Every journey starts somewhere...

So...after much coercion from my friends and family...here is the beginning chapter of what I hope to be a lifelong journey of healthy living and healthy eating. I have struggled most of my child and adult years with my weight and I have decided that it stops here. Actually...it stopped as of 2/20/10 when I finally mustered up the courage to visit Weight Watchers. That day, with the strength that only God can give, I said no more to pop (poison as I like to refer to it these days...kinda ironic since my hubby works for one of the top soft drink companies in the US) and hello to a healthier and happier me.

Some of you may read this and say that I am being over-dramatic about it...just eat right and exercise...how hard can it be?? Well, if you don't understand how hard it can be, than you never have had to struggle with weight, and you surely have never had an addiction of any kind. Food is an addiction for me...plain and simple. It's how I cope. It's how I celebrate. It's how I got to where I was on 2/19/10...miserable, sad, ready to give up. I am currently looking at gall bladder surgery - no biggie but the Dr. is concerned that they will not be able to do laproscopic surgery because of my weight. That scares me. I have no energy. I am struggling with depression. I have four babies that rely on me, that love me, and that mimic every little thing I do - good or bad. At the biggest I have been in my life, 321 pounds (I am OK with admitting it because I will never be there again), my health and the well-being of my family is in jeopardy, and I am going to fight for it!

I am in the process of retraining my brain and my body...teaching it how to eat (the good way) all over again. Trying to do something so drastic with four babies under the age of 3 is quite the challenge, but I have no other option at this point. I either do this and live or stay the same and die.

So this will be a peek into my journey. I can't promise I will update it daily, but I definitely will do a weekly update. Here is what has progressed so far:

I joined WW on 2/20/10. I love it...it is so easy that I question if I am doing it right. Week 1: I started eating lots more fruits and veggies and made sure I ate breakfast - something that was very easy to neglect when 4 kids are crying for their own breakfast! I stopped pop consumption completely (I had actually planned on slowly weaning myself off of it, but I realized that I didn't want it - God took that desire away). I started drinking water all of the time again. I ate more than I ever thought I should, but instead of eating all of the "wrong" stuff, I ate the good stuff - and it worked! Week 1, I lost 7 pounds.

Week 2: I made it my goal to get on the treadmill which I was scared of - I know, ridiculous! I surpassed that goal and got on it twice. I got a little more creative with my meal planning and will try and post some of my favorite meals and short-cuts as time goes by. We made pizzas using Flat-Out Lite Italian Herb wraps and they were delish! I was even able to enjoy going out to eat with the family because I planned ahead and knew what to eat BEFORE we got there! Week 2, I lost 2.8 pounds.

I am taking it one day at a time, one choice at a time, and one step at a time. There's no turning back!