The beginning of a journey

I am going to begin a journey with no end in 2010! I have said this before and I have embarked on this journey before, but have failed to stay on the journey. I am starting this blog for a few reasons; to use as a journal for my experiences, to share ideas and hopefully to hold myself accountable. I hope you will follow along with me, whether you have your own journey to start or are already well on your way. I know some amazing people, who have undertaken their own journeys. Some who have lost a lot of weight (and kept it off), others who have taken their healthy living up a notch. These people run marathons, participate in triathlons, ride in 100 mile bike races, eat healthily, etc.. I hope to learn from them and I hope that occasionally they will share their experiences and advice on this blog. If you are interested, let me know.

How I got here

I have never been a thin person. I will be pleased in a size 12 and ecstatic in a size 10. I can't remember how long it has been since I wore smaller than that. My family has a genetic trait of big hips. Great for child-bearing, not so great for trying on jeans! I am not going to be bearing anymore children, yet my hips have only gotten bigger. I weigh more now than when I was pregnant with any of my three children. Yikes! About a year after my youngest was born, I dropped 25 lbs. I did it by utilizing the treadmill we'd had for 6 years (it worked like new) and by watching my calorie intake. It was great. The problem is, somehow now 5 years later and I have gained it all, plus 25lbs. back. I don't know how or when it happened. Oh, who am I kidding! I know exactly how it happened, I stopped exercising and started eating more. We also moved during that time and I think moving to a new neighborhood (albeit only a few miles away), was harder for me than I expected. I began eating more.

Why now?

I have always had this motto about my weight and appearance, "Either accept and deal with it, or do something about it". This motto has been challenged over the past couple of years. I have reconnected with some old friends through blogs and facebook. The last time I spent a lot of time with these friends, was 20 years ago. Some of us have aged really well (I'm not necessarily one of those people). I was a little hesitant to actually spend some face to face time with these people. However, I just applied my motto and "dealt with it". I am too social a person to let my weight keep me from interacting with others. I also am not getting any younger. I move slower and feel like I have less energy than I used to. I want to be able to keep up with my kids as they grow up. I also know it is important to set an example of healthy living for my children. Well, I think it is time to stop accepting it and to start changing. A turning point for me was this:

Yes, that is me! This was a photo taken on a family vacation last fall. While, I was playing in the water with the kids, my hubby (at my request) was taking pictures. Most of them were like this. First, I just had to thank him for taking so many pictures of my BIG BACKSIDE and then I deleted most of them. This is not how I wish to look or feel. So it is time to get healthy! It still has taken me three months to get serious. But, a new year is a perfect time to start anew, right? And now that I have posted this very unflattering picture of me for all the worldwide web to see, I should have even more motivation to get to a point that I can post a more flattering picture.

My next post will lay out my goals and plans. I would love any words of advice any of you have!