Times are changing and so am I.

Today I realized something, the older I get, the more I need to do something for myself. Honestly speaking, this is a new concept for me, not because of anyone in particular, but because its in my nature to help everyone but myself. Have you ever stood in front of a mirror, and saw someone so completely different then what is actually there. I know I need to lose weight, its no secret, but for some reason I do not see the obese person that people see. I see a fun, vivacious, outgoing, loving, and kindhearted person staring back at me. There is something to be said about the saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." I mean how else can I see something so completely different, while everyone sees something else. My goal at the end of this journey, which I have several, are as follows:

1. run a marathon
2. get a head to toe make over
3. buy an entire new wardrobe
4. go rock climbing
5. go camping/white water rafting/mountain climbing

and....

go on a long overdue vacation with the love of my life.

I have been researching tons of techniques, some a little crazy, some that I cannot possibly fathom at this point, and some that seems do-able. I have a nifty app on my phone that allows me not only to track exercises I have done throughout the day, but it allows to me to also schedule workouts, and log food that I have eaten daily. It also provides me a weight loss graph to follow, in which I provide my current weight, and my goal weight, and also asks me to specify how much weight weekly I would chose to lose. It then customizes everything for me! It tells me how many calories I can eat daily, shows me recommended values and simplifies it to green, yellow, and red foods. (It also provides you with calorie amounts and a search if you are unsure) Then it tells you, based on your input, approximately how many calories you should burn exercising in a week, then it takes all of the inputs and calculates what should have been lost for the week. (Of course, I must be honest to ensure accuracy) Once the week is out and I do my official scale weigh-in, I update the weight, and it adjusts my total as necessary. It also provides a week to week graph showing the differences and the weight I have left to lose. It seems very easy to use.

Food is the problem, at least for myself. I love foods that I shouldn't, not saying I won't eat fruit or veggies, but I prefer fat filled foods and sweets. This is something I believe dates back to my childhood. I wasn't introduced to proper foods. No I am not saying my mother only gave me junk, I just feel like she didn't push it on me either. Luckily, my sister, who is probably one of my best friends as well, has made getting healthy easy. She made sure I had everything I need to get started, and to be honest I cannot thank her enough.

Another issue I have is preparing the food. I am so use to fast foods, either out and about or even at home. The microwave is easier to use than portioning out my foods and cooking them myself. This is something I must work on, but I have faith I can succeed.

Working out, let me ask you, how do you fit it into your routines, how do you make it work? I guess that will come in time. Right now, I am focused on moving off of the couch and getting myself into shape. Updates to come, my full on diet starts on Monday! Keep a look out for an update.

Until next time...
peace, love, and happiness,

Rocky.