Let's talk about something serious.
Ever since I graduated college, I feel as though I've been on a bit of a downward spiral in terms of my health.
I've always had (what I consider) stupid-weird health problems. I have anxiety-related nausea that can be crippling. I have poor blood circulation. My feet are flat. My eyesight, especially in the dark, is much less than perfect. I get migraines. I am prone to random bouts of depression. Two winters ago, I had vertigo for three weeks. Stupid-weird problems. I can deal with all of them with various degrees of success, but there is one issue that I absolutely refuse to put up with anymore.
My weight.
Looking at my BMI right now, I'm definitely on the dangerous side of overweight where you don't want to cross into the next territory. This number aside (which, after all, is just a number) for the past two years I have been feeling the awful effects of being overweight. I'm tired more often. My clothes don't fit. I hate how I look in pictures. I feel bloated. I have regular digestive issues that I had never had to deal with before. Etc etc. This is the first time in my life (since I was maybe 12 or 13) that I don't like the way I look, and I tend to go out of my way to avoid facing that fact.
The worst part of all of this is, of course, that it's entirely within my control and of my own doing. I mean, for the first year or so that my metabolism evened out from its post-teenagery blaze, maybe I could have a pass for figuring out what my new normal is. But now that it's two or three years past that? No more excuses. This is now a matter of self-control.
So here it is. I want to lose forty pounds by the time I turn 26 next March. I think this is a pretty reasonable goal. And I'm going to do it smart. Focus on eliminating the bad parts of my diet (Wendy's, I am looking at you!), and adding in a hell of a lot more exercise. That's my biggest problem, I think. I eat relatively well most of the time - though I could use a lesson in portion control. But I do not go out and sweat my ass off nearly often enough. I have blamed this on my job for a long time (which is peculiarly exhausting), but I don't want to do that anymore. There really is no excuse in this century with all of the infinite resources at our fingertips for not doing something about a weight issue if you have an issue with it!
Our new apartment complex has a pool - blam! I can do laps and other fun pool things without breaking a sweat. Good for after work too. There's also an awesome rail trail nearby that I can use for walking and running. I want so desperately to be one of those toned women running in a sports bra and compression shorts. I need to take advantage of my yoga and tai chi and bellydance dvds too. I might even give in and buy Zumba for my Wii.
At any rate, I stating all of this here because I want this to be a real and alive goal. I plan on focusing most of my energy on this as soon as we get through our move to western MA. I figure by setting a goal of losing forty pounds by my next birthday... that's August to March. I will be blogging about my progress at least one a month until then. I have all the confidence in the world that I can do this - but obviously I often have trouble adhering to lofty goals. I want this to be something I'm thinking about and trying to do every minute of every day.
Here's to being healthier.
