An Introduction: Trust me, this one is different

I am a woman in the midst of a midlife crisis. As I neared my 39th birthday, I found myself reaching out to high school friends that I hadn't seen in years, noticing all the wrinkles on my face, and looking at my oversized body in the mirror more and more. I longed to know that someone other than my husband could be attracted to me. I wasn't going to have an affair. I love my husband. He is a wonderful man. I just wanted to know that someone else could be attracted to me. It is not like me at all to fixate on such superficial things. I grew out of that early on in college. I knew that I was changing. I denied the idea that I could be having a midlife crisis for a while. I was better than that, wasn't I? The answer is no. I am just as normal as everyone else and it is normal to have a midlife crisis.

There is such a negative stigma to having a midlife crisis. My philosophy is that every experience that I have in life can be a positive experience depending on how I choose to look at it and what I choose to do with it. I have developed this philosophy out of the occassional bouts of depression that I experience from time to time and a realization that I could choose to change my outlook. I can't say that this works for everyone. I can only say it works for me. It really seems to help me pull myself out of these episodes. Some difficult experiences, such as death and injury, can be harder for me to see as positive than others. I firmly believe that eventually the experience can bring about a positive attitude and outcome if I work at it. I have decided to apply this philosophy to my midlife crisis. I am going to turn my midlife crisis into something positive. I will use this superficial focus that I have on my appearance to turn about positive change in myself.

I have challenged myself publicly to lose 40 pounds by the age of 40. I fully intend to accomplish this goal. I am making myself accountable to those of you who follow this blog. I hope to be a leader by example to those of you who are looking for a way to accomplish your own weightloss goals. I will appreciate any support or suggestions that will help me reach my goal to weigh 130 pounds by my 40th birthday on August 30th, 2010.

OMG! I Weighed 190 Pounds! How Did That Happen?

Well, to make a long story short, it is all because of having babies. Before you go off half cocked about how you shouldn't blame weight gain on pregnancy, hear me out. I had very difficult pregnancies. With both my kids, I had "morning sickness" from a week to two weeks in until delivery. Really, I would prefer to call it "all day sickness." By my delivery dates, I had mostly only gained baby weight since I couldn't hold down most of what I ate. After delivery, I could finally eat without getting sick. I piled on the pounds that I lost in delivery and a few more within months of each delivery. If you total up the pounds from two pregnancies you get two times baby weight plus two times a few more pounds equals approximately 60 pounds. I went from a healthy 130 pounds to a very unhealthy 190 pounds.

Now What Do I Do? I found a trick that worked for me and I am not trying to sell you something.

It just happens before you know it and then you don't know how to fix it. You've really put on the pounds. Yeah, yeah, diet and exercise is the answer. I tried greatly reducing my food intake and I tried working out at the gym. For me, it didn't work. There was something that I was missing. My mom was obese and chose to have lap band surgery. I watched her lose weight rapidly. Then, suddenly she had some health problems and had to have her band loosened as much as possible. She still couldn't eat very much but she could eat more that she did before they loosened the band. I watched her eat the volume of a two year old and gain her weight back rapidly. I then began to relate what happened to her with her lap band and not being able to hold down food to me and my pregnancy's and not being able to hold down food. When we were able to eat again, the weight piled back on. I pretty sure that I found the explanation. Our metabolism was dead in the water. Our bodies had been triggered into starvation mode (a form of self preservation), was storing everything we ate and hadn't switched back to normal function. Our metabolism eventually improved and stabilized and we stopped putting on weight. Now our metablism is trigger happy and easily switches back to starvation mode. With this information in tow, I started arming myself with knowledge of the foods that boost and slow the metabolism. I applied the knowledge that I gained for about a month in early 2009 and I lost 20 pounds. The best part is that my weight has been pretty stable over the last year. I haven't gained the weight back. My weight now stands at 170 pounds.

And So It Begins:

D-day is here and tomorrow I will begin logging my journey to lose weight and get into shape. Throught out my experience I hope that I can share something that encourages and/or helps others along their own personal journey in life. For me, the greatest hurdle initially is mind set. I have already crossed this hurdle. I am sure that I will have set backs along the way. I will have bouts of depression and have to refocus to a more positive way of thinking. Regardless I am ready for this challenge, to lose 40 pounds by 40. I hope you will follow and share with me your experience too.

Disclaimer:

I would like to make it clear to everyone that I am not an expert in nutrition nor am I an expert in physical education. You should always verify with a physician that the changes that you are considering making in your diet and exercise program is right for you.