I’m ready to get real with my health. Over the past year, I’ve been working out off-and-on at the gym, with a trainer, and at home with little success until about 4 months ago when I got serious about my diet and decided to make concrete and lasting changes that will allow me to live a longer and healthier life. The change has been dramatic to say the least. Without starving or following any crazy diet, I’ve lost a solid 12 pounds, gained significant muscle, and have changed the shape of my body… slimming down and toning up. For the first time in my life I have real muscle tone in my legs and I feel stronger than ever.
I’m going to start “vlogging” on my progress here, and hopefully you’ll be able to see the changes in me as time goes on. My starting weight 4 months ago {a weight I’ve been hovering around for about 3 years} was 170 lbs. I’m 5’11” and eat meat {chicken, turkey, or fish} about twice a week {red meat about once or twice a month}. Every once in a while I’m going to post excerpts from my food journal so you can get an idea of exactly what I eat in a day. I try to keep a regular record of everything I eat to monitor my eating habits. This was crucial in the beginning to see where my calories were coming from and for curbing my bad snacking habits.
My ultimate goal is to have a 99% vegetarian diet with fish as my only meat. I’ve recently started experimenting with tofu and I love my eggs and oatmeal. I also make fresh vegetable juice everyday. My favorite diet tools/books are Naturally Thin by Bethenny Frankel, The Calorie King Calorie, Fat, & Carbohydrate Counter by Allan Borucher, and my food diary {which is just a little notebook I keep in my purse}. I train with my personal trainer, Chris Gates, twice a week and do a mixture of cardio and weight training about 3-4 days a week for a total of 5-6 days a week of working out.
Making my juice:
Goals for my 31st birthday {July 18, 2009}:
At the gym:
Note: I can’t write about my fitness journey without mentioning the awesome support I’ve been getting from my favorite workout buddy, Justin. He stepped into a gym for the first time in his life with me about 6 months ago, and has been coming along ever since. He’s down over 10 pounds in the past couple months and is on the fast track to his goal of breaking the under-200 lb. mark. Yesterday, he ran for 3 miles at the gym!! He’s completely changed his diet along with me, and has been so encouraging and supportive of my efforts, even running with me around our neighborhood when I know he would have rather been hanging in the yard with a cold beer. I love my Justin ♥
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