Making the Decision to Change

I decided to start this blog to share my weight loss/fitness journey with others and help keep me accountable.

Over the last decade I have tried numerous diets and weight loss programs -- everything from Slim Fast to Weight Watchers to Jenny Craig. What I've realized is that there's no magic pill for getting fit. If you burn more calories then you consume you will lose weight and if you fuel your body with the right nutrient-dense foods you will have the energy to fuel your workouts.

My battle with weight began in my mid to late 20s. Prior to that I rarely worked out and effortlessly maintained a nicely sized 3-5 figure. With age, my metabolism slowed down and I started to pack on the pounds. Even though my eating habits hadn't changed, my sedentary lifestyle caught up with me. My dress sizes were creeping up and up and soon going shopping was a depressing event instead of the fun adventure it used to be. I had gone from FAB to FLAB!

In 2003 I tried a body transformation program called "Body-for-Life" which was quite successful. I managed to lose 17 lbs over the course of 12 weeks, and not only was I really liking the changes I saw in my body, but the compliments were flowing in from friends, family & co-workers alike. My skin was radiant and I had more energy than ever before. Unfortunately, I got a bit over-confident, started slacking on my workouts, and returned to some of my old eating habits indulging in cheeseburgers, fries, chocolate shakes etc.  I thought that because the fat had started melting off of me I could afford to "cheat" on my diet here and there. Well...the result was that I gained all the weight back and then some. For the next 5-6 years I struggled with trying to lose the weight again and get fit but it seemed like every time I would make an attempt, life would get in the way. Work came with its demands and then there were household chores to do and friends, family and significant others to spend time with. I just never seemed to be able to "cross the abyss."

Then in the Fall of 2009 I finally said enough is enough! I had reached my highest scale weight and body fat percentage ever. I no longer recognized myself in the mirror or in pictures. My mother (God bless her),  who has probably been one of my biggest supporters, was also my most vocal critic.  I knew deep down inside that I had let myself go and needed to make some changes. I knew I wasn't "living my best life." I said to myself "I really should be a better steward of the body God gave me since it's the only one I'll ever get." So I joined Jenny Craig in 11/09 and started my weight loss journey to build my best body for life. As of today I have lost 16 lbs on the program. The biggest benefit is the convenience of not having to cook your own meals and the fact that the meals are calorie-apportioned so you don't have to count points or calories. I am on a 1200 calorie-a-day diet. When combined with some light to moderate exercise, it creates the calorie deficit I need to lose weight.

Kimberley Locke (American Idol) dropped 40 lbs on Jenny Craig
going from 178 lbs to 138 lbs and a size 14 to a size 6.

I'm going to continue the Jenny Craig program but I have also decided to accept the BFL (Body-for-Life) challenge again starting on 8/2/10.  It's a 12-week body transformation contest involving healthy nutrition and supplementation as well as cardio and resistance training 6 days a week. There are multiple monetary prizes of $10K and $25K for winners in different categories. It would be an absolute honor for the judges to select me for one of the prizes and the competition aspect is very motivating. The end of the 12 weeks coincides with my 39th birthday. I see this as being the greatest gift I can give to myself.

I'll be sharing all of my 12 week goals in a future blog update as well as info about my meals and workouts. I've learned if you can't measure it, you can't manage it, so I try to document my goals and measure my progress against them.

Thanks for going on this journey to wellness and fitness with me and I hope we can learn many things from each other. :)