So I have finished week one and I’m finally feeling good.

I was sickly for the first 4 days but that could have been the jetlag (I just got back from Europe). Headaches and nausea and tiredness was no fun. When I looked at this pic compared to last week, I look less bloated. Great start - but now I need to get the exercise in so I can start getting back into shape (and lose some weight!)

It went really well food wise for my first week. I cooked all my food last week except for a few salads. I survived a birthday picnic and a boozy New York bunch (3 free drinks were included with the meal but I said no! I said no to free :))

The biggest worry for me was flying today. I brought a ton of food and pre-made salads. Some of the food was great for me but the main dish was pasta so salad it was! The steward commented that my salad looked better! Ha!

Dinner at the hotel was problematic. It was greasy and had globs of mayo on it and no real veggies. I picked my way around as best as poss but now I know not to eat here at night. Not necessarily a reflection of this place but after a week of eating super healthy, something not so good is really noticeable. Then again I wouldn’t have liked it even if I wasn’t trying to eat healthy!

The past week I rode my stationary bike at home a few times and today ran 2 miles as a kick start back into running. I have to get training as I have to run a half marathon in 16 weeks. And a huge thank you to everyone who said they would join me on fitness adventures. I’ll be reaching out and planning some things coming up soon!

It’s all in the head…

I know the hardest thing is going to be psychological. I was always the fat kid at school so I always have that image of myself in my head. It doesn’t matter how much I weigh, I feel the same. So it’s easy to be like - hey, I’m fat so it doesn’t matter.

But I’m trying to retrain myself to think that I want to be healthy and fit and live for a long time. So I have to treat my body that way. Then let the chips fall after that.

There are things that are problems for me. They keep creeping back. Alcohol is one - I don’t drink, I lose weight, feel better, and then I drink again and I eat too much and feel lousy. The other is using food and drink to celebrate/have a bad day. Those treats add up. And they add up fast.

What I guess I’m trying to say, is a lot of this is about how we think. We have to break those cycles. And that’s the hardest.

If we don’t break that, we’ll keep going back to how things were. And feel the same negative things about ourselves.

It’s only been a week but this is a battle I’ve been trying to win for the past 30+ years. And the battle has always been within me.

So here’s to week 2 - I’m on the road but I’ll not be deterred. Let’s do this!

The temptations of late night drinking and eating everything fried

I was walking home from our work summer party on Wednesday (and yes - I didn’t drink anything but seltzer water and lime). And all I saw ahead of me were seas of restaurants and bars. “Come in for this deal” “Cheap beer, cheep food, cheep times” “Make your day better with a drink in your hand and some fried food in your belly”

Maybe they didn’t quite say that but you get my drift. It’s no wonder we eat poorly and drink too much. Yes - of course you need self control. I’m not saying we, the people, are completely blameless.

But in New York most people socialize with a drink or some food and not usually the good kind. So I don’t blame them. Everyone likes a good deal. I know I do.

It’s hard to say no to the flashing neon sign, the smell of pizza, fried cheese sticks, bagels, doughnuts and the peals of laughter spilling into the streets from the open windows of bar after bar.

It made me realize that I have to redefine what fun is. Go back to that kid in me and see who will come with me. Yes - I like to drink, but I don’t need to every time I go out. And every night out doesn’t need to revolve around food and drink. Especially the nights where drink leads to those bad late night food choices.

Week one: starting again

Well I’ve had a few misfires over the past year. I watched my weight creep up 5 pounds, 10 pounds, 15…all the way to 25 pounds up from my lowest weight last year, and that wasn’t even my goal weight.

I’m now 50 pounds overweight. I’ve been hiding it ok. But after seeing pictures of me over the past couple months, I knew it was time to change something. Plus…I’m badly out of shape and my joints hurt. Carrying 200 pounds on a 5’8” frame is putting a lot of stress on my body.

I’m kick starting this with #whole30 - it’s basically an elimination diet. No sugar, no soy, no dairy (can’t do that anyway), no grains, no alcohol. This will carry on for 30 or more days and then we’ll see where I’ve got to.

But it’s more than that. You are encouraged to eat slower (that is one of my problems - I eat and drink everything too fast!) and to eat without distraction. No computer or TV, just taking time to enjoy your food and the company you’re with. Also you need to look at why you eat the way you do. If I’m stressed, bored or if it’s available, I eat. I’m a machine. A machine that’s going to not live very long if I don’t slow down.

Alcohol is a huge problem for me.

I have one drink, and then a few more and then I need to eat. Chips, noodles, whatever is available. It’s bad bad bad. So not only have I filled myself with empty calories but I’ve eaten all the wrong things super late at night.

Another problem I have is “free.” You buy me a drink or food or I’m at an event, I have to partake. But actually I don’t. I read “It Starts with Food" - the theory and outline of #whole30 and one thing really stuck out. "We’re adults. We can buy our own food…and we can say no." (Paraphrased but true)

I’m not cheap but somehow free seems better. But it’s not. Because it is not free. The picture above shows that.

Just as I know eating well is key, exercise is even more important. I need to exercise - it helps my body, my mind and my overall outlook. It’s where I get rid of the stress. I need to do this or I go back down the eating for pleasure route. 

So in order to stay on track, I’m asking for your help. The help of my friends and my family. Sometimes I’m going to say no. To food, to an event, to that glass of red. And I need you to be ok with that. 

I also need partners and cheerleaders along the way. This is very very key for my success. So if you want to set one day a week to exercise with me, I’d love that. I want to try spinning and yoga and start running again. My schedule because of travel makes this difficult but if you’re up for it, then I am too. I need to be active everyday. Maybe it’s just a walk at lunch or a class or a Saturday morning run. 

Let’s do this together shall we?

(PS you can follow my progress here and on my Instagram @heregoesheather where I’ll be diarizing my food and exercise)