Getting Healthy Is a Lonely Endeavor...

Today I really sat down and thought about my efforts to get healthy. And I considered my friends and family and how they have impacted that.

And I realized that making the decision to get healthy is a very very lonely endeavor in a sea of 20-somethings who have either given up any hope of liking their bodies, just don't give a fuck or already have great bodies and simply have to maintain. It is not that any of them don't support a decision by me to get healthier but many of them simply don't understand.

Say, "I look fat" to a skinny girl and she'll say NO YOU DON'T. Say it to a friend who weighs more than you and she'll say NO YOU DON'T. Simply put, they either don't want to agree with you or they really don't agree with you. In their eyes you aren't fat. And telling them that 180+ lbs on a 5'6" frame is considered overweight simply doesn't change that perspective.

Try going out to eat with you friends. I'm sorry but if fries are on the menu it literally KILLS me not to order them. And when everyone else is getting slices of pizza, streak slathered in blue cheese and covered in bacon and frothy adult beverages it is literally impossible not to make a bad choice as well. If someone orders something decadent I invariably end up doing the same. Even if to begin with my intentions were good.

A night on the town equals almost a thousand calories in booze and mixers. Considered the fun one by a majority of my friends, if I head out and am not downing shots and beers they immediately convince me to do otherwise. And quite frankly, being the sober one in a sea of drunkards is not much fun.

In the end, to achieve my goal, I have to take myself out of these detrimental situations. And that often means I miss out on fun times with my friends. Given the option to spend the day working out or sit on a patio drinking frozen beverages, 9 out of 10 of my friends will choose the second option. None of them are in the same get fit boat I am in and those that are starting to get healthy are going to yoga classes (which I cannot stand) or go to different gyms. I guess it is time to figure out who that one out of 10 is going to spend their day being active or eating healthy. And figuring out who has been supportive and who hasn't has been a very eye-opening experience this past week. A little bit of my frustration might stem from some hurtful comments I've had come my way from friends who don't understand my decisions.

What do you guys do for fun on the weekends? How do you work social activities into your get healthy routine? I am really struggling with this in the face of what my friends are up to.

I have a Goal

In the next 5 weeks, I will lose a minimum of 10 lbs. Here is the plan for this week:

Monday: 1 hour of cardio

Tuesday: 20 minutes of cardio, 20-30 minutes of weights

Wednesday: 1 hour of cardio

Thursday: 20 minutes of cardio, 20- 30 minutes of weights

Friday: 1 hour of cardio

Saturday: 20 minutes of weight, running, kickball

Sunday: pilates, walk

Food goal of the week: Incorporate more veggies starting with CARROTS. I realized today I really DO NOT LIKE THEM....at all. Unless you cover them in ranch dressing which really kind of defeats the point. What is the point, you ask? Possible benefits of carrots are to lower your risk for cancer, lower your cholesterol, prevent constipation, good for the general health (vision, skin and nervous systems). I threw them on a salad today. It hid them...kind of. Enough for me to force them down anyway.

Don't forget to email me at fromfat2fab2009@gmail.com in order to enter to win Real Fitness Real Nutrition!

Influence of the Blog World

My darling friend and former editor, Ellen of Fired N Fabulous, is a faithful reader of a healthy living blog. That blog was featured in Marie Claire along with five others collectively known as the "Big 6" of healthy living blogs. They hosted a Healthy Living Summit and out of it came an article focusing on the negative aspects of these blogs.

In it, the writer claimed the blogs were full of pictures of emaciated women who ran miles upon miles to end their days claiming to be "so hungry".

As you can imagine there was quite an uproar when their loyal followers heard about this (because they featured the article on their blogs with rebuttals).

I bring this up because the article implies (sometimes flat out states) that because these women detail their workouts, food intake and other "healthy" aspects of their lives on a public forum like a blog that they have eating disorders. That food sabotaging is a problem (hell, I should do it more often in my humble opinion) and these sites are breeding grounds for eating disorders.

I don't personally read the sites though I have added them to my google reader so I can check them out but it got me to thinking about my own blog. Am I both narcissistic and suffering from a low self-esteem because I let you in on my own trials and tribulations while on my weight loss quest? Do I promote unhealthy habits? Am I creating little women with eating disorders because after indulging I think to myself, I'm going to regret that when I get on the scale tomorrow?

My personal opinion is no. I struggle daily with my weight. But I want to get healthy for the right reasons- 1. I want to be healthy for a long time 2. I want to feel great about myself. Do I think I will have a better life if I am skinnier? No. I believe that by getting healthy I will be more focused, have a more positive outlook, be able to do more things and generally just enjoy life more. 3. Yes, I want to feel good about myself. Yes, I think if I lost some weight I would enjoy wearing my clothing (or not) a little more. No, I don't think this is bad.I think overall my goals combine into just being a better version of myself.

And, if when you read my blog you take the wrong thing from it...well, I think that's on you. If something I say triggers a negative reaction in you than it is up to you to remove the temptation (well, I'll miss you as a reader if the case is that you can't read this anymore) and cope with it in a healthy way. Your actions after you read my blog are not my (or any other bloggers) responsibility. However, this article really got my thinking so I want to clear a few things up:

1. My BMI is overweight. My weight is "above average" (not in a good way).You might not think it is fat, but my doctor and I agree it is. Deal with it.
2. I'm not a doctor. A trainer. A dietician. A nutritionist. I can only share with you what is working or not working for me. I can only share with you things I read that spoke to me (or didn't). It's up to you what you make of it.
3. I condone loving yourself and being the best YOU. I hope that I help you in some way.I do not condone eating disorders. I do not condone over exercising. I do not condone feeling badly about yourself because you are too fat, too thin, too whatever for the rest of the world. If I don't then I hope you have a good laugh at me (with me since I'm laughing at myself 90% of the time).

What is your opinion of blogs out there? Have you ever read someone's blog and thought they've gone overboard? How have you reacted to that? Do you ever read something that you wrote and think, gosh I sound like I have a problem (my daily weigh-in to some people leads them to think I am obsessed with my weight more so than is healthy). This article and rebuttal really got me thinking and I would love to know all your thoughts. I think its an important conversation to have!

*The blog in question is Healthy Tipping Point. The rebuttal in question can be found here along with the article it responds to. Check them out and let me know what you think!