Going to the gym

My brother-in-law just left for three months of training to be an army chaplain.  I'm very proud of him, but we miss him already.  Before he left he encouraged me to keep up my efforts to become healthier.  He transfered his gym membership over to me and told me he will keep paying the monthly fee if I go!  He's so generous!

I've never had a gym membership before.  In fact, at university there is a gym on campus that students can use for free.  I went only a few times.  A few years ago I went and sat outside of the gym for fifteen minutes before chickening out and leaving.  The atmosphere is very intimidating to me.  All of the equipment I don't know what to do with and all of the mirrors... ugh.  My brain knows that people are not there to judge me, but I can't get my emotions to believe it.  The few times that I have gone to the gym successfully I had to keep telling myself over and over that people weren't there to watch me or judge me.  That's very emotionally tiring.

I am determined to put that behind me.  They say that the more often you do something that is difficult, the easier it becomes.

This morning I met with a personal trainer at the gym; new members get a free consultation.  I am thinking about setting up weekly appointments with a personal trainer to become more familiar with the equipment and learn how to use it properly.)  The personal trainer briefly ran me through some exercises I can do at the gym.  He talked to me about the importance of setting specific goals.  He had asked me what my goals are and I told him I want to lose weight but I don't have any specific goals.  He said that a lot of people don't set specific goals because they are afraid of letting themselves down, but in the end they are unable to accomplish anything.  He compared this to setting a goal to graduate college but not setting a goal to study for your tests or even to pass your classes.  If you don't set specific goals you are a lot less likely to accomplish anything.

So... for the next three months I am setting a goal of going to the gym three times a week.
I am also setting a goal to forgive myself for failures.  In fact, I am going to choose to not think of them as failures but as learning experiences.

Look! She posted again!

Hey everyone!

For some reason, my wonderful family thinks I shouldn't give up.  lol

So, I'm kicking back in gear.

I have no idea how much I weigh right now.  I'm pretty sure I gained back most (if not all) of what I lost, but I can only start from where I am.  I think I'll hold off on weighing myself for a while.  I'm going to try to eat healthier again and start walking again.

I just moved in with Lauren and she said she is going to help me by trying to make healthier foods and encouraging me to come on walks with her and Brian.  I think that sounds great.

Thanks for your support, everyone!

These [will be] a few of my favorite things

So, I'm up half a pound from last week.  303lbs.  I've reached a point that I always reach.  The point where I want to lose weight, but I'm having a hard time not reverting back to all of my old habits.

To help me get through and remember why I'm doing this, I'm going to take a suggestion from my sister, Lou, and write out all of the things I'm looking forward to once I lose weight...

• Greater variety of theatre roles
• Dancing
• Fitting on roller coaster rides again
• Finding bathing suits that fit properly
• Ice-skating
• Mountain biking
• Rock-climbing
• Fitting in auditorium seats
• Hiking
• Shopping in the 'misses' section
• Playing tag
• Ropes courses
• Skiing
• My new scale being able to calculate body fat %
• Shopping at Victoria's secret
• Fitting all seat belts
• Bungee Jumping and or Sky Diving

Challenge Zone

Fifth Grade Camp was great!  I just got back to Zeeland about half an hour ago.  This year was our first year at a new camp.  There were quite a few things I miss from previous years, but I had a really good time and there were a lot activities that stretched both the kids and me.  One theme that was repeated quite often throughout the camp was that of finding your challenge zone.  There are three zones: comfort zone, challenge zone, and panic zone.  None of the kids were forced to do anything they didn't want to, but they were all strongly encouraged to stretch themselves by putting themselves in their challenge zones in different activities.  It was great, so many of them were able to do things that they didn't think they could do.  It was difficult, but they did it.

