What the heck????

I was laying in bed, trying to go to sleep, and all I could think about was why food is such a difficult obstacle for me to overcome. Why is it that everything revolves around food? Why is it that we let it control us so much? How do we stop the madness?

Food is so heavily involved in everything that we do. Yes, we need food to live. No, I don't want to be anorexic or anything like that. I am just trying to understand why it is that food has so much power over us. In our culture food is everywhere. You want to go out with your significant other, you go to dinner. You watch a movie or a TV show, you have a snack. You get together with a friend and go to lunch. You are upset you eat ice cream and chocolate. Its disgusting how much we stuff ourselves with food. We go so much further than what is needed. Then we sit around and wonder why we as Americans are fighting obesity. Its an obvious answer, we eat too much!!

I know its simple, you don't eat all the junk. Make healthier choices and eat only what your body needs and you lose weight, you typically live longer and of course a healthier life. I just don't understand why in the heck we made food such a focal point of our culture. I know I can't change the American culture and I'm not looking to. I am looking to make a lifestyle change for myself. Yet, its is so very difficult when food controls so much of our daily activities.

So, what do you do when you are constantly surrounded by the poor food choices? What do you do when you are so conditioned to eat more than you should? How do you stop the cycle? How is it that you teach yourself to be satisfied with the small well balanced meals instead of McDonalds and ice cream?

I am struggling with this sooooo much right now. I am an emotional eater, when I am happy I eat. When I am sad, I eat. When I am bored, I eat. I am trying to figure out how to break this vicious cycle. Give me your advice and input on how you stopped the madness and how you are fighting this food epidemic we are faced with everyday.

I'll be up in the gym, just workin on my fitness...

I went to the neurosurgeon on Wednesday and I got some GREAT news, my back isn't in need of immediate surgery. I was really worried about needing surgery and not being able to exercise at all. The doctor told me he wanted me to go see another doctor about steroid shots in my back and to try a chiropractor and continue the weight loss and exercise program I have started. The doctor said that these attempts at fixing the problem might help but they might not and if nothing works to give me relief then I will go back to him and consider surgery.

So right now I am trying my best to get into the gym and build strength and lose weight in hopes that this will permanently fix my back. I have gone to the gym twice since I got my membership 3 days ago. I am loving it!! Gummy Bear loves the child watch, which is making things so easy on me.

My plan is to go to the gym at least 3 times a week if not more. I love doing the group exercise classes. For me the group classes make me work out without the pressure on me to come up with my own routine. Not to mention they are just FUN!!

At the gym Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at 9 they have Zumba. I love Zumba, this white girl doesn't have any rhythm, but I love shakin what my mama gave me. Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 9 they have spinning. So 5 days a week I can get some serious cardio in with group exercise.

I am determined and ready to get healthy and I am committed to this lifestyle change. So here we go tomorrow will be my first day of Zumba there, wish me luck as I go and shake my money maker!!! :o)

I'm BAAAAACK!!!!!!!

I'm back and I'm praying I'm here to stay!!!!! I took a little time away from the Blog for some health reasons. I was having severe back pains and some female problems. I am over all the girl problems (THANK YOU JESUS!!!) I had to have a small out patient surgery done on Thursday but I am almost completely healed from that. My back is a different story, I was diagnosed with scoliosis and had an MRI done. I have multiple bulging discs and protruding checal sacks (who even knows what the means) I was told that I need to go see a neurosurgeon. I have an appointment to see a surgeon tomorrow. Although I will not be having surgery until I explore every other option (which includes losing this weight)

So I got back at it today... For part of my mothers day present I got a membership to the YMCA!!! (Thanks Honey) I was so excited to go to a gym with child care that has so much focus on family. Gummy Bear had a blast there this morning. I got to the gym and decided to go to the spinning class. Holy Toledo that was super intense!!! I was doing well to keep up for the first 35 minuets or so then I was doing everything in my power to just keep moving. I was able to move for the full hour, not to mention a 15 minuet jog before the spin class.

I am so very proud of myself. I cant believe that I did so well. Tomorrow I wont be able to go to the gym because of my doctors appointment. I will be back at it on Thursday!! My goal is to go to the gym at least 3 times a week!!! :o)

Maybe a little TMI for some people... but here is the update!!

I haven't been updating my blog and updating y'all on my lifestyle change because I am so completely discouraged. I feel as if my health is just going down the drain!!

My back has been hurting me for quite some time, I was diagnosed with scoliosis (I don't understand why it was never found this out while I was in grade school) None the less, my spine is pinching my sciatic nerve and its causing me a lot of pain. Even thru that I was walking and doing yoga which I believe in time will help. I went for an MRI yesterday, I should have the results of the test tomorrow or Monday.

