The new me....

I have never watched what I eat... ever! Let me tell you a little story... once upon a time I was sitting in an Intro to Animal Science class at USU and we starting talking about McDonalds and the type of meat they use in their burgers (disgusting BTW). The professor asked the class, of about 45, who eats McDonalds at least once a month. Almost everyone raised their hand. He then asked who eats more than once a month, some hands went down. I think you know where this is going... he asked once every two weeks, once a week... steadily the hands keep coming down and mine stayed valiantly raised. When he gets to the once a week there were probably 3 or 4 of us with our hands up. Finally, he asked if any of us eat more than once a week.... I was the only one with my hand still up. This should have been an awakening, but that was 2 1/2 years ago.

When I was a senior in High School I had a gym membership. I went to the gym most days, if not twice a day because that's just what you were supposed to do... so I did. I maintained my size 4/6 figure quite well, while eating like crap. Then I graduated high school. I was working as a bank teller full time while going to college full time at the University of Utah, needless to say I didn't eat well then either. Lets through a new boyfriend in the mix, and we were re-modeling our house so we didn't have a kitchen... but we did have a plethora of yummy fast food 2 minutes away. I quickly went from a size 4 to VERY full 8... more like a 10. Gaining about 25-30 pounds.

(High School dance 06)

Freshman 15? I had that down and then some, but things get worse. I quit my job, applied at Utah State University and got an apartment with my two best friends. I had a reputation at school for getting anyone to skip class for food (here's looking at you Carters). I also developed a loved phrase that I still use today, "I mean, I could eat." This phrase was lovingly used when a roommate would ask if I was hungry and that was my response. We ALWAYS had candy (even if it was half-eaten and found in the couch... (you know who you are M), We frequently sat and watched MTV (Tool Academy anyone?), and chomped on cookies, chips, ice cream, and chocolate. And my roommates liked to say things like "I could REALLY go for brownies right now" meaning: "Karin, please make brownies!!" to which I obliged quite frequently. We had a BLAST and I will always remember these days when we would rather watch tv and eat then meet anyone else, but I'll tell you what I gained a LOT of weight... like another 40-50 pounds.


So here I was, by all standards obese, and really unhappy.

I made the big decision to move back home a year and a half ago and have not regretted it ever since. My weight fluctuated but never got below 180 until my mom started a diet and I stole some pointers. I had just gotten a job at a bridal shop and was on my feet for 10 hours a day (easily) and had VERY little to eat during the day. The pounds started melting off. I lost 45 pound from my highest weight ever, but I still wasn't eating right right or exercising outside of work. We would eat out nearly every lunch and Ian and I developed a nasty habit of eating dinner out more than we should have. But I was maintaining my lowest weight since the few months following high school. I was getting compliments all the time and I was finally able to squeeze into a size 10. Life was good.(this is actually the DAY I got the job offer)

In May I started my new job. My sit down at a desk job. Who knew that sitting at a desk all day would fatten me up so quickly? After being there for only 3 months I had already gained a WHOPPING 23 pounds back. Ouch. Really ouch. I vowed I would never see the scale hit that number again, and here I was only 3 months later and it was staring right at me. I was depressed. Really depressed. I looked into stupid cleanse diets that guarantee significant weight lost, I even looked into (gasp) liposuction. I had such a hard time with myself, and poor Ian go the brunt of it. I cried, I complained, I ripped jeans, I cried, I shoved my face with chocolate, and finally I cried. I'm surprised he still wanted to be around me. It was a bad time.Sitting at my desk at work

Then a little angel in the form of my boss started asking me to come to the gym on our lunch breaks. At first I was REALLY hesitant.... I have always preferred to sit and complain rather than do something. But I started going with her and she KICKED MY BUTT!!! We started going 3-4 days a week for only about 40 minutes because we have an hour lunch. I started to really like it and I dropped a few pounds before I went on my trip to Disney World. Of course I gained it all back in Florida (and then some), but I came back with a renewed interest in exercising AND eating right. When I was in college I made a few meals that I would freeze for a later date, but I hadn't done it since, so I started thinking about doing that as well. I ran across a FABULOUS website that did all the research for me. I just had to take their grocery list with me to the store and follow their directions for the meals and I had a full month of meals. My boss and I decided to try it. I have not had such good (and good for you) food in long time. I crave the tuna and crab burgers, or the low fat beef stroganoff (only 250 calories!!) and don't even get me started on the double chocolate muffins. But above all the yummy food, I am still going to the gym at lunch and I have started to also crave the gym. I have noticed that my days are better, and feel shorter when I work out and I have noticed that my energy levels are up considerably since I made the food switch.

So far I have only been doing the food for about two weeks and have already lost 3 pounds. So I would say things are looking up. Ian has also been eating some of the foods I have made and he loves them as well, so I'm thinking this is a permanent change in my life. I love the extra money I have in my bank account because I'm not eating out all the time, and I refuse to buy new clothes when I want to drop so much more weight.

I know this is a REALLY long post, but I haven't ever really talked about my weight struggles, and I was feeling enlightened. I hope to be able to keep track of my progression through my blog, and if anyone has any encouraging thoughts or tips please let me know :)