Throughout camp, I kept finding myself thinking about my struggle with weight.  Often these thoughts were brought on by finding myself either self-conscious during and activity because of my size, or unable to do activities because of my weight and fitness level.  It was hard.  It is not fun to see people doing things that I very much want to do, but can't.  It is also not fun being the largest person in a group and having obvious challenges because of it.  But you know, I did a few things that were difficult for me, and I'm glad I did.  I definitely brought myself into my challenge zone, and I grew from the experience.  The kids were great, by the way.  Just as I had encouraged and supported them through the activities, they encouraged and supported me.  What a great experience!  As for the things that I couldn't do, I kept finding myself motivation to lose weight increased with each one.  In the past when I came to something I couldn't do, I would often get frustrated or depressed.  I will be honest, there was a little of that this time, but there was something else as well.  There was this hope that maybe next year will be different.  Maybe next year I can come and be a counselor at fifth grade camp again and maybe next year I'll be able to do some of those things that I wasn't able to this year.  That's what I'm going to focus on.  I'm going to challenge myself, and it won't be easy, but who knows, maybe I'll be able to do something that I never thought was possible.

Schlump

I had a schlump.  My first big schlump.  A few weeks of major off and ons, mostly offs.  I have not done a whole lot of exercising, I've been kind of eating whatever I wanted and however much I wanted.  But, I'm happy to announce that I am very motivated to be ON again!  I'm back up to 304 lbs, but I feel like I weigh more like 330. I am amazed that after doing things right for just a few months, I got used to feeling healthier.  Right now I just feel... bleh.

You know, I'm actually encouraged by the fact that I'm only up to 304 after doing everything wrong for a few weeks.  I am interpreting this as my body had started to become a better fat-burning machine through exercise and it carried over a little bit.  Yay, body!  You did great without me and now I'm gonna help you along again!  I kind of feel sometimes like my body is a whole other entity.  I often want to eat junk, overeat, and sit on my butt all day.  My body doesn't want those things.  It wants to be healthy.  So, now I'm gonna listen to my body and get up and move around.  I'm gonna eat yummy, nutritious things.  I'm not gonna stuff myself to exploding.

This week should be good because I'm gonna be at fifth grade camp.  Lots and lots of exercise, that's for sure!  And no junk food.

It's not about the weight... it's not about the weight...

I must admit, the up-down thing is getting a little old, and I was hoping to have ended it.  This entry is my attempt to convince myself that it's okay and to look at the big picture.

I gained two lbs this past week (so I'm back up to 304.5).  BUT... I ate lots of good nutrients and I got some exercise.  Both are successes.

I have lost a total of 4 inches on my waist since the beginning of March.  Also, I have lost a total of 2 inches from my hips, 1.75 inches from my thigh, and 1.75 inches from my upper arm.

I started out wearing size 24 jeans, and now those are so baggy that if I don't wear a belt, they fall off.

It's NOT about the weight.  It's not about the weight.  IT'S NOT ABOUT THE WEIGHT!

The 20lb mark!

I have officially lost a total of 20 lbs!  Well, 20.5 to be precise!!!  WOOHOOO!  I started out at 323lbs.  I am now 302.5 lbs.  I have lost 6% of my starting body weight.  My BMI has gone from 46.3 to 43.4.  I am so close to breaking below 300, I can taste it!  It's been YEARS since I was below 300!

This past week was great!  I got back into exercising.  I did a lot of walking for aerobic exercise, and I threw in a little pilates for some strength training.  It felt great!  At the beginning of March I HATED exercise, and now I look forward to it!  How cool is that!  I am still eating relatively healthy, but my intake did go up more than it should have this past week.  I am going to try to watch that this week.  I don't need my stomach to stretch back out to where it was.  But, hey!  I lost 20 lbs!  I'm feeling great!  I'm gonna go conquer the world!