Not only is my back hurting I have now been on my period for 3 weeks! (I know, its HORRIBLE) So my 3 weeks of period makes those food cravings so severe I want everything salty and everything sweet!! Not only are the food cravings intense,  all the research I have done on my conditions suggest that I stay on bed rest. Even if I wanted to stay in bed it wouldn't be possible with a 7 month old. I am so discouraged, I wont be able to go walking or do anything "active" because the chances are it will greatly increase the bleeding. I went to the doctor and they are "very concerned" with the extreme amount of blood I'm losing. They have done blood tests, cultures, and I will be having a ultrasound tomorrow. I am going to meet with the gynecologist Tuesday to go over the results of all the testing.

I feel like my health is going down the drain. I am still trying to make good food choices even though I am not able to work out, and I can tell how making healthier choices are effecting my weight. As of this morning I am at 198. Not great but at least its still going down.

Please keep me in your prayers and thoughts. There are lots of issues going on with me right now and it is so exhausting. I am anxious to start some vigorous workouts and weight training. It will just be some time until I am able to get on it like a really want to do.

Feeling Discouraged

Its been a week since I updated... and I have been avoiding it because I have been feeling overwhelmed and utterly discouraged. I have made a change in how I eat, I have been more active, yet I am not seeing the changes I want at the rate I want them. I know that I didn't put on 50lbs in a week so I shouldn't expect to see drastic changes in a week, but for some unknown reason I want to see results yesterday!!

I think that its time to step it up again. I have cut out fast foods and I have started walking 5x a week. Next thing to do, cut out everything other than water to drink. I love my cokes, I am addicted, I have cut back on them, however I am still drinking a lot of crystal light and sweet teas. I also am going to start planning out meals, so I wont be so snack-ish during the day.

Not only am I continuing to change the way that I eat but I am going to increase the amount of exercise I am getting. I will continue to walk. I have mapped out a route that is 3 miles long that I can walk every day. While Gummy Bear takes her nap during the day I will do one of my many work out videos. I have Yoga, I have Carmen Electra's Strip Tease (Hubby will love it), I have Zumba on the Kinect and also Dance Central (the humpty dance is my FAV!!!)

I'm sure my feelings of discouragement are misplaced. I have only been on this lifestyle change for a week and a half. I honestly believe that I am disgusted and disappointed in myself for letting my body get this out of control. I just need to channel my feelings into motivation to keep on going instead of allowing them to control me destiny.

What to do when...

This weekend was a rough weekend on me and my lifestyle change. On Saturday I went to the Blue Bonnet Festival. If you have ever been to a festival or carnival you know how impossible it is to eat healthy. There were nachos, funnel cakes, turkey legs, sausage on a stick, BBQ sandwiches, hot dogs, you know all the good stuff that's HORRIBLE for you! I ended up eating a BBQ sandwich and my mom got a small bag of Kettle Corn and I had some of that with her and my grandma. I think that considering my options I didn't do too badly. I had water, no cokes. (which is a HUGE deal for me)

On Sunday I went to church (I didn't have breakfast before, oops!) When I left church I was so hungry and I wanted to go run thru a fast food place. Then my sweet friend Lauren posted on my Facebook asking how my lifestyle change is going. She helped to keep me accountable and I went home and I had some meat and veggies for lunch. That evening we went to dinner for my husbands birthday. We went to a burger joint down on the Sea Wall in Galveston. I had no idea what to get there. I decided to get just a plain burger. We split an order of fried pickles between 4 people and also split a brownie delight.

Now my question is what do you do when life happens? What do you do when you go to a festival? Or its someone's birthday? I know that I could have made the choice to get a salad at the restaurant, and that was a bad decision I made. I was talking to my sister, Tiffany, this morning and she was telling me that I should take snacks with me, fruits, veggies, then I wont ever be with out food and "forced" to make an unhealthy decision. I am going to start taking healthy snacks with me when I leave the house so hopefully that helps. If you have any suggestions on what to do when life happens please let me know. :o)

I also want to thank each and every one of you for your support and encouragement. It means so much to me. This is a scary but exciting journey I am on and I appreciate you!!

Off to a good start

This morning I got up and weighed myself 199.5!!!! Whoo Hoo!!!! I can't believe how quickly the weight is coming off. Just by reducing my calorie intake and drinking lots of water!!! I am so proud of myself!! Tomorrow Gummy Bear and I are going to go to the Blue Bonnet Festival which means tons of walking, however there will be plenty of temptations with all the delicious food. I'm sure I'm going to struggle but I am determined to keep on the right track! I'll update y'all tomorrow when I get home!!!

My Goals

Since I have decided to make a life style change I have been thinking over what my goals are. I only had a long term goal but after some advice from a friend (thanks Vanessa) I have made some short term goals.

