small amount for a fast food restaurant, eating out in general, and a hearty, well balanced meal that really hits the spot. That night my boyfriend and I went to get a free doughnut! It was National Doughnut day or something, so we went to pick one u...

Hi! If you found this blog-COOL! I'm writing this to learn from my mistakes, to train my body and mind to be stronger, make healthier choices and get in shape. It's been a long journey for me, and I'm not the only one in my family struggling with weight issues. Growing up, most of my family has been overweight or obese (mostly on the obese side unfortunately). While I was young and in elementary school, I was also thin and healthy! It was cool, I could climb around and wedge myself in tiny places. It made everything more fun.  Luckily as a little kid, I wasn't overweight.  But once I hit middle school, I ballooned! I gained probably 20+ pounds. Which was a lot for me back then. I realized a year or two ago what probably happened, in addition to the raging middle schooler hormones, new friends and less healthy/balanced school meals. When I had been in elementary school, I had walked a mile uphill and a mile downhill every day. I stopped once I went to middle schoo...