Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Let the Challenge Begin!

Yup, here it is:  Another blog by a mid-20's, small town to big city transplant writing about her life.  Sorry if you're sick of these, but haters gonna hate, right?  This blog is mainly for tracking my weight loss journey, but I may also be writing about other topics eventually, as this blog could evolve into something much more over the next 15 weeks.  I'd like this to be a place for me to share my story but also for other people to see that we all face a lot of the same challenges.
 

So here we go!  My weight loss goal: lose 15 pounds in 15 weeks.  This idea originated from the fact that my friends and I will all be celebrating Memorial Day on a beach somewhere this year and I'd like to accomplish my goal by then, which is exactly 15 weeks from now.  Wish me luck!  I'll fill my readers (if I have any) in on my progress with weekly updates by posting how many pounds I lose each week (assuming I lose pounds, which is the ultimate goal...).  My week actually started last Saturday (2/2/13) when I went to the gym for the first time in months and weighed myself, so my weeks will run Saturday-Saturday and then on Sunday or Monday I'll post the progress.  Each week I'll also try to highlight a specific area that I focused on and how it worked, i.e. number of workouts, portion control, calorie-tracking etc.  At the end of the 15 weeks, there may even be before-and-after photographic evidence of my progress (maybe!  I'm not promising anything!), so stay tuned!

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way doing this because I hate my body and I'm a miserable cow who cries into her Ben & Jerry's every night on the couch.  For anyone who has doubts about my confidence levels, see here.  I'm doing this because I stepped on the scale last Saturday and I cringed.  I recognize that my weight has gotten out of hand for someone my height (I'm barely 5'4") and it's just plain unhealthy.  My BMI is officially at 28, which means technically I'm overweight.  While I realize that BMI alone is not the best indicator of physical fitness, I know that I want to take action now in order to prevent my situation from getting worse.


I won't be using any official diets or crazy cleanses during this journey, just trying to do things the old fashioned way: eat less, move more.  I'm going to try to be realistic about my goals and know that I have limits, and that I can't go from couch potato to skinny spinner overnight.


Here are my basic guidelines (these may change through the course of my journey):
-Perform physical activity of at least 30 mins 3-5 times per week.
-Track my food intake to become more aware of what/how much I'm eating.
-Drink less alcohol (anyone who knows me understands this may be the biggest challenge).
-Rely less on prepared foods, which are typically really high in sodium, and try to make meals myself more often.
 

I can already foresee many of the of the struggles I will face over the coming weeks, but I believe that it's time for me to get my health in check, and knowing that there are people out there keeping track of me will serve as even more motivation to get results.  Also, all feedback is welcome, so feel free to leave suggestions or tips that you've tried or heard about, or just leave me some friendly encouragement!

Now, step 1: join the gym.  No more excuses about money or time, just do it.  I plan on tackling that before this week is over.  Here goes...

6 comments:

  1. Hey Julia July, love the blog!
    When I had a weight-loss competition with my dad, (dropped 18, kept off 10) we used a food recording app: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
    Sounds cheesy, and at some point no longer necessary, but it really made me start noticing my intake. As an added bonus, I stopped snacking because, let's face it, I was too lazy to put it into the program.

    Best of luck!

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  2. I can teach you how to cook not using the microwave....and enjoy doing it.

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  3. This is awesome!Good luck :) You're going to rock it. And hopefully send some motivation my way ;)

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  4. Awesome Julia! I started something similar (though without a specific end date) last August (goal of losing around 35 lbs) ... I'm down about 20 lbs as of right now, slowly but surely eh? I'm starting a 5k training program this weekend though so things might speed up. Excited to follow along with your progress!
    Are you using any apps? I've used Loseit.com for meal tracking & activity too, but have been thinking about getting a fitbit. Good luck, and check out my goals/progress/whatever when you get a chance! >> http://lauriebreaker.blogspot.com/2013/01/resolution-roll-call-2013.html • http://lauriebreaker.blogspot.com/

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  5. Love the blog idea for this! This will definitely keep you motivated. I wish I had the will power.. trying to lose more of this baby fat.. but I just love food too much! ;-) Good luck w/ everything.. I know you can do it.. easy-peasy!

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