As of my last weigh-in, right before RavenCon, I weighed 286 lbs. Not good. At 5'5" tall, I'm seriously obese - my BMI is around 47, which is horrid. And with some recent developments, I've finally decided that once and for all that this has to end.
Yes, I've made this sweeping statement before - and fallen off the wagon. But I got some really, really serious news in the past two months, and I realized a few things:
1. I'm not 22 anymore. My body just can't handle the abuse that I continue to try and dish out to it on a general basis (like, oh, drinking until 2 am at RavenCon and then not eating the next day when I had to fly home). I need to understand that - not just understand that, but acknowledge it.
2. If I continue down this road, there won't be a tomorrow to fix things. I'm a terrible procrastinator. Seriously. If I can get it done tomorrow, why do it today? Which is how I ended up overweight and out of shape. :p So I need to realize that if I don't make tomorrow a better day, I won't have very many left.
3. I'm not just doing it for me. I don't want the Pumpkin to look at me and see that it's okay to be this heavy. That's not what her parents are trying to teach her. And I want to be able to run and play with her when I see her.
So here we go. I've done a few things: I've signed up on 50MillionPounds.com, which is a free challenge put out by State Farm Insurance and Dr. Ian Smith. I'm vgford on there (I know, original, right?) - feel free to check it out and let me know if you sign up.
The other thing I'm doing is making a public challenge to all my readers - get active with me. I'm going to be posting an entry on this blog every day tagged "activity," letting you guys know what I'm doing as far as activity, and I challenge you to let me know how YOU'RE getting active. We'll cheer each other on! (Note: I am NOT advocating going out and spending money on anything - I know we're all strapped right now. Nor am I saying run a mile every day. Activity - ANYTHING that gets you moving - is what I'm looking for. Yes, running after toddlers counts - I've run after enough to KNOW how much of a workout that is!)
I'm taking my challenge to myself a bit further - for every 10 minutes of activity that I do a day, be it walking or gardening or fencing or swimming, I'm going to donate $0.05 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and $0.05 to myself. I've got two mason jars that are going on my dining room table - each day, I'll post the running total. I've discovered that I need a monetary reward, and SGK has now become my charity of choice, for a lot of reasons.
There will rewards for any of my readers who follow me on this, too, not the least of which will be the reward of feeling better! I'll be doing some random giveaways, and posting advice and things like that. But most of all, I'm looking for friends who will help cheer me on. Talk me down from the ledge when I'm out there with the pint of Ben & Jerry's. Be amazed when I finally get down to my goal.
Who's with me?
Yes, I've made this sweeping statement before - and fallen off the wagon. But I got some really, really serious news in the past two months, and I realized a few things:
1. I'm not 22 anymore. My body just can't handle the abuse that I continue to try and dish out to it on a general basis (like, oh, drinking until 2 am at RavenCon and then not eating the next day when I had to fly home). I need to understand that - not just understand that, but acknowledge it.
2. If I continue down this road, there won't be a tomorrow to fix things. I'm a terrible procrastinator. Seriously. If I can get it done tomorrow, why do it today? Which is how I ended up overweight and out of shape. :p So I need to realize that if I don't make tomorrow a better day, I won't have very many left.
3. I'm not just doing it for me. I don't want the Pumpkin to look at me and see that it's okay to be this heavy. That's not what her parents are trying to teach her. And I want to be able to run and play with her when I see her.
So here we go. I've done a few things: I've signed up on 50MillionPounds.com, which is a free challenge put out by State Farm Insurance and Dr. Ian Smith. I'm vgford on there (I know, original, right?) - feel free to check it out and let me know if you sign up.
The other thing I'm doing is making a public challenge to all my readers - get active with me. I'm going to be posting an entry on this blog every day tagged "activity," letting you guys know what I'm doing as far as activity, and I challenge you to let me know how YOU'RE getting active. We'll cheer each other on! (Note: I am NOT advocating going out and spending money on anything - I know we're all strapped right now. Nor am I saying run a mile every day. Activity - ANYTHING that gets you moving - is what I'm looking for. Yes, running after toddlers counts - I've run after enough to KNOW how much of a workout that is!)
I'm taking my challenge to myself a bit further - for every 10 minutes of activity that I do a day, be it walking or gardening or fencing or swimming, I'm going to donate $0.05 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and $0.05 to myself. I've got two mason jars that are going on my dining room table - each day, I'll post the running total. I've discovered that I need a monetary reward, and SGK has now become my charity of choice, for a lot of reasons.
There will rewards for any of my readers who follow me on this, too, not the least of which will be the reward of feeling better! I'll be doing some random giveaways, and posting advice and things like that. But most of all, I'm looking for friends who will help cheer me on. Talk me down from the ledge when I'm out there with the pint of Ben & Jerry's. Be amazed when I finally get down to my goal.
Who's with me?
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So, yeah. I'm with you, in spirit and activity at least.
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Oh, definitely. Welcome to the crew, and thanks! :D
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I have been doing fairly well with my weight lifting since the new year, but am lacking much of a goal other than maintaining the weight I have always had. (Which now takes work it didn't before, ain't getting old fun?) Any ideas?
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And tell him to sign up! It's not like it's not FREE, yanno! :p
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As for myself, I can get motivated, but I need something to work towards. Up to now it has been to lose weight gained over the holidays, but that is mostly accomplished. This last week of blowing off exercise in favor of sewing has shown me that just working out for its own sake won't get me anywhere fast. I need some way to measure positive progress, or it just becomes another chore to do.
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I've been really working on being more active lately. I really need to get a scale, though.
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If you post about what you're doing on a given day, I'll chime in with what I'm doing (in the getting-active dept.)
While I've been without a car, I've been *really* active.... wish I could believe I'd keep it up once the car's an option again...
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Jay Lake blogs daily and has a meter that keeps him honest - what movement activity he's done today - 30 min. on the bike, 70 min. of urban walking, etc.
He's a cancer survivor of about a year.
Suelder
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And most importantly go you for coming up with a plan!
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Maybe someday i can find some sort of motivation as well.
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