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Saturday, December 6, 2008

Living Healthier


According to a report put out by the American Heart Association:

71% of non-Hispanic white men are over weight or obese and 57.6% of women.
67% of non-Hispanic black nen are over weight or obese and 79.6% percent of women.

Out of control schedules and the ease of driving through some where to get a quick bit has contributed to these numbers, I know it has in my situation. With the advancement of televisions, computers, and video games it makes it so easy to sit on our fannies after dinner and do nothing to burn the calories we have eaten through the day. That is so true with me, and the more it sit around and do nothing, the more I want to do just that-nothing. I have gotten myself into a terrible position.

I have a hard time taking a deep breath sometimes and my family asks why I am breathing so hard when I am sitting still. That can't be a good sign. The muscles in my legs start to yell just walking across the parking lot and I feel like I have no strength in my arms. Even housework can turn into a challenge. What have I done to myself, I used to be a fairly fit person?

I have tried several times to lose weight and some of them successfully only to put the weight back on. I have come to the conclusion that diets don't work. In today's world the word diet has become a four letter word. We need to change our definition of diet.

According to Webster "Diet" is defined as - food and drink regularly provided or consumed.
Simple and basic, to lose weight there is no miracle cure it's simply -
Calories in vs Calories out.

The true goal is to get fit, the weight loss is an added benefit. It has to be a life change.

Take baby steps, don't change too much too soon. Set small goals for the week and those goals need to be reasonable goals for ourselves, each one of us is different. If we don't set reasonable goals for our own lifestyle we'll get frustrated and quit. For me I am going to set my over all goal so I know where I am going. Then I am going to concentrate on weekly goals.

Starting this life change during the holiday season will be hard but beneficial. I may or may not lose weight but I hope to keep from gaining. Remember, this has to be a life change and we have to be realistic.

My Goal for this next week: Lose 5 pounds. That is a lot of weight in one week, however, I have not been drinking water like I should and I have been pretty inactive.

Plan to achieve goal:
Drink 8 glasses of water, move my body for 15 minutes each day and limit snacks between meals.

We are never alone, God has led me to a new blog this week. I am proud to say that I now have a new friend and online weight support pal. You can follow her progress at Mumblings From Troy, Ohio.

Getting fit and taking weight off is hard, rewarding work, but we can't lose our sense of humor during these challenging times. If we fall - we get back up, dust our self off and continue forward-tomorrow's another day.

2 comments:

Emmy said...

Well said, Sheryl. I have a bad tendency to focus on the end result of the diet, and miss the lifestyle change involved. In fact, you'er inspiring me to slow down a bit now and relearn what we should know about healthy living. I too am rethinking my beverage habits - water instead of coke Zero, black coffee instead of cream & sugar. It's an uphill battle. It's just awesome to have both you and God on my side!

Sheryl said...

It is an uphill battle - but a battle that CAN be won.