Me in 1997 (Second from right):
Not perfectly skinny, but perfectly respectable. And my legs look totally hot!
Now let's glimpse at 2004:
Yeah, you can definitely see the beer and bar food, there. The funny thing is, I knew I was gaining weight (and this isn't even me at my largest) and I hated what I looked like and how I felt, and yet I did nothing. I kept eating every meal out, having fast food and super-fattening desserts almost every single day.
In 2007, though, some things in my life started to become clear and I realized I needed a change. A change of career out of the entertainment industry, a change of scenery out of Los Angeles. I wasn't truly happy and packing up and getting out of town was the only way I could even remotely figure out how to fix it, and how to fix me. Luckily, my lovely friends Nea and Pablo live in the great city of Nashville and offered their help (in the form of their home) for me to move to Nashville and have the chance at a fresh start. I'd been itching to move back to the South and had always loved Nashville when I visited, so I jumped at the chance and in March of 2008 packed up and moved across country to this great city.
I came here without a clue or a plan and had some hard times getting a job in the midst of this economic downturn, especially since my resume consisted of things no one here had any idea how to classify. Apparently "wrangling slutty reality show contestants" and "sucking up to executive producers and network executives" aren't marketable job skills outside of Southern California. Who knew? Eventually, though, I found a position I like and an apartment I love. The only people more happy than me (and my parents) when I got those things were Nea and Pablo, because it meant I could finally move out of their house. I'm pretty sure they did the dance of joy when I finally left, and I don't blame them one bit. Seriously, though, I wouldn't have made it without those two and I'm not sure they'll ever truly know what it meant to me for them to sacrifice all they did so I could take this chance. Thanks, guys. You really are the best friends a girl could have.
Besides giving me a roof over my head along with friendship, laughter and good times, Nea and Pablo also gave me another gift. They lived a very healthy lifestyle and my interest was completely piqued.
Here's another "before" picture, taken in May of 2008:
My face in this picture says two things:
2) Please stop taking pictures of the fat girl.
This is not me at my heaviest. By this time I had lived in Nashville for two months and by virtue of osmosis of my roommates' healthy lifestyles, I had lost 7-8 pounds without really trying or noticing. After I saw this picture (which was taken on a 16-day cruise, by the way, which isn't exactly the most conducive environment for being healthy) I came back to Nashville fully motivated to embrace healthy living. It sounds cheesy, but it was like a light bulb going off in my head. You mean I can eat delicious food and not feel disgusting afterward? You mean I don't need to eat until I want to throw up? FASCINATING.
What did I change? Well, pretty much everything, but here's what specifically worked for me:
1) A focus on whole organic foods, eating meat only 1-2 times a week and cutting out most processed foods. (Surprisingly easy. Fruits and veggies are kind of awesome. Who knew?)
2) Learning portion control and how to shop and cook for one with little to no leftovers. (Thanks, Pablo!)
3) Cutting back on diet sodas. (This was the hardest one, and I still haven't given them up completely.)
4) For exercise: walking, with an attempt to add small bursts of jogging to up the intensity at times. Recently I also participated in a great wellness program at work where we did strength training two times a week, and I discovered that I actually sort of love lifting weights. It makes me feel all powerful, and I love the effect it's having on my body. Even though the program is over, a coworker and I have continued the workouts, and I'm anxious to start new strength training routines in the future. Hooray for strong ladies!
5) One day a week (usually Saturdays) to really eat whatever I wanted and not worry about fruits, vegetables, carbs or fats. I really needed this day, and still do a modified version of this plan to this day.
6) Tracking my calories online (via SparkPeople). I don't do this as often now, but it was really helpful for me to learn how many calories were actually in my food and how many I needed in a day. Now I can do things more intuitively, but it was a great tool for learning how to live a healthy lifestyle. It's also a great tool to go back to whenever I feel myself "slipping" or resuming old bad habits.
Eventually this all started to feel like less of a "program" and began to be just the way I lived my life. This sounds like a heavy load when I write it all out like this, but I promise it's wasn't. I didn't do it all at once. I gradually cut out processed foods over time, only becoming greatly committed to the idea once I read the awesome Michael Pollan book "In Defense of Food" in January. I exercise sporadically, in fits and bursts. I was and am by no means perfect, just more balanced. And I still eat a lot of desserts! No, really. A LOT.
Here's a picture from July of this year:
My face in this picture says two things as well:
1) Mother, I can't believe you made me take this picture AFTER we sat down for two hours and my dress is totally wrinkled, and gs as well:
2) That's okay, because I'm still kind of rocking it.
Besides fitting into smaller clothes, my new lifestyle has had a lot of hidden benefits I didn't expect. My ongoing heartburn problem that used to plague me nightly? Gone. My severe lactose intolerance? Lessened enough to where I can eat moderate amounts of dairy every day with no issues. This was a big one, because I LOVE DAIRY. Ice cream is my one true love. Unless I have kids someday, which then it will fall to a close second. Maybe.
The point of all of this blather? My life is in a very different place than it was last time I blogged regularly, and this blog is going to reflect that change. I'm still not done with this weight loss journey. (Journey is the standard word in this case but it sounds so strange to me, like I as a person have some sort of "destination." I'm pretty sure everyone's eventual destination in life is the same, but I morbidly digress.) Although I'm very happy with how I look now and my pants size, but I am always striving to be better, especially where exercise is concerned. I suck at exercising, y'all.
My goal for this space is to make it a true reflection of my life, which means posts about the food I eat, my exercise trials and triumphs and all other aspects of healthy living. I'm not going to post every morsel that goes into my mouth. I love the blogs that do this, but that won't work for me. First of all, I'm an inherently lazy person and that sounds like a lot of work. Second, I eat the same things day after day after day, and I don't want to bore you all to tears. Third, I have a really old point and shoot digital camera (with only 5.1 megapixels) and no good light in my apartment, so my pictures are going to be marginal at best so revolving my blog around them didn't seem like such a good idea. But don't fret, television lovers: since this blog is about my life and TV is a decidedly large part of my life, I'm sure the fall schedule will pop in here and there as well.
If you're still reading, more power to you! This was long. Welcome to my blog, and I hope you stay a while.
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