The more that I thought about the short term goals the more I believed I can actually do this. You don't wake up and say I'm going to run a marathon today if you have never run before you start out by learning then setting small goals. Running a mile, then your first 5K, 10K, half marathon, then your first marathon. It takes time and it takes conditioning.

As of right now I am not putting my self on a time line to accomplish my goals. I feel like I am taking on so much right now I don't want burn out. But I do know that my long term goal is to get to 150lbs!! That means I will lose 53lbs!!! Its a lot but I do believe I can make it. :o)

My first short term goal is to get to my pre-baby weight!! Before I got pregnant with Gummy Bear I weighed 195lbs. My first goal is only 8lbs from where I am now. I know its not a lot but you have to start somewhere.

After I get to my pre-pregnancy weight my next goal would be to get to 180lbs!! I would be about half way to my goal. YAY!!!! The next goal would be 160, my wedding weight! Then we would finally make it to 150.

A lot of people might still think that 150 is big for a young girl who is only 5'4". I'm not striving to be rail thin. I'm striving to be healthy. Not only to have a healthy body but to also have a healthy mindset.

So far, I'm off to a good start. I have been able to make healthier choices and reduce how much I am eating. Late nights aren't easy for me. I just want to snack but with the help of my supportive (and oh, so sexy) hubby I haven't indulged!

The first day of the rest of my life...

The first thing I did this morning when I woke up was weigh myself. I wanted to see exactly how much I weigh... 203!!!! There was not a bit of clothing on me... I am trying to make that number as low as possible.

Well now we know where I stand. I am not sure exactly what to eat so I have been doing some research. I have heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Which sucks for me because I HATE eating breakfast!! I also know that I need to drink a lot of water, not such a bad thing but cutting out my 4-5 Diet Cokes a day is going to be rough.

I know that all these changes will be hard but I am conditioning myself to be healthier. I need to view my weight loss the same way I viewed smoking. I quit because I wanted to be around for a long time. I want to grow old with my husband, I didn't want to get lung cancer, I wanted to be able to go for walks with him with out feeling like I was going to collapse because I couldn't breathe, I wanted to not stink. Now all the same things apply to weight loss. I want to lose weight because I want to be healthy. I want to live a long life and get to watch our daughter grow up and I want to grow old with my husband. I don't want medical problems such as diabetes, heart problems, cholesterol problems etc. I want to enjoy going out and doing active things with my family. I want to look in the mirror and think, "Dang I look GOOD!!!"

So the plan is, Gummy Bear (our daughter) and I are going to go to the grocery store and get some healthy food. I will get things to make smoothies for breakfast, and get easy to make but healthy lunch items. I will make sure to get lots of fresh fruits and veggies for snacks!!! After all our grocery shopping Gummy Bear and I will go for a long walk... I might even try to run some.

So here I go on the first day of the rest of my life!!!!

What the heck is this blog about????

Hey y'all. My name is Tabitha. I am a 24 year old mother and wife. I live in the Houston area (GO TEXANS!!!!) and am ready to make a change in my life!!!

I have struggled with weight for quite some time now. My husband and I got married in August of 2009. When we got married I was 160lbs. For me, at that time, I was HUGE. I didn't exercise I smoked a pack a day and I never saw that I was starting on a slippery slope to not being active. I no longer smoke (been tobacco free for 1 year 8 months Whoot Woot) but I am still not active.

After my husband and I got married we moved to Flagstaff AZ. I like to blame a lot of my weight gain on my husbands family. When we moved to Flag we lived with my in laws, this gringa ate so much amazing authentic Mexican food it is unreal! I know its not my in-laws fault for me refusing to watch now much I ate, but goodness maybe things wouldn't be so bad if they were bad cooks (just kidding, I would have found the food somewhere else)

I continued to gain weight over the course of the next 2 and a half years then I found out I was pregnant in January of 2012 I weighed 195lbs, and still was not active. Since my body wasn't used to a lot of exercise I wasn't able to safely exercise while I was pregnant. I walked a lot but there was no weight training, cardio, or anything other than walking around the mall. Not only was I unable to exercise I continued to eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. I used the baby as an excuse to eat any and everything.

When I gave birth to our beautiful baby girl in September 2012 I was 215lbs. Since September I haven't exercised, watched what I ate or made a change. I am now at 205lbs. While all this weight gain has gone on I have done absolutely nothing to change it, yet I will sit in front of the mirror with so much hate for myself and how I have let myself go.

So now its April 2013, its time for a change and I am sticking to it. I want to feel sexy again. I want to be healthy. I want to set an example for my daughter on what a positive self esteem is like. So, this blog is an account of my struggles, of my goals, of my victories in weight loss and a healthy life style!! Feel free to comment. I need your help to keep me accountable!!! :o)