click the chart to see a larger version

Back on track

My weight is going down again.  April sure has been a month of ups and downs!  But that's life, I guess.  I'm going to try to use what I learned this month to make May a month of just downs (in regards to weight, of course).  As of this morning I am down to 304.6 lbs.  That's a total loss of 18.4 lbs (5.7% of my starting body weight).  I'm feeling pretty good and I have had more friends and family say that I look like I've lost weight.  That definitely makes me smile!  My clothes are getting baggier and one of my belts is no longer effective because it's smallest hole is just a little too big.  Cool.  I have a friend who said she will do up my hair all pretty once I get under 300 lbs. I'll take pictures and post them for friends and family I don't get to see regularly. :-)

I was reminded again this weekend how awesome it would be to lose more weight.  I went to see Into the Woods at Cornerstone (which was fantastic, by the way, and made me want to be in a musical again) and the seats - although not as tight of a fit as it would have been a few months ago - are still uncomfortably tight.  It's not fun to have my mass overtake my seat and bulge over into the space of the person sitting next to me.  If I hadn't been sitting next to a close friend I would have been very embarrassed.  Hah!  Even writing about it is embarrassing.  I'm blushing!

I did better this past week about eating out.  Still went out a couple of times, but only got healthy food.  Didn't go on any real walks, but I have decided that I no longer can use lack of time as an excuse for lack of exercise.  From now on, if I don't have time to go on a walk, I'm going to do some other aerobic activity for at least fifteen minutes.  Seriously, fifteen minutes is definitely doable, no matter how busy one gets.  Today I did some lunges for fifteen minutes.  It got my heart rate to go up and stay within the target heart rate for a minimum of twelve minutes and it used my major muscles in a repetitive movement... those are the only qualifiers for aerobic exercise!  Cool, huh?  I'd like to go for a walk later today as well.  I miss it. 

Yesterday was the birthday of one of my brother-in-laws and we had a party.  I brought a bunch of different fruits and veggies and stuck them on skewers.  Everyone drizzled their favorite salad dressing on their veggie skewers and on the fruit skewers we drizzled melted chocolate.  Yummy!  I was pleased that I had made something healthy to share with my family that turned out to be tasty.  Good times!

I recieved a blessing from my Mom, too.  To encourage me to keep walking, she bought me a pedicure set.  I used it this week and it was wonderful!  My feet look great and feel great!  Thanks, Mom!  I love you!  I can't wait to go for another walk!

What not to do...

I'm sorry to say, but I did gain 3.4 lbs this past week.  I was not surprised at all.

The problem was that I went out to eat with friends... a lot.  I went to Applebees twice, TGI Fridays, IHOP, Wok In Wok Out, and Qdoba.  Whew.  I definitely need to limit that in the future (for my health and for my wallet!)  A few of those times I didn't make completely unhealthy choices of menu, but the ones that were unhealthy were really unhealthy.  I did have two meals that included a burger and fries, one that included an appetizer, and one that included dessert.  And of course, dine in portions are much bigger than what I would like to be eating.  Also, I did go for walks this week, but most of them were more leisurely instead of aerobic.  I'd like to get back on track with that as well.

So...  I'd like to not make this a gain-lose-gain trend.  The good thing is that I am now much more aware of how my body responds to the food choices I make.  After eating a burger I definitely felt sluggish and uncomfortable, and overeating actually caused me to feel some slight pain.  That is unusual for me.  I am used to eating and eating and eating until I feel like I'm going to explode and that's about where I stop.  I am happy to find out that my stomach has shrunk enough to be able to feel it sooner when I've eaten too much.

I am going to try my best to not eat out with friends this week.  It can be difficult for me to not eat out when it's a performance week for a show.  But with your encouragement, I think I can do it.

Whoa!

I now weigh 305.4 lbs.  That means I lost 7.5 lbs this past week!  That's a total loss of 17.6 lbs.  And I did it only by doing the same things I've been doing... walking, eating healthier foods, and eating smaller portions.  I'm feeling great!  Still having good days and bad days, but the good days are getting even better and the bad days aren't nearly so bad as they were before.

Chauncey (one of the boys I babysit) has been so sweet and encouraging.  Every time he sees me he mentions the whole losing weight thing.  It's adorable when he has a friend over and he tells the friend, "This is Melissa, she's losing weight!"  Seriously, it's happened more than once.  And he's told me more than once that I look like I've lost weight.  This kid is amazing.

