The new beginning

Okay, so you may be wondering why someone would detail their weight loss, documenting first how large I REALLY am and my struggle to lose weight. Why wouldn't I just wait until I have actually LOST the weight and then come back and tell you all about it. Well, the journey up to this grand weight was not quick or walked alone, and the journey back down should not be either.

First I should share with you where I am starting from, a little bit about this crazy lady who will be blogging about what I eat daily and both my successes and my failures. I am 36 years old at the start of this blog. I weight a grand total of 305 pounds (weight will be checked later today so i can change this to a more accurate exact weight). I am 5'9" tall. My ultimate weight goal is 150lbs, which would be an ideal weight for me. But they all say you should break down your weight loss goals, so I have chosen 80 pounds as my first BIG milestone. Yes, I know I should have chosen a smaller goal, or a longer time frame. My sister, who is a registered dietitian, has a PhD in nutrition, and is a researcher and college professor in nutrition would probably flay me for setting a goal of a pound a day. But I doubt she will read this blog, so I think I am safe from her sisterly (and scholarly) tongue lashing (gotta duck and cover sometimes).

So, why now? Why this way? Well, one reason is that I have 2 sons, amazing little boys they are. My youngest will be turning 5 this summer (my oldest just turned 8 this week), and my little guy has cerebral palsy. Other than being physically challenged, he is a normal, active, social, bright 4 year old. I want him to be able to experience all of the things I loved as a child in addition to all of his other experiences. I want him to know what it is like to climb a mountain, and my first memories of going up Chimney Mountain (in the Adirondacks) is from when I was about the age he is now. So my goal is to carry him on my back up that mountain this summer (with my other son of course and probably my father and my sister and her kids, and maybe the whole extended fam damily. To do this, I need to drop around 80 pounds so that I can be fit enough to climb the mountain with a 40 pound kid on my back.

So I am starting this blog to keep a running record of this journey, this goal. It is about so much more than achieving a healthy weight. I also want to stabilize my blood sugar, increase my overall health, rebuild a healthy sense of community connections, rebuild friendships, and reconnect with God and the Spiritual path that I seem to have lost along the way. I hope you will find inspiration and enjoyment through reading this story as it unfolds...