This is the hard part...

This is where the rush of "willpower" and the thrill of starting something new starts to wear off! Ha! Now kicks in determination and the goal.

Whole grain cereal with 2% milk for breakfast. More UberSalad for lunch - man that is good stuff! Dinner was roasted chicken with UberSalad, and fresh fruit and low-fat yogurt smoothie for dessert. My 10-year-old was delighted to learn that we bought a blender. She calls it the smoothie maker.

Smoothies:
Banana
Low-fat yogurt (any flavor, but watch the sugar!)
Handful of strawberries, fresh or frozen
Shot of fruit juice of your choice
Some ice

Grind to consistency of your choice (I like 'em kinda chunky)
Pour
Spoon :)

Delightful

Lots of water today, probably 6 12-ouncers. Only two diet sodas (bleagh).

(Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Dr. Phil, I am not selling his book, and I am not making any money by referencing his work here on my blog. I don't really even like Dr. Phil, but he sometimes makes sense. End Disclaimer.) I was reading in Dr. Phil's book "Ultimate Weight Solution" about the Readiness Profile. You gotta wanna, basically. So he gives a short little test to see if you're ready to lose weight or not. Some of the questions/scenarios are interesting to me.

Quote: "I am ready to eat differently even if it hurts my family's or my friends' feelings, or causes conflict." ( Copyright 2003 by Phillip C. McGraw - with all due respect and legal citations to his website - http://www.drphil.com/articles/article/460/) (you can even take the Readiness Quiz yourself there!)

Why in the world would it hurt anyone's feelings if I eat differently than they do? It would have to be a real manipulative control freak to give a fat person a hard time about changing how they eat. Are people really like this?

Quote: "I am ready to temporarily give up any friends who do not totally support me and who may wish to sabotage my weight-management efforts."

Quote: "I am willing to change my job, if necessary, to become healthier and manage my weight better."

Wow! That's a hard one. I sit at a desk pretty much all day. I've actually gained about 30 pounds since I started working at this place. Maybe I really should consider this question. But then, how would I support myself? This would go over really great, don't you think? "Boss? Um, I was just getting ready to get busy on my weight-loss program? And there's this section where, uh, I'm supposed to quit my job if it's making me fat... What do you think?" Here's where I show him my tons of flab (like he can't see it already). Yeah. That's gonna work.

But how can I change that part of my lifestyle to fit into my new goals for health? This will take some thought...

Abysmally Dismal!

Honestly, I can't believe I'm posting this on a public, world-wide venue. But if I'm going to keep it real and honest, I have to start out with the bitter, no-holds-barred truth.

Okay, here goes with my abysmally dismal numbers from Day One:

Weight: (gasp!) 253.0 (choke... wheeze...somebody call an ambulance...!)

Measurements (in inches):
Neck 16
Upper Chest 42
Lower Chest 39.5
Waist (at navel) 43
Butt (at widest) 55

Left Bicep 16 Right Bicep 16.5
Left Forearm 12 Right Forearm 12
Left Thigh 30 Right Thigh 31.5
Left Knee 21 Right Knee 21.75
Left Calf 20.5 Right Calf 20.25
Left Ankle 11 Right Ankle 11

I'm 47 years old and 5' 5" tall. Do you understand the concept of "abysmal" and "dismal"? Both words end in "mal" which in most languages means BAD. (Mal-nourished, mal-adjusted, mal-content, etc. Got it? It's BAD.)

I didn't exercise this morning because I was up until 1:00 a.m. messing with this blog. I'll start that tomorrow.

Breakfast consisted of one scrambled egg (non-stick pan), one slice of whole-grain toast with one tsp. of real butter (sorry, I don't do transfats) and 8 oz of 2% milk. (In a dang rush because I was up late with this blog.)

Lunch was terrific - UberSalad! Red bell peppers, lettuce, avocado, tomato, black olives, and lo-carb bleu cheese dressing. Oh, and little green onions. Yumm!

In between is lots of water. I do (sadly) drink those stupid diet sodas, also, even though I know they are not good for anything.

Day One Rating: So far so good.

It Takes Planning

One thing we've discovered after several (unsuccessful) attempts at modifying weight is that it takes planning. We can't just decide on a whim to start a diet. There has to be a supply of healthy food on hand, for instance; meal planning; contingency planning; a little research into restaurant food nutrition (practically every mainstream restaurant has a website now). We must "suck it up" and actually WEIGH ourselves and MEASURE our FLAB in order to have a reference point for future weight loss comparisons. (No using the fake weight on your driver's license as a starting point! C'mon - we know you lied about it. 'Fess up. )

So what have we done this time that makes it so different from all the other (unsuccessful) weight modification attempts?

Well, there is actually healthy food in the house. All stashes of unhealthiness lying in wait for secret binge moments has been rooted out and TOSSED in the TRASH where it BELONGS. We have containers for packing lunches and snacks. We have healthy recipes and tips from several different sources. We have purchased a small log book for recording weekly weigh-ins and measurements. We are infused with a quiet determination that is far removed from the emotional roller coaster of so-called "will-power!"

We have made it public - here and in our local circle of friends and acquaintances. We have a sympathetic ear to listen when we are having stressful times.

We are accessing our Higher Power for help - and making sure to report back on our progress. We are treating this as an addiction problem because, in many ways, it is: Addiction to sugar, to comfort foods, to the feeling of euphoria that often comes with the satiation of appetite. No, we are not using any 12-step program.

Details will be revealed as we go along.

Introducing - Flab 2 Fabulous!

Greetings!

So, here goes ~ My years as "Flab" are now over. I'm going from FLAB to FABULOUS. And I'm going to do it in public, right here before your very eyes. No surgery, no cosmetic tricks; just simple life changes that will include better diet and a little exercise (more and better as we go along).

This is not an advertisement for anything. I'm not selling the latest hype or deception.

I'm just going to change my life. And I want to make it public to create some accountability and answerability (if that's a word) to the world at large.

It will probably take a long time, because I have a LOT of flab. I have years and years of bad habits to overcome. I'll be posting pics and activity and history as we go forward. I'm hoping to inspire a few people along the way, and I hope folks will share their inspiring stories to pass along to others.

Starting first thing in the morning, my life as I've known it for many years is about to shift gears. Whether you are cheering me or mocking me, I'm doing it anyway. Your opinion, frankly, doesn't matter. I'm doing this for *me*.

So.

Here goes....!