So...
now that my BMI is 43.8 I can expect a postcard from my friend, J, from England!  Woohoo!

And...
I get to have a tea party with my sister!

I definitely did not expect to reach both of those in one week!  :-D

minor setback

This week I gained 1.5 lbs.  I am determined that minor setbacks like this are not going to discourage me from fighting to live a healthier lifestyle.  I did have some good days and bad days this past week.  I did go for walks and I did eat some healthy meals, but I did have a few times when I overate and a few times when I wasn't hungry but ate anyway.  In the past I might have considered this an utter failure, but this time I am choosing to focus on the successes of the week and keep trucking on.  I know that keeping it up will help me be healthier. I know that I am already healthier than I was when I started on the first of March.

So, you want to help me lose weight?

Since I started this whole "live a healthier lifestyle" thing, I have had several people tell me to let them know if there is anything they can do to help.  I've been thinking about it, and I think I may have found a way.

First of all, simple things like commenting on my blog or asking me how it's going are wonderful and they boost my spirit and keep me focused.  But if you are looking for something more you can do to help, here's how...  I have a long-term motivation (Hannah agreeing to audition for American Idol), but that is a looooong way away;  I need some short term motivations to carry me through. So, if you want to help, you can...

• Pick a goal that you would like to help me achieve:
• If I lose x amount of weight (or get down to a certain weight)
• If I get down to a certain BMI
• If I go down a dress size or x number of dress sizes
• If I go for a walk 6 times this week
• Or come up with your own
• Pick a reward that you would like to give once I achieve that particular goal:
• Go for a walk with me
• Give me a back or neck massage
• Take me on a picnic
• Teach me how to make a yummy healthy recipe
• Invite me to your home for dinner
• Buy me new walking shoes
• Get me a hair cut
• Buy me an outfit
• Take me to the zoo or bowling or mini-golfing or some other fun activity
• Buy/give me a good book
• Buy me some groceries
• Doll me up and take my picture
• Take me to the opera/symphony/ballet/concert/theatrical performance
• Or come up with your own.  It doesn't have to cost money, just give me something to look forward to and keep me motivated.  :-D

So... any takers?

It's the End of March

Click the image to see a larger version of the graph.

Feeling good.  Got my scale exchanged at Kohl's.  I didn't lose quite as much this week, but I'm still heading in the right direction.  It's the end of the first month of my new effort to change my lifestyle.  I have really enjoyed feeling stronger and having more energy.  I have definitely had some struggles, though.  Pizza, brownies, Krispy Kremes, and burgers are difficult to say no to.  Not that I'm giving up those things entirely, I just need to make sure I stay balanced and don't let that kind of junk food overtake the healthy portion of my diet.  Whereas before I might eat an entire pizza on my own, I need to rewire my brain to eat smaller portions.  Before, I often would get fast food on my way to work, now I need to find healthier options to bring to work.  

Surprisingly, I think the part of the month that I have found most enjoyable has been getting some exercise.  I've really enjoyed taking walks.  One day I even took a 2 hour walk and it felt great!  The part that I'm getting sick of fastest is recording what I eat.  It does make me more aware of what and how much I'm eating, but it feels like it takes up an annoying amount of time.  My plan right now is to stick it out and keep recording what I eat until September, and then reevaluate if that's something I want to continue doing.  Maybe by that point I will have developed a good awareness of what and how much I eat without needing to record it.  

New Energy

I know it's only been a few weeks, but I definitely feel like I have MUCH more energy than I did before.  I am able to get more accomplished during the day without feeling sluggish.  I have also noticed that my hermit-like tendencies are a little lessened.  :-) 

And I've already gotten a few compliments that I look like I've lost some weight.  The changes may be really small, but I feel better about how I look, too.  That makes me feel great!

