It's a brand new day world. A new day of promise and hope. A new day of making my inner most dreams come to fruition. A new day of...
convincing myself I have forgotten how good a cheeseburger and fries really tastes.
Now that I've gotten the naiveté out of the way, what tonight signifies is a decision to stop being a lazy schlub. I decided that I wouldn't embark on a diet so much as I would simply become more aware of what I eat and what the caloric consequences of what I eat can have.
To start, I decided to begin planning my meals so that I know what goes in them, what I'm eating, and what the overall nutritional value or what I am consuming. I also decided I would drink more water (bear in mind I haven't had a glass of water in **thinks really hard** at least a month), take in less soda (I've had 2 cans out of the 24 pack I just purchased today) and begin a healthy and diverse exercise routine.
In order for me to reach my weight goal I am going to be keeping track of my daily food consumption and water consumption as well. I'll be doing this both with a physical chart and an online one as well. I've set my goal to 1.5 pounds a week right now but I will change that as is necessary. And I'm going to be looking at the dieting measurements as guidelines (hello pirate's code) more than actual rules simply to allow myself a little breathing room so I don't feel like total crap if I don't have a completely stellar day.
And to celebrate this decision I did what any red blooded American would do. I stopped at McDonald's for a milkshake and French fries. Sort of a last hoorah!, if you will even though I'm not actually going to be giving up the foods I love so much as I am going to be scaling them down. Thus I ordered a small shake (I poured a 1/3 of it down the sink) and small fries. (Yes I finished them but the Mickey D's fries, I'll eat them a day old and cold straight from the fridge.)
Now you might ask what caused me to decide to make this lifestyle change. Is it the fact that I'm nearing a double digit beginning with a 3 and ending with a 0? No, when that happens I will be forgetting all about this health kick for the day and gorging myself on ice cream and cookies while locked in my room. Is it because my knees ratchet when I bend down? Not really, but I'll be grateful when that stops. Is it because I once lost a $20 bill in my lap and couldn't find it again until I stood up? You would think that would be the motivator, but no. Is it because my neck is steadily increasing in size to the point it reminds me of Uncle Phil's on The Fresh Prince of Bel~Air? It wasn't the deciding factor but it got me thinking about it.
No, what got me to this point was watching TLC's new show "One Big Happy Family". I mean they're just a normal, American family (who now have their own tv show) that loves food. It was a simple inspiration and probably sounds stupid to a lot of people, but it got my attention. Not because these people are overweight, but because they understand how unhealthy it is and they're working to change that. All 4 members of the Cole family were between 300-400 pounds. To this date Norris (the father) who started at 345 pounds has lost a total of 78 pounds. Tameka (the mother) went from 380 to 259 for a total of 121 pounds. Amber and Shayne (the kids) started out at 330-ish and are down to the 290 range. They've changed their diet and have begun exercising without the help of expensive trainers, surgery or pricey gym memberships. They walk their neighborhood, shoot hoops, and Amber is on her school's Color Guard team. Yes, they've increased their food budget for what they spend shopping, but when compared to what they save by not hitting the drive-thru I would imagine it evens out to about the same as what they were spending before but with better and healthier results.
There are actually people who think this show exploits this family. There are those that think it's degrading to people with weight issues. I can't help but wonder if those people are the ones that just don't want to see people who are overweight on their tv when it doesn't involve a laugh track. Or if perhaps they are people who do suffer from a weight problem but don't feel as inclined to do something about it.
I am a poorly motivated individual normally so I'm hoping that I can last 30 days like this so I can truly make this not just a habit, but a lifestyle overall.
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