March 27, 2011 A new beginning!

 
     Well, today is the beginning of a healthier & happier me. I'm not saying I'm not happy. It's just that I know if I become healthier by making smart food choices and shedding some pounds, I'll feel much better about myself.  And we all know that feeling good about ourselves equals being happy.
      I started this blog because I'm accountable for my actions and I know that if I put this all out there, I'll be more motivated to achieve my goals.  So I'm saying hear and now, "my name is Heidi and I'm a foodaholic". I've created very poor eating habits all by myself. No one made me eat unhealthy or told me to sit on the couch instead of exercising. It was my choice.
       I've been in a rut for the last two years.  Before then, I was eating healthy and exercising on a regular basis. My energy level was up and I always wanted to get out and do things.  I want that excitement about life back!  I won't go into details about how I got in the rut.  Let's just say it's been a rough couple of years with the economy, missing my family and people with too much drama in their lives sucking the life out of me!  Hard lessons learned but time to move on.
    I'm a pretty laid back person but when it comes to eating and exercise, I'm a creature of habit. And if my routine gets messed up, I tend to spiral out of control. We've all heard people talk about being depressed and slipping into bad eating habits or slipping into bad eating habits and then becoming depressed.  I'm still not sure which one comes first but I do know that they go hand in hand.  It's not important to me which order they happen in, rather, how to change it.  I know it's not a quick fix.
     I've been on every diet out there and I mean EVERY diet out there..lol!  What I've learned is that we have to be in the right mind set to change a bad habit.  We have to want to change the habit for ourselves not for anyone or anything else.  I'm no different than a drug addict or an alcoholic. I love food!  The difference is I need food to survive so I can't just quit eating. 
     This is where the grueling part comes in.  Imagine telling a drug addict that they can't have their favorite drug except for maybe once in a while and in moderation.  Food is my drug. I eat my favorite ones, when I'm happy, when I'm sad, when I'm angry...ect. You get the picture.  But my favorite ones are NOT the healthy ones.  So I will make healthy choices and stay away from too much fat and sugar.  I will also stay away from dairy, as I've noticed that dairy triggers other bad food cravings for me and makes me feel like crap.  I'm not saying I will never eat fat, sugar or dairy again. I will just stay away from those while I'm working on getting to my goal.  Oh and  my goal is not my weight. It's a size. For my height, which is 5 "1" and my size body frame, a size 7 is my goal.  I've been much smaller int he past, but that wasn't realistic for me then and it certainly won't be today.  Currently, I'm a size 12.  If you're 5"1' and a size 12 and you feel healthy and happy, then all the power to you, but for me, I don't feel good when I'm this size.  I don't want to preach and tell everyone what size they should be. If you're healthy and happy, that's what's important.  This is my journey and these are my goals.
     I have another goal of exercising 5 days a week and resting for 2 days.  Exercise will start out at 30 minutes of cardio and I'll work up to 45 minutes and incorporate weights (baby steps). Drinking 8 glasses of water is essential too.  So, here I go.  I hope I have inspired some people.  PS I'm not sure the spell check is working, so I apologize in advance for any typos!