Encouragement

It is so refreshing to get encouragement from friends and family.  Even just a simple "You can do it!" or "Yay" on my blog gives me renewed motivation.

 Or when I'm home and my family makes a healthy dinner instead of pizza.  Or someone offering to help me learn how to make healthy food.  Giving me tips on things they have learned about living a healthy lifestyle.  And I especially like it when people invite me to join them in a healthy activity.  Even something as simple as going for a walk.

These may be simple things, but add up to a wonderful circle of support and I am so grateful.

10 down, 22 to go

I somehow managed to lose another 5 lbs this past week.  So, I've lost a total of 10 lbs and I feel great!  I have 22 more lbs to lose by September.  I'm still only planning on trying to lose 1-2 lbs a week.  You can keep track of my progress by looking at the bar at the top and bottom of my blog.  The one at the top measures my progress towards my September goal and the one at the bottom measures my progress towards my ultimate goal.

Here's an update on what I'm doing...

1. I'm trying to get some exercise every day.  At this point it's mostly walking.
2. I'm trying to eat healthier.  I'm aiming for half of what I eat being fruits and veggies.  I'm also trying to cut back on sodium intake.
3. I'm trying to eat less by only eating when I'm hungry and stopping before I'm over-full.

So far so good.


Aaand... my computer is on the fritz so I may not be able to update more than once a week.  We'll see.  But please keep reading and commenting!  It really helps me stay motivated!  (For the few of you who may be unaware, you can comment by going to the bottom of the post and clicking where it says "0 encouragements".  Or the number will be different if someone has already commented.)

Here's an issue I'd like to get your opinions on...
Am I losing weight too quickly?  They say if you lose only one or two lbs a week, you're more likely to keep it off.  But, I'm not sure what I would do differently to try to lose weight slower.  At this point I'm inclined to keep doing what I'm doing and let the weight fall off however quickly it wants to, but I'm not sure.

Oh, and my new scale broke.  Boo.  I'm going to see about getting an exchange.

Book Review - The New FIT OR FAT

I went to Goodwill yesterday and, as usual, found some great buys.  One of these is a book called The New FIT OR FAT by Covert Bailey.  My review is about this particular book which was published in 1991. There is a newer edition which I have not read called The Ultimate FIT OR FAT, which was published in 2000.

This book is an easy read with a lot of good information and some great tips for people who want to start to incorporate exercise into their lifestyle.

One of the things he talks about is why dieting alone is not the healthy way to lose weight.   People who have excess fat have a body chemistry that converts calories into fat.  When a person gains fat, it they gain it in their muscles as well as under their skin.  Dieting removes subcutaneous fat, but not intramuscular fat.  Exercise (especially aerobic exercise) reduces intramuscular fat, "increases muscle, tones it, alters its chemistry, and increases its metabolic rate.  All of these cause you to burn more calories even when asleep."

After explaining all of the benefits of exercise, Bailey goes on to explain how to exercise to lose weight.  He describes the difference between aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise, and why aerobic exercise is the most beneficial way to lose weight.  He defines aerobic exercise as "steady exercise, exercise that demands an uninterrupted output from your muscles for a minimum of twelve minutes."  In contrast, anaerobic exercise occurs when you overexert yourself.  "If you make a muscle work too hard, it will need more oxygen than your heart and blood can deliver."

Also outlined in the book is a list of aerobic exercises that he recommends and how to begin doing aerobic exercise if you are a beginner or if you are excessively overweight.

This book has made me excited to exercise!  Breaking down exercise into 12 minute segments feels so much more doable to me right now than thinking about exercising for 2 hours straight.  I also feel like I can go at my own pace and not worry about how slow I am compared to other people.  I can't remember the last time I felt excited about exercise!  Woohoo!

Hurray!

According to my new scale, I lost 3 lbs this week!  That means I have lost 5lbs total and I have officially lost 1% of my original body weight.  Woohoo!  I'm excited that I didn't take a step back like I had expected I would.  On we go!

