The Beginning: Week #1

I must stay on track with this...

It seems that every time I come to this journal I must start over from the beginning. Well that ends today. I must stay consistent!!!

Since 2008 i have been on a journey to lose weight and change my lifestyle. Ultimately bad eating habits and a lack of exercise has put me in this spot where i feel that i am not only unhealthy, but uncomfortable in my skin. When I started this whole sha-bang I was at a staggering 210lbs on my 5'4 frame. I was pretty much devastated. I decided that it was time to lose when I realized that not only was i shortening my life, but i really wasn't doing a whole lot with it. Sure I have been going to school, but my days are filled with over eating, terrible food choices, and not a whole lot of physical activity. As a sort of plea to get off of my ass and actually do something with my life i decided to begin documenting my weight loss on YouTube. This July marked the one year anniversary to my video diaries. And as we come full circle to the close of another year i am at 181 pounds. I could not be happier. This is indeed the most weight i have lost and kept off for this long.

But now I am plateauing... which frightens me. I am teetering on the edge of gaining back what i have worked so hard to get rid of. However, i have a plan. What with the aid of the wonderful weight loss community, my friends, family, and the readers of this journal (hopefully) i plan to become more active, and more diligent with breaking my bad habits. I want to lose about 50-60 more pounds. My BMI is at an all time high of 31.9% for my height that is borderline obese... which scares the living daylights out of me. But, although my BMI is high, i know that i am fixing my problems and i am taking order with my life. So lets begin this the right way... I must focus on losing the final pounds. Today will mark week one of my re-vamped diet and exercise regime. here is what i will be doing to start this week.

Food:
I already eat pretty decently, so i wont have to change much. But possibly just tweak it a bit.

-More veggies and less starches
-More Water
-Less sodium
-More fiber
-More protien

Exercise:
I will fix my bike today (8/24) so i can start riding it again.

-Bike at least twice this week
-Run a mile to gauge my time and work towards beating that time.
-Begin using workout DVDs

Activities:
I need to be more proactive and stop wasting my time online/watching tv/movies/and talking on the phone. I should do more of the things i love doing and stop waiting for things... what the hell am i waiting for? life? get a clue Christa life is in progress!

-draw/write at least 3 times this week
-Start reading Dune
-Finish reading Order of the Phoenix
-mend/take in/alter articles of clothing you have been meaning to fix and re-vamp
-finish redecorating your room

I know this is a huge work load to take in for this week, but i need to start doing things that make me happy. I am to quick to bypass the things i enjoy for frivolous activities like sitting here watching tv and eating ice cream. I am laying all this out, i need to be better i need to dig myself out of this rut i have created.

Vital stats as of August 25th 2010:
Blood Pressure/Pulse: 111/67 and 65
Weight:181
BMI: 31.9
Measurements:
-Neck: 14 inches
-Bicep: 11.5 inches
-Forearm: 10 inches
-Bust: 42 inches
-Waist: 36 inches
-Hips: 44 inches
-Thigh: 24.5 inches
-Calf: 15 inches.

My new goal is to be somewhere near 130 by next August. So I am giving myself one year to lose 50 pounds. That is more than reasonable. And if i don't quite make it, that is ok too because it is still progress. I will be checking and updating my vital stats (ie. blood pressure, measurements, BMI) on a quarterly basis (every 3 months). So the next update for those things will be in November. I will be updating this journal hopefully once a week if not more than that. That is all for now. Wish me luck! Thank you all for reading.

<3 Christa