Mark, current weight 259.4; Karen's weight, 181.4
I say "beginning," but truthfully, this weight loss/and healthy lifestyle quest has been going on for years. But first, let me introduce ourselves.
We are Mark and Karen. Married for over 30 years, we have a fairly pleasant life, at times more stressful than others. Mark is part owner in an educational software company. I am a licensed mental health therapist. We have five children who are all married, three of whom have children of their own. We love being parents and grandparents. And like most people, we have always enjoyed food. But our enjoyment of food has led us to battle weight and health issues for awhile. Mark grew up with weight issues that started after a traumatic event created havoc for his family. He found comfort in food. He says there was quite a bit of uncertainty in the family's lifestyle. His mom wasn't great at managing money and they ate well the first of the month, and were scrounging for food by the last of the month. Food, he says, was entertainment and security for them-- when there WAS food.
In my family, food was really structured. I don't think we ever had free access to any food. We weren't allowed to snack between meals. We would always sit down to the table (in the exact same places) and eat together. If we finished all our food, (even those nasty green beans, which I hated) we would be allowed to have dessert. If any of us DID start to gain weight, as I did as a senior in high school, Mom would nag us to do something about it. However, none of us really had a weight problem.
We have both gained and lost weight since we have been married. When we got married, he weighed about 200, and I weighed 137. In 1983-1984, we both began Weight Watchers and lost a lot of weight together. He lost down to 165, an unheard weight for him. I lost to 127. But it was a difficult place to maintain, and without conscious thought and work, we both gained back weight we had lost. At Mark's highest, he weighed 375 in about 1999. He is only 5'8". He recognized this as a significant health concern, and began losing weight, until he had surpassed 140 pounds of weight lost by 2003. He's gained some back since then, but with our new hobby, begun in 2006 of road bike riding, weight regained has not been substantial.
My weight issues didn't really start until after the birth of children. I gained 60 pounds with the birth of my first child. I exercised infrequently when the kids were little, but with all the running I did after kids, my more serious weight issues didn't start until graduate school when the kids were older and my lifestyle slowed down. I gained 30 or 40 pounds at that time. My highest weight ever was 236 in 2001.
I lost weight in 2003 also, about 40 pounds, and after a few years, tapered that weight sixteen more pounds, down to 180. I've been toying around with this weight, give or take five pounds, for a few years now. I love to stay active, but in my job as a mental health therapist, much of my work is done sitting down. I take the stairs nearly every chance I can during the day, to go down and pick up a new client (good thing I'm on the second floor!)
So there are five reasons we are starting this blog. First and most important, is that we want to get to a healthier weight. Doctors say that even to lose 10% of your body weight significantly improves your health. Second, to be a better example to friends and loved ones. (I teach the Wellness classes at work; I'm well versed in the emotional aspects of overeating, and unfortunately, I practice it a bit too often!) Third, we want to feel better about our appearance; Fourth we want to have more reasons to feel good about our ability to meet goals, and last but not least, there is a pretty large motivator at work if we meet our weight loss goals for by the end of June: one half our insurance premiums we have paid this year will be returned to us in cash, and the other half goes into our Health Savings Account. Deal!! This translates to a tidy sum of cash with which we WILL plan to go on vacation in July or August next year. A nice bonus.
So as semi experts in the field of weight loss (have YOU found and lost hundreds of pounds over the years???) and because I teach this at work, we know quite a few of the steps we need to take to meet our goals. But we are open to any input you might have!
So there are NO reasons NOT to begin. And plenty of reasons to begin! (Okay, I know better than this. The reasons NOT to begin are first, because change is hard, and second, because there are reasons we gained weight in the first place.)
Overall, the bottom line reason this WILL work, or at least OUGHT to work, is that we are at a place we are ready to change! (At least I think I am. Mark is at least willing to go along with the blog, as long as he personally doesn't have to write anything. But I will get his input, his weight, and an occasional photo, to see how progress is coming.)
So sit back and enjoy the ride and journey of six months to better health!
Steps we will take on this journey is to:
1) Do it all right! and
2) Since this isn't possible, all the time, to do the best we can, MOST Of the time.
A. Drink 6-8 glasses of water per day.
B. Eat at least 5 fruits and vegetables per day.
C. No more than 2-3 breads per day.
D. Two servings of protein per day.
E. 2-3 servings of dairy per day
F. Record food eaten during the day: Karen chooses to use the BodyBugg recording program; Mark chooses to use FatSecret.
G. Limit calories: Mark chooses 1800-2000 calories per day; Karen chooses 1400-1600 per day.
H. Exercise, Karen chooses 30-60 minutes per day of vigorous housecleaning, OR exercising on exercise equipment in basement, or dancing. Mark chooses 4-5 days of walking around taking pictures or working out in the basement.
I. Purposeful treats are limited to granola bars or small treats under 150 calories, once per day.
J. Recognize that emotional eating, from depression, stress, anxiety, or boredom, is nonhelpful. We will find other strategies for coping, ie., involving ourselves in our favorite hobbies, spending time with kids or grandkids, listening to music, exercising, reading, watching movies, walking the dog, etc.
There you go, the perfect weight loss plan. But the most important principle of all, is to:
K. FORGIVE ourselves when we don't do as well as we can.
The Journey of a One Thousand Miles begins with the first step!
Step. There you go. We have started.
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