Literally :)
I'm sick and tired of being over weight and generally unhealthy. I was almost at my highest again, nothing was fitting. A woman at the day care center that Dylan goes to for after school care recently lost 50lbs. I cornered her one afternoon. "What did you do?" Hoping to hear about some new program that would magically melt off this excess weight. She looked at me funny and said "nothing, just weigh and measuring my food did it". ~thud~
I've done weight watchers for years and years. I once lost about 45lbs with them and then, when the cost of us going got too high, went off and gained most of it back. However, I know the golden rule. Less calories in, more calories out equals weight loss.
So.... I made tree changes. Instead of serving dinner family style, I plated our food in the kitchen. I weigh and measure mine and my husband's protein and grain or starch and then give Dylan a nice size portion. Veggies I still serve family style - you can have as many of those as you want (we typically demolish them). I have also started to journal my food on sparkpeople.com. I've also started to walk to the train in the mornings. It's 1.85 miles on a 95 foot elevation. I drive home from Marc's office. He does the same thing in reverse - he drives in the morning and then takes the train home and walks from the station.
I have lost 14lbs in about 2 months. ~insert happy dance~
However, the walk has become so much more to me than exercise. I've never been very good at going deep into my head and dealing with all my compartmented emotions. They've been there so long it's kinda hard to sort through and get to them so I gave up a long time ago. I tried meditation, I tried Yin Yoga. Nope, too cumbersome to get to those packages. Maybe it's timing, maybe my compartments are exploding at the seems and just need to be let out but I'm finding I'm able to get through those compartments on my morning walk. I'm gaining such clarity and such peace.
When I've tried to deal with things in the past, the present always interfers. Thoughts of what I need to be doing, thoughts of my day, my weekend, whatever, always seem to intrude. Not so much on my morning stroll. Some mornings I'm just blank. No thoughts, no revelations, just the thumping music in my IPhone causing me to sometimes break out in song as I trudge along (thankfully it's 6:30 in the morning so no one to offend with my voice). Sometimes, like today, I'm so engrossed in dealing with a compartment that I dont' realize that I've made it three quarters up the hill and I'm booking at top speed wheeeeeeeee.
What a gift this has become.