My New Scale

This weekend I bought a scale at Kohl's.  We were having a big sale... everything in the store was on sale and associates got an additional 30% off.  :-)  I bought what I think is the best scale that Kohl's has.  It's the Talyor Glass Bodyfat Scale.  It measures up to 440lbs (though I'm planning to not get any closer to that than I already am.)  It also measures body fat percentages and body water percentages.  Of course, right now I'm so big that the scale can only measure my weight, but I am okay with that.  It gives me something to look forward to; at some point over the next few years I will have lost enough weight for the scale to be able to measure my fat and water percentages.  That will be a great day.  I'm looking forward to it.  

Tomorrow morning I am going to weigh myself.  In my experience, I have found that it is not uncommon to get different measurements on different scales; on one scale I may weigh 2 or 3 lbs more than I did on another scale.  So, I am setting myself up for the possibility that even though I have done well this week, this new scale may read differently than the scale I used the last couple of weeks.  I have decided that I am not going to be disappointed if it says I have not lost any weight.  In the long run, if I consistently use my own new scale, I know it will measure accurate progress.  And that is what I'm aiming for.  

On another note, today was a great day nutritionally.  I have been recording what I eat and inputing it to sparkpeople.com's nutrition tracker.  Even though I have been eating healthier and cutting back on the amount that I eat, I have continued to go way above the number of calories that they recommend for someone my size.  But not today!  Today I met all of my goals for calories, fat, carbs, protein, and sodium!  I also went for a 40 minute walk today.  I feel great!

Going Shopping

I went shopping yesterday to pick up some healthy snacks.  I was amazed how difficult it is to find things to eat that are both healthy and affordable.  Fresh fruit and veggies are obviously healthy, but they are a little more expensive in winter than they are at other times of the year (unless they're canned, in which case they are not as rich in nutrients and have a lot more sodium or sugar).  And I also tried to find healthy cereal, crackers, granola, and breakfast bars.  I did manage to find some, but it took a lot of searching and label-reading.  Just about EVERYTHING out there is super high in sodium!  Sodium is one of the things I'm trying to cut back on.  And another thing, everything labelled "low fat" had about twice at much sodium as the "regular" option! Apparently, when food companies take out fat they throw in a bunch more salt to add to the flavor.  Crazy!  A lot of what I found that was actually healthy was organic-grown, which is more expensive.  I am still committed to trying to eat healthier, but this makes my pocketbook a little sad.  Any ideas?

Successful first week!

I had ups and downs; successes and failures, but I feel that I am headed in the right direction.  Thank you everyone for your support!  I am down 2 lbs since the start of the venture.  Today I had lunch at Good to Go with my mom and I took an hour long walk with Lauren and had a great time.  Having everyone's support makes all the difference.

I took a 45 minute walk today and it felt great!

The sun was shining and it was simply gorgeous outside.  It was a perfect day for a walk.  I am so grateful for everyone's encouragement.  It's really helping me to keep going with this.

And I had yummy healthy food today, too.  Kristi made an amazing stir-fry that was just delightful! :-)

Going for a Walk

I've decided that this week I am going to add some exercise.  I'm going to start with walking because, well, I'm too scared to do anything else at the moment.  It is really difficult for someone my size to do many of the exercises that other people might consider basic; so I'm going to start where I can feel comfortable and I am not going to feel guilty about it.  I figure adding any kind of movement is an improvement at this point.

National Nutrition Month

Since the first change I'm making toward a healthier lifestyle is healthier eating, I was excited to find out that March is National Nutrition Month!  SparkPeople has come up with a downloadable "31 Days to a Healthier Diet" Calendar for this month.  It gives you one tip for a healthy diet for each day of March.  It's really cool and totally doable!  Some of them are really basic (like today's), but some tips offer great advice that I wouldn't have really considered otherwise.  It's nice to have small daily goals already set up for you.

