Get Off Your Broom Fitness Challenge, 2012 Pagan Reading Challenge

I'm not intending on this blog to be a weight loss blog as I am an extreme emotional eater and I tend to get negative on the subject.  However I joined the Get Off Your Broom Fitness Challenge so its part of my few resolutions to keep up with this.  If you don't feel like reading on I won't be offended. :-)

I mentioned in my last post that I was re-reading old journals from ten years ago.  Within those I've run across the sentence "I sit in my cubicle at work all day and just let my fat ass keep growing."  At that time I weighed 115-125 which is supposed to be my scientifically ideal weight for my body type.  But because through most of my adult life back then I weighed 90-100 I knew I was gaining weight and I knew it was beginning to spiral out of control.  And while I was at least in the presence of mind to acknowledge or complain about it I was absolutely clueless on what to DO about it.  And sadly this was BEFORE motherhood.  By the time I got pregnant with my first child 10 more pounds had crept on putting me at 134.  After I had the baby I went back to 134 for a short while until life threw me some unexpected curveballs and at one point I was so buried in depression that I went all the way up to 175.  After having a couple more children and getting my life back together I seem to stay in the 148-160 range.  However I'm supposed to be no higher than 134 *at the most*.  Unfortunately my latest bout with a 4 month depression earned me another ten pound weight gain so I've gotten a little higher than 160.

I have a few goals actually.  Of course I would like to lose weight and look better (i.e. lose the "pregnant" look).  But also I want to be in better shape and beat diabetes!  I'm not a Type 2 diabetic YET, but I had gestational diabetes with my last two pregnancies so its definitely coming in on the horizon.  Last year, when I lost the ten pounds that I just gained back I did a lot of power walking and attempted some running.  After running for literally ONE minute I was exactly like Homer Simpson on this one Simpsons episode where he ran a few feet and then he got so exhausted he collapsed on the ground barely able to breathe.  I "chase tornadoes" all day, I work a very "manual labor" night job but I can't even run over 60 seconds?  LAME!

As far as goal weight?  I've got to be realistic.  If I see the underside of 148 (which I haven't seen in 7 years) then that would be great.  From there if I could make it back to 134 (pre-pregnancy weight) then cool beans.  If I could get to like 110 where I actually LIKED my body... well that would be awesome but I have to be realistic.  So for now I'd like to see 147.

So...
Short Term Goal = 15 lbs to be 147
Mid Range Goal = 13 lbs to be 134
Final Fantasy Goal = 24 lbs to be 110

This would be a total of a 52 pound loss but again I am going with realistic as time shows what is possible.

My Beginning Stats ~ New Years Day:

Height 5"4'
Weight 162. 4
BMI 27.8 (Overweight)

Bust  36 in

Waist 35 in

Hips 42 in

Short Term Goal = 147 lbs

Pictures...oh fun!  These are the most recent (a couple of months old), and they weren't even taken on the same day (but were within about the same time frame)... but trust me, nothing has changed. If I can find time and someone to take a decent side/front view (hopefully in the next couple of weeks) I will post those.


Side View:

 

Front View (Yes, it's a Halloween costume):

The Plain and Simple "Plan":

1. The first goal is simply spiritual.  What kind of witch would I be if I continue to be completely powerless against my overeating addiction?  How could I be any kind of vessel for projecting, receiving, or making any kind of magick when I live life as a lethargic blob (not even talking about "fat", this is more of a mental state) that has a hard time finding the magick in any moment and attempts to escape by inhaling an El Charito TV dinner while watching Sopranos re-runs?  So its simply this... in moments of weakness call upon Spirit and remember the Goddess within.

2.Go cold turkey on the sodas.  All sodas.  Fo' real this time!

3. EAT ONLY WHEN ACTUALLY HUNGRY.  Not because my husband is pushing me to order lemon pepper wings with him when I just had lunch an hour before.  Not because my sister is over and she's eating cheese bread and I don't want to miss out.  Not because I work nights at a DELI and am surrounded by endless free samples!  Not when the kids are screaming and fighting, the husband is annoying me... and I go hunting for his candy stash in the bedroom and sit on the floor nearly in tears and stuff my face.  This is emotional eating at its ugliest, folks.  Eat ONLY when physically (almost uncomfortably) hungry, the stomach is growling, or the blood sugar is dropping. 
4. Re-train my body to sustain on 1800-2000 calories a day.  This is a reasonable starting goal.  If I'm able to meet that and need to go lower then that will be the next goal.
5. Stop eating at least one hour before bedtime.
6. Drink at least 4-5 bottles of water daily.
7. Avoid candy, cakes, and other sugary treats.
8. Keep a food diary/calorie diary
9.Read books, blogs, etc on overcoming emotional eating.

10. Get back to exercising at least 5 times a week and push myself to beat my running time... who knows, maybe one day I could run four minutes straight! :-p


I know there are probably other strategies that would probably help me, but for now this is what I'm working with.  I also signed up for the 2012 Pagan Reading Challenge.  I'm working on a list of "to do" reading that I'll post at another time.  Now that challenge will be much more fun!