I am not even going to even venture to guess how many blogs exist about weight loss, and in truth I don't care. I am teaching a class this year on the college level and for a portion of the class I am having my students post on our class blog. I have never really done a blog before, but as i have used it for my class it seemed like the perfect format to keep a record of my weight loss.
A good friend of mine and I volunteered at the Human Rights Campaign (from now on I will refer to it as the HRC) booth for Dallas Gay Pride this past Sunday, September 15. It was in the high 90's and humid and by the end of my 1 and a half hour volunteer shift I was miserable. I was exhausted, hot and sweat was running into every crack and crevice. Now don't get me wrong I was not the only person melting. One thin beautiful women we worked with was maybe 110 pounds and she was sweating also, but she was in tiny shorts and a spaghetti strap tank top. When our shift ended I was saturated with sweat, and we still had to walk to find our friends and family to watch the pride parade.
My friend mentioned that she wanted to lose weight next year so she would be more comfortable working the HRC booth next year. When she said this I agreed completely, but as I thought about I realized that there are a lot of things I do not enjoy because of my size. I want to finally get healthy. I want to walk upstairs without being winded. I want to jog, ride a bike, swim, hike, and so much more. I want to dance, rock climb, and make love to my partner without being insecure. I know that I might anger some people who will say that you can do all of those things when you are a larger, and I am sure this is true, but for me I am not comfortable in my own skin.
I currently weigh 215 lbs. and this is down from 224 in April. I started weight watchers and it worked while I stuck to it. I know my weaknesses are beer, fast food, and a lack of exercise. I know why I am overweight, and it seems like a simple solution to fix it...eat less, drink water, and exercise, but wow it is not that simple. I am going to keep this blog as a journal to keep track of my life in order to better document my habits in an attempt to modify them. I will work to stick to weight watchers and exercise. This journal will hopefully help me stay accountable to myself.
This past weekend I did not take care of myself. I drank too much, ate too much, did not exercise, let myself get dehydrated and I do not think I ate a single whole fruit or vegetable. I could spend time beating myself up over this, but it seems like a better idea to move forward. I am going swimming with my fiancée tomorrow morning and am trying to get in a couple of glasses of water while typing this.
I am not doing this simply to wear cute little outfits ( but it is a bonus) I want to feel better. I am choosing Dallas Gay Pride as the time next year I would like to be a healthier person mentally and physically, and it won't hurt if I can work the HRC booth in comfortable shorts and a tank top instead of pants and a t-shirt. Well here goes.....
First of all, I feel your pain sister! I was skinny all my life because I was athletic. Then I had babies and became non athletic. Like you, I knew what to do to change it---it was just a matter of doing it. I lost with WW and even became a leader. I know what to do---I just have to do it. I had lap band. The doctor said most people lost 60% of their goal---not me I said. I lost 50 lbs. Exactly 60%. I knew what to do---I just had to do it and doing it didn't include eating ice cream which I found very quickly went right through my band very quickly. So----you can do it! Being healthy and feeling better is your goal and if you get a cute little outfit all the more better. You can do it! Your essay is wonderful and very encouraging! Thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteDeanna thank you for sharing. I am mad at myself because I did not stick to the blog. Fortunately, I stuck with getting healthier. Your comment made me realize I need to post on here. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteEveryone,
I am not seeing many comments about Finding Arts Place posted on here. I asked you all to make 2 comments about the readings. You need to have read to page 64. It gets more interesting and easier to follow after page 18. Get those in tonight.
Reminder your 2nd art lessons are due tomorrow. I will post the new syllabus on here later tonight that has the updated syllabus with changes to the policy on late assignments. If you are missing any past assignments you need to turn it all in my midnight tomorrow October 21. After that your grade will go down 10% each day it is late.
Katy Ballard, PhD
Adjunct Professor
Texas Tech University
College of Visual and Performing Arts
School of Art