Here's today's tip: 

Drink water. It's the only beverage your body really needs and craves. Gradually replace soda, flavored coffees, sugary drinks and other high-cal liquids with water. Aim for 8-12 cups each day.

Take a look at the rest of the calendar.  Click the picture.

3rd shift

I wonder if working 3rd shift will affect my ability to lose weight.  I sure hope not.  I've heard that lack of sleep is bad for you and in some cases can cause weight gain.  Of course, being part-time, I don't work every night.  I wish I did, I get more sleep when I have some semblance of a sleep schedule.  I usually try to get around 8 hours or so after work, but I'm not sure if that fully makes up for it or not.

SparkPeople

Now that I have my goals for how much to lose and by when, I should come up with a plan.  I know it will affect how much I eat, what I eat, and how much I exercise.  Over the next few years my eating and exercise habits are going to have to change drastically, but I don't want to overwhelm myself right at the beginning.  So, now I need to find some not-too-demanding things I can do to begin a healthier lifestyle.  Any ideas?

There is a website called SparkPeople that has been recommended to me.  It is a free weight loss and fitness program online which offers

• Personalized diet & fitness plan
• Calorie counter, exercise tracker, fitness demonstrations & videos
• Answers from our dietitians & trainers on message boards

So for the next couple of weeks I'm going to check it out and see what kind of plans they recommend.

Healthy Fast Food

My Mom and I work at our church together on Tuesday mornings with M&Ms.  M&Ms (Moms and Mentors with Peanuts) is a Bible Study run by our church for moms.  My mom teaches a class of 3year olds and I have a class of 4 year olds.  They are way cute.  Of course, playing with young energetic kids all morning does take quite a bit of energy, so we are usually quite hungry by the time it's done.


Today my mom treated me to lunch and we went to a new place called Good to Go, a healthy fast food restaurant in Holland.  They offer eat in, drive thru, and catering services.  Good to Go has all sorts of wonderful menu selections that are all approved by Holistic Nutrition Center of Holland.  I had half of a Chicken Club Panini on Multi-grain Wheat and a Fresh Organic Green Mix Salad.  My mom had an A+BLT sandwich on Sun dried Tomato Pesto Bread.  The food was DELICIOUS!  I highly recommend it.  And they have Dairy Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Low Fat, and Gluten-Free options!  All sorts of salads, wraps, paninis, soups, rice bowls, and even dessert!  And at around $6 an entree, it's affordable, too.  The servers were knowledgeable and friendly and before our lunch was done we decided to make it a weekly After-M&Ms-treat!  I'm so excited!

"Owner Lance Sonneveldt, 40, had his fair share of fast food after 10 years of working as a medical salesman. After awhile, he ate energy bars for lunch just to avoid unhealthy chain fare.

'You’ve got to have a substitute to greasy burgers and fries,' he said. 'I believe now more than ever this country needs a healthy option.'"

"Good to Go supports the green movement by using Michigan suppliers and quick-decomposing cups and utensils. " - Holland Sentinel

The Beginning.

Here's me.  Melissa.

I have some pretty great qualities.  I'm good with kids, I have a good sense of humor, I love to help others, I can sing and act, I have really pretty eyes, I'm sweet, supportive, caring, and... humble.  I am also very overweight.  Big time. 

I've been a big girl pretty much my whole life.  I was chubby all throughout my childhood and preteen years.  I thinned out a little in middle-school when I shot up and grew some curves.  But when I stopped increasing in height, the curves decided to keep on  growing.  I became obese when I was in high-school.  Several years later at a massive 323 lbs I am classified as morbidly obese.

Sure, when I'm looking in the mirror at the big bulging roll of fat around my belly, the double-chin, the chubby fingers, the stretch lines, the thunder-thighs, I don't like what I see.  The fact that I can't see my feet while I'm walking down stairs is unnerving.  It can be difficult to find clothes that fit well and look good.  I love playing with kids, but it's hard to find fun games that don't require me to get off my butt. It's embarrassing running out of breath from walking up a single flight of stairs. In theatre, there aren't very many roles for women my size.  And as a whole, the more I weigh, the less I am able to do the things I want.  And then there are the many health risks of being morbidly obese.  In light of all these things, why is it so hard for me to lose weight?


