Hi, my name is Rebecca. I'm very thrilled my online buddy, Jenifer, and I have decided to do this blog together. If anyone has any advice for us, or anything else, let us know :)
I've pretty much been overweight my entire life. I was very skinny as a kid though. But when I got into 3rd grade, I really started to put on the weight. I'd come home, do my homework, and stuff my face with potato chips while doing it! In middle and high school, I was very heavy and made fun of on a regular basis. Those were horrible, horrible times.... in fact, I still grimace if I see someone I went to middle school or high school with, if they were a part of the 'clique' that made fun of me. It was just horrible times.
A couple years after high school, I actually lost 90 pounds! I had this Denise Austin exercise video tape I would do everyday and I would also walk 2 miles a day. I cut out all sweets as well! I just ate healthier. And I felt much much better. I had more energy and was no longer depressed.
But a couple years later, I ended up gaining back 50 pounds and no longer bothered exercising or eating healthy. In the past couple of years, I sort of let myself go. I had no desire to lose weight. I actually felt good about myself... I just didn't care about my weight! I'd eat whatever I wanted to, whenever I wanted to. If I craved something, I'd give in. Life is short, right?
But health problems is really what has made me decide to exercise, eat healthier, and change my lifestyle. I have Mitral Valve Prolapse, a condition with the heart. It is really nothing serious at all! It is not life threatening as far as I know, but it is life changing. Last year was a pretty crappy year for me, health-wise... which led to money-wise! I've been diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) for the past 6 years, and last year it just started to act up really bad! I'd never had problems like I did last year. It almost felt as though I was having regular anxiety attacks, which I felt was impossible because I had nothing that was making me anxious. I also have a heart murmer and get heart palpitations a lot. Sometimes I felt like my heart was jumping or like it would just suddenly drop, as though it were an elevator... very very strange! And that freaked me out. I also thought something was wrong with my nervous system as well. I had another echocardiogram done last year, which just said I had Mitral Valve Prolapse. Getting healthier and exercising has been something in the back of my head the last year, but I was just too lazy to get off my ass to do it. I am thankful for my friend, Jenifer, to support me. We were talking in our Last.FM shout boxes about how we both wanted to lose weight and just get healthier, so finally I was just like "Fuck it! I'm doing it!"
I started April 1st too! (Well, technically the last day of March! But saying April 1st is just easier!) I have gone back to doing my Denise Austin video tapes and I also have some Yoga DVDs I am doing. I have been doing one video a day for the most part. But unfortunately, I missed a couple days because I was so tired when I got home from work. I've also been walking a good bit. I am eating healthier as well. Our scale is actually not working, so I'm not sure if I have lost weight. But I feel as though I have. My t-shirts are fitting better and my pants almost fell off my ass yesterday when I was running with one of the dogs. My boyfriend also said my stomach felt smaller when he put his arm around me, so yay! This inspires me to continue on...
I have also bought a couple of 'healthy' cookbooks. I got a Weight Watchers magazine, which has some yummy stuff in it! I was thinking of doing the whole points thing, but I don't feel like counting all those points and eating random things and going "Okay, how many points is this??" I'm just eating healthier and eating less! We should share some recipes, as well! :)
So, that is my story as to why I am needing to change my lifestyle. So far, it is going pretty good. In some of the exercise videos (especially this cardio-dance one I have) I find it hard to keep up with the steps... and I really do suck at yoga! but I don't get discouraged... I'm a beginner, so i just do the best I can do, but not quit! That's all you can do.
Peace out!
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