I have never written a blog before, but I thought I'd give it a shot as a part of a "new habit" I am trying with the Game On challenge by Krsita Vernoff and Az Ferguson. I journaled throughout my entire childhood and I find it a great way for me to gather my thoughts and reflect. At this point in my life, I am choosing to blog as a way of stress relief, and I am going to try very hard to not have it turn into one more thing to add to my to-do list.....
Why have I decided to start blogging, you ask? I started a new teaching job in the district I grew up in and my coworkers are starting The Game On Diet. The staff is doing this as a way to promote groups working toward a common goal. For the teachers out there, it is a way to reinforce the idea of PLCs- but for me, it's way to get my butt back in shape (literally). This blog is a way to hold me accountable. I'm puttin' it all out there, baby- for the world to see (yikes)!
A little background and why I would ever want to add so many restrictions to my daily life in the midst of starting a new stage of my career:
The last time I changed positions in the teaching world, I put on 15 lbs. Part of it could have been I had an extremely challenging group of students that year, I started my masters, and my boyfriend proposed to me all within two weeks, but I digress. As you can imagine, in the midst of a rigorous graduate program, a full time new job, over two hours spent commuting every day, and, let's not forget- planning a wedding- my waistline was not shrinking as most brides hope for it to do. I am now fully aware that stress = extra weight for my body. With stress comes little time to plan healthy meals, late work nights, less sleep, and oh yeah-the dreaded emotional eating thing ;(
Nevertheless, I have struggled with weight issues since I put on the extra pounds three years ago. I am 5'7" and I graduated high school at 120 pounds. I ran varsity track all four years in high school and continued to run NCAA track in college. This obviously kept me in shape. Will I ever get back to that body? Without coaches pushing me to my physical limits for 2-4 hours a day-- more than likely not; but I don't expect to. I have accepted that with age comes a slower metabolism. However, I would be happy being back to my size 6, 130 lb. frame (I would even be okay with 135, which is a perfectly acceptable and healthy weight for my height). I am not one to try fad diets or ever starve myself (I just love food way too much). I am also not one to buy the next size up in pants because, to me, that means I've been defeated. I've lost control (and I'm a bit of a control freak). So what did I do to look good for the big day? I tried Weight Watchers, like the rest of the women who can see the program has clearly been good to Jennifer Hudson (Jessica Simpson, well, let's not go there). I eventually shed the extra pounds and was happy with my body image. Don't get me wrong- it was a lot of work and self-discipline to get me to a satisfying weight (a roller coaster of emotions, to put it lightly. Let's just say, I'm glad my husband still married me. I'm pretty sure he reconsidered every week when it was time to step on the dredaed scale).
I successfully kept the weight off for over a year because I had developed healthier habits as a result of the Weight Watchers program. I learned portion control, gave up most sweets, and rarely went near a drive-thru. I also made it a point to get to the gym no matter how tired I was at least 3 times a week. Now it has been a little over a month of working at my new position and I am already starting to see the extra pounds creep on (on top of some that came with rarely seeing my husband after a job-change in his career-- emotional eating, you are the devil). It wasn't until the first casual Friday when I went to put my on new jeans and struggled to button them. I successfully buttoned them, but I was in pain the rest of the day. When this Game On Diet was proposed, I jumped all over the idea, got a copy of the book, read 8 chapters, and I plan to start this Friday.
So that's the reason for this blog and for beginning this new escapade. It will be tough- they don't call it a challenge for no reason! I won't be perfect and there will be a learning curve, but I will try my best. I am deciding to commit 100% to it now and hopefully change my entire lifestyle to be healthier in general. I hope other women can identify with me as I go through the ups and downs that this challenge will bring. I appreciate anyone who follows and encourages this decision. Here's to hoping it turns out to be a good one! :)
Until next time,
Ashley
Game on Ammature Extraordinaire
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