Thursday, November 18, 2010

My New Plan

I have a confession. A couple, actually, I guess. First, I've got some high blood pressure. Major suck. I could have passed it off as a fluke, but I know I can't because (second confession ahead) I've also gained enough weight to warrant a new pants size since going off hormonal birth control in April. Major suck.

I felt embarrassed enough about the weight gain as it was - having to buy a bigger pants size is never fun. Even though I had a stress-free jeans shopping experience before Baltimore (which, yay for that!) it still broke my heart to have to buy the next size up. I have guilt - I know that I don't make the healthiest choices and I indulge too often, despite the fact that I cook most of our dinners and, through leftovers, our lunches. It seems like it would be easier to lose 10 pounds than buy new pants, right? But I haven't lost weight easily in the last 2 and a half years. Even with 12 weeks of boot camp before the wedding and another 4 weeks this past July, I've continued to gain. And it's embarrassing. I feel icky and disappointed.

The good thing that will come out of this high blood pressure thing is that this is the kick in the pants from someone other than myself that I need to do something about the current state of my waistline. I literally have to do something or I'll risk my health, and I can't do that. My doctor said even a 10-15 pound drop would make a difference in my blood pressure. So that's my first goal. I'm not big with daunting goals, so I'll start with 15 and then add 10 as needed. I don't even want to say what my overall goal is for fear of failing, so we're not going there.

Any thoughts and good vibes you can send my way are much appreciated. My doctor recommended the South Beach diet plan as my new way of life, so any recipes you can send my way are welcome. Meal Plan Mondays will now come with linkys, so spread the word so we can all share in good meal ideas.

4 comments:

Shana said...

Good luck, lady. I'm having a similar problem since I also went off hormonal birth control...well, weight gain along with total exhaustion and worse acne than I had as a teenager! Before I went to Georgia I bought jeans a size bigger also. You're right...it sucked.

J told me the other day that eating dried peaches can help lower blood pressure. It's worth a try.

Also, have you ever tried Weight Watchers? I always liked it better than South Beach. I don't like restrictions. They have a new plan coming out on the 29th...might be worth looking into.

Megan said...

Good luck with your new plan! I am working on losing weight too. We can do it :)

donatelli98 said...

We can work together on this!!

Jenni said...

Like Shana I also do Weight Watchers. I find it helpful because it's all about moderation. You don't fail if you have a piece of cake you just work it into your week.

I also find writing down everything you eat and recording your exercise are great ways to keep you accountable.

The weeks that I do the best are the ones where I plan meals ahead of time. I have a plan for dinners and lunches going into the week and a general idea of what exercise I'm going to do that week.

My blog is focused on my weight loss journey. I find that knowing I'm going to post my weigh in every week keeps me more accountable. (I don't dare post my weight just the # of lbs lost or gained)

Good luck!