277 Pounds

At 5'6", it's time I get healthy and get this weight off.  And since I have probably gained and lost over 277 pounds over the course of my life, it's not that I don't know how to do it... but that I don't seem to keep it off.  Ten years ago I lost 100 pounds.  Within 2 years it was all back. 

I know the basics:  count calories, exercise, watch your fat content, stay away from processed foods.  A year ago I lost 40 pounds and felt I was on the way back... but how did I end up a size 24 again? 

Food.  I love food and I love savory flavors.  I enjoy sweets and when I get together with my girlfriends, what is at the center, FOOD!  When we relax after church what do we do... go to a RESTAURANT!  And I'm an emotional eater, a crisis eater, a celebratory eater, name it... an obsessive eater! 

So, 2011 has to be the year this 51 year old woman finally wins this battle!  I know how to do it...so what's next and what will be different?  How do I make this the last time I try to lose weight and begin to change my life to a total focus of healthy living. 

Maybe this blog will provide the impetus to keep myself accountable.  Maybe the journaling, the entering of thoughts, feelings, and struggles, will help me find some root causes for the triggers.  Maybe God will connect me with people who share this struggle and enable me to make the changes I need to make!

So, today's the beginning.  The calorie counting, healthy eating has got to start.  The tracking and exercising needs to begin.  God willing this will be the last time I feel the need to begin again, and the belief that healthy living is not about dieting, but about LIVING!