It all boils down to this: I love food and I hate exercise.


When I'm looking at a plate of brownies, am I thinking about my thunder thighs?  Nope... There IS a split second of thought before I begin devouring; I'm thinking about how good those brownies smell and how chewy and delicious they will be. Then the split-second ends, the brain switches off, and I go into "devour" mode.  When I think about exercising, do I find myself thinking about strengthening my heart, gaining endurance, and building a stronger calorie-fighting machine?  Nope... I'm thinking about getting breathless, sweaty, uncomfortable, sore, and inevitably embarrassing myself.  Somehow watching the next episode on hulu sounds much more appealing.


But, in the end I am forced look myself in the mirror again and am reminded that I don't want to stay obese forever.  I've tried to lose weight before, but it's hard to find motivation strong enough to carry me through the many temptations to sit on my butt and engorge myself.  So, for the last few weeks I have been pondering what would motivate me to get fit and stay fit.  Then, as I was sitting with a friend in Applebees, munching on a cowboy burger and seasoned fries, it came to me.


Here's my sister, Hannah.

Gorgeous, talented, artistic, funny, stylish, versatile.  And she's an amazing singer, song-writer, and pianist.  She plays viola and guitar, too!  In my opinion, she has IT.  Star quality.  And yet, she doesn't know what she wants to do with her life.  I've asked her before if she would ever consider auditioning for American Idol, but she's not sure about the idea.  Here's what I think about it: if she doesn't win, fine, but I think she has a good chance of getting pretty far and the process could open up her eyes to whether or not she should use her talents in a music career. I think it's quite possible that she will find that God is leading her to pursue music.  So, this is what occurred to me... I want to lose weight and I want her to audition, so if I can tie those two things together, and convince Hannah to agree, maybe it will be enough motivation to accomplish both!


So, I did a little bit of research on healthy weight-loss goals and came up with a proposal that Hannah AGREED to!!  Here it is...
My ultimate weight loss goal is to get below 200lbs.  Whew.  I think I was in 9th grade when I passed that mark and haven't been anywhere near it since.  If I can manage to get below 200 lbs by September of 2012, Hannah will audition for American Idol.


According to my research, it should take about 6 months or so for an individual to safely lose 10% of their body weight.  Losing weight slowly in this manner is supposed to help the person keep it off.  I currently weigh 323 lbs.  So, with healthy lifestyle changes I can safely lose about 10% of that (or 32 lbs) by September 1.  By then, I should weigh 291 lbs.  Then, I'll take 10% of that (29 lbs) and aim to lose that by March 1 of 2011 which will bring me to 262 lbs.  If I continue to set 10% as my goal for every 6 months, by September 1 of 2012 I will have lost 132 lbs (41% of my current body weight) and will be at 191 lbs!


Is this an attainable goal?   I read that most people can lose about 1 or 2 lbs a week with healthy lifestyle changes. So, setting goals in increments of 10% is a good, because it means that at most (based on my current weight) I only have to lose about 1.2 lbs a week.  I also like the idea of looking at my weight loss in percentages, because it isn't as daunting as thinking about losing 132 lbs.  There are lots of small successes that I can look forward to.  Every  1, 5 or 10% is a victory!


It's been a while since I've tried to lose weight, and even longer since I actually succeeded, so I'm going to have to do some research and get some knowledgeable opinions.  I do have some basic knowledge about how to lose weight.  There are a million weight loss programs out there, but it all pretty much boils down to eating less, eating healthier, and exercising.  To be honest, none of those three things are very appealing to me.  The one that I can tolerate most is eating healthier, so until I can find a good method to follow, that's where I'm going to start.  Fewer "junk" calories and more earth-grown entrees.  Pass me the peas!