Start small, dream big...wonderful advice I recently received that I am actively incorporating into my life! I have lots of dreams and big ideas for my life...I'm working on some and starting (or re-starting) one TODAY! I've never been happy with my body and I am going to change that!
A little about me...I'm stubborn, sarcastic and my own worst critic. I am learning to put myself first and to take care of ME! I would ideally like to lose 40 pounds, though I have never lived my life by the scale and will not be starting that now. I will use how I feel, my increasing endurance and what my body is telling me as my true scale. I was doing a great job October-January, I lost over 15 pounds, was down a dress size, could knock out 3 miles easily...then I got injured. Tore an intercostal muscle and was completely sidelined for a few weeks. Of course, nothing in life is easy but for some reason...February-May was completely chaotic. I was Chairing the Walk to Defeat ALS in my city, learned my youngest sister was exhibiting similar symptoms to our Grandmother's prior to her ALS diagnosis and starting work on a Bachelor Auction for the ALS Association. The good news is that my sister does not have ALS but an autoimmune disease that is completely manageable, she's pretty much back to her normal after 5 plasmapheresis treatments (like dialysis but filters antibodies from the blood not waste)! Working out never made it back into my routine.
That changes TODAY! Yes, the weight loss was exciting but I was more motivated by the way I felt, the endurance I had gained, the way my clothes were fitting and the muscle tone I was developing. My journey will be affected by my own blood disorder. I can't make enough red blood cells, my body is lacking an enzyme used in the Kreb cycle so I don't produce or use energy efficiently and my hemoglobin can't carry oxygen effectively. The only treatments are routine blood transfusions, approximately 6-8 weeks apart. I've dealt with this all my life and can read my body well, though sometimes my stubborness kicks in and I'll push a transfusion an extra week.
So...this will be my documentation of my journey. Eat less, move more (simple right)? Yeah, I know...easier said than done. Because the heat will keep me indoors and I can't stand doing cardio at the gym 5 days a week, I'll enlist my Wii. I have some great "games" for it and I LOVE Zumba (I've been dancing since I was 2). I'm using SparkPeople to help track my nutritional intake and workouts (used them before I was injured and really liked it, especially the Android app). So...here I go, you are welcome to follow my journey (or join in and tell me what works for you)!
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