My 50 Pound Journey

End of the first day.

2012-06-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

Well, had some rice with chicken and sausage for dinner. It was also pretty tasty! Got in my 8 servings of water! I had one of those white chocolate chunk cookies for desert. It was pretty bland. It was the only thing that disappointed, and it was still edible.

I posted on the Nutrisystem Facebook about this blog. Someone on there said, "50 pounds is a lot." Yeah, no shit genius....but it has to come off. 50 pounds will put me at a weight a lot of people still consider fat. I'm not trying to be a supermodel, I'm not even trying to be a single digit size, necessarily. I just want to be HEALTHY AND HAPPY.

I want to be able to look back at my wedding pictures and not think, "shit, these would be so much better if I had stuck to my goals." I want to look back and say, "I did it. I made myself happy by making myself healthy."

So yeah, 50 pounds may be "a lot" but that's my goal...not yours.

One day at a time, one pound at a time, one inch at a time...this is MY 50 pound journey.

Debunking this whole thing...

2012-06-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I had my lunch. It was a cheese tortalini thing....noodles filled with cheese in some tomato sauce. It was really good! I'm on my 3rd bottle of water. I'm having to pee like every 10 mins, though. Took my vitamin, and it actually didn't bother me as much as it usually does. I tend to get a metallic taste in my mouth when I take 'em. Glad I'm not dealing with that today!

I have actually felt a lot fuller than I expected. I think that protein shake really gave me the extra boost that I needed. I did have one cup of coffee today. With cream and a little sugar. Hey, I'm human...and trust me, when you work a dead end job like mine, you need that boost to keep you from banging your head against the cheeply constructed walls.

I'm reading through this "getting started" guide. Learning a lot about the program. They want you to try to get in 10 minutes of activity 3 times a day. Shouldn't be too tough. Sex is a listed activity. Hey hey! ;)

They want me to get at least 4 servings of veggies a day. Blahhh! I'm still a 6 year old at heart. I'm not terribly fond of those things. It's gonna be tough for me to get those in, honestly.

I got a phone call (recorded) from nutrisystem this morning. Apparently I've got another box of food coming with all the frozen stuff....that's interesting news since I already shoved a good portion of the meals in the freezer. Whoops! I mean, it seemed like stuff that needed to be frozen. I should probably at least move them to the fridge...I don't want to take them out completely....could spoil 'em. Mom would be pissed.

I'm being much more vocal about this diet as compared to others. I'm proud that I'm taking the steps to be a more healthy person! Also, the more people I'm being held accountable to, the less likely I see myself slipping. So hey world, I'm on a diet. Hold me accountable!

The box arrived!

2012-06-12T07:56:00.003-07:00

Well, bright and early this morning, my big box of food showed up! It was like Christmas morning. ;) I cracked it open, and started digging through. I'm glad it came so early so I could start off with breakfast.

It came with a daily tracker and a getting started guide. It also came with a cool shaker thing for the protein shakes. I looked through everything to get a feel of what I was dealing with. I'll say this...the portions look a lot bigger on the website....but it's a diet so whatevs.

I flipped through the reading material and made myself a protein shake and grabbed one of the blueberry muffins for my breakfast. I've gotta say, both are quite delicious! I'm pretty satisfied, although it was REALLY tough not to grab a slice or 2 of the bacon on the counter for my honey's breakfast. But I didn't!!! Small steps, big payoffs.

I need to get a measuring tape. I have no idea what my measurements actually are. All I know is I want them to shrink!

I'm supposed to get in 8 servings of water....what's a serving of water, though? Let me google it real quick.... *googling* Alright it's 8 oz or 1 cup! Cool! One of my bottles is 16.9 oz. so 4 bottles will be 8.45 servings. Simple math for the win!

Well, time to put on my disgusting, unflattering uniform and head to my dead-end, shit-ass job! score....

Ya know....at one point in history it meant something to have a college education. Seriously.... I have a 100k education and can't even pay my student loans. Oh well. Just gotta keep my head up, up, UP!

And we're off!

2012-06-11T10:52:00.003-07:00

Well, today I start my journey. No, the Nutrisystem food hasn't shown up, but I'm getting a jump on dieting. Yogurt for breakfast, yogurt for lunch, light dinner. I'm trying to get going on the right track here.

We did indulge this weekend. Had mcdonalds on Saturday and papa johns on Sunday. I mean..... I felt the need. ;)

I'll be attempting to drink a gallon of water everyday, but we'll see. I've got some of those Crystal Light packets for my water, too. I'm drinking the cran-cherry lime one now and it's SO good. Only 5 calories. Score.

I will be taking a multivitamin everyday, even though they drive me nuts. Something about 'em....blahh.

I'm dreadfully tired today. Gonna try to get in some kind of workout tonight. I've got one of those Tony Little Gazele things...don't worry, I didn't fall for the infomercial. A family member did, and she passed it on. It's not too bad. It's something, at least.

I stepped on the dreaded scale today....and the batteries were dying. Something about that...the day I start my diet and the damn thing loses steam... cracks me up. Alright, back to work.

Did I mention I hate my job?

Every journey has a beginning...

2012-06-09T11:43:00.002-07:00

Well, here I go. Another attempt at getting the weight off. This time, I'm going to hold myself accountable by staying up on this blog. I want to generate some readers, so y'all can cheer me on. Let me tell you a little about myself.

April 2011 I was a senior at the University of Alabama. I was livin' the dream, so to speak. Had just started an amazing relationship with the man of my dreams, making stellar grades, had a pretty good job, tons of friends, the best dog ever, and had just lost right at 70 pounds. Life was as close to perfect as it was gonna get!

Then comes April 27th.

My home (and city) was torn apart by an f5 tornado. I lost just about everything I owned. We were only seconds from having our lives taken from us. If you google anything in Tuscaloosa from that day, you'll get an idea of what happened. We were in Cedar Crest neighborhood, which is now a field. Maybe one day I'll type the entire story in here, but for right now, I'd rather save myself the tears.

Well, it turns out it's pretty tough to face your own mortality at age 23.

My life entered total chaos, and I wasn't aware for quite some time. See, everyone tip-toes around tornado victims. By the way, I hate that term, "tornado victim." I'm a survivor, damnit. Get it right.

Anyways, I had and/or still have a pretty awful case of PTSD. I know it's been over a year since it happened, but until you are huddled on your knees in a bathtub, shaking puppy beneath you, love of your life laying on top of you, asking for forgivness of your sins, all the while your home imploding around you...don't judge me. Thanks. :) With the PTSD comes a lot of mental and physical challenges. At least for me, it did. Low and behold, I've put back on about 30 pounds. And I'm sick of it! My original goal was to lose a total of 100 pounds, which would put me at a healthy weight for my body type. I don't want to be a stick, I just want to be a size 9/10 on my wedding day (which, I don't even have a ring on my finger yet, so it's a lofty goal :) )

I tried weight watchers, and for me it was just too easy to ignore that program, truth be told. So, I'm going to do the Nutrisystem program! With the financial support of my parents (thanks, ma!), and the physical support from my honey, I'm super confident this time it's gonna work!

I placed my order yesterday. Lots of yummy (looking) meal options are on their way to my doorstep! So, this weekend is my last of freedom...but ya know, this time something in me seems different. Something in me is ready. Something in me is going to get this weight off.

So welcome to the journey. I'm glad to have you here with me. I'm gonna be honest about every step of my journey. I'll let you know how the food tastes, and I'm a picky eater so I'm gonna be honest. Give me feedback, let me know about your stories, I'm gonna need the motivation!

So, here we go. This time, I'm gonna keep the weight off...damnit.