I've decided that weight gain is one of the most insidious results of poor eating habits combined with an inactive lifestyle. The only thing that is worse is believing that your eating habits aren't really that poor and/or that your lifestyle isn't really that inactive. Rewind 10 years: I remember my weight because in the fall of 2004 I was buying a dress for Daniel/Shannon's wedding. Fast forward 10 years: insidious weight gain--a measly 3 pounds per year, but "oh, what a total!" Maybe I could let myself off the hook if the weight I gained was evenly spread out over the 10 years. In reality, I probably added 10-12 in the first couple of years and then held steady for awhile. That was followed by another 10-12 in the first year or so after we moved to El Salvador (I blamed that on eating out weeks at a time while on mission trips out of the country.) The final few pounds came about as a result of visiting the states and having the opportunity to enjoy all the restaurants/food we miss living in Central America. I admit that I've used that as an excuse to justify my overeating.
I started on the Daniel Plan journey to healthy eating and a more active lifestyle after being in the states for 3 weeks at Christmas. Of course, when in the states we "eat" more and do "less." That sentence would be more truthful if the pronoun was "I" instead of "we." Stephen never fails to run wherever he is. If you'd asked me whether I led a sedentary lifestyle, I would have answered, "no." However, I received a FitBit in February and have been faithfully wearing it. The suggested goal is to walk 10,000 steps per day. Oh my goodness, I didn't realize just how much time I spent sitting. I assumed that if I went for a 25-30 minute walk, I wouldn't be too far off that 10,000 step goal. I couldn't have been more wrong. In fact, my 30-minute walk is only good for about 4000 steps, meaning, unless I want to go on an hour and a half walk, I have to intentionally be more active during the day. It has proved to be difficult to add more steps into my day when I spend the day at home. We have a very little condo--10-12 steps from the kitchen to the living room; 30 steps from the living room to the bedroom. If I find myself on the couch for more than a half hour, I take a walking break and do a quick lap around our little neighborhood. I look at trips to the grocery store as a way of getting in my steps! I don't reach my goal everyday, but I'm up and moving so much more now than I was.
Anyway, this post was supposed to be about positive results! I am happy to say that today I am 20 pounds lighter than I was in January. Of course, I'm not finished yet, but it does feel good to reach this milestone. At this point, I don't feel comfortable with the before/after picture thing. Seems like at they show are baggy clothes! Guess I'd rather surprise you the next time I see you.
How did I celebrate? Two eggs for breakfast, half an apple with 12 almonds for a mid-morning snack, chicken salad with grapes and two cantaloupe wedges for lunch. Dinner (vegetable beef stew) is in the crockpot so I'm good to go!
We leave for Managua this Friday which means a week of eating out. I'm determined to make better food choices while we're gone . . . . more about that later.
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