thenewdeal

Hey all! I’m so excited! I’ve been wanting to take a Zumba class for a really long time and now I’m going to! 

I recruited a few of my co-workers and we’re signing up for the spring session at our local YMCA! It runs for 8 weeks and (though it’s only one night a week,)  it’s going to be such a blast!!!

 For those of you that aren’t familiar with Zumba, it’s a high energy dance-based cardio and toning routine set to infectious Latin music! I LOVE to dance - this is going to be fabulous!

I’ll be sure to write an update after classes have started!

Live long and ZUMBA!

 LP

“(S)he who has health has hope, and (s)he who has hope has everything.”

What a lovely mantra to start 2009 with.

The beginning of a new year brings resolutions of losing weight, being a certain size, and breaking those bad food habits. I have but one resolution for 2009: to be HEALTHY.

For me, health is much more than the physical condition of my body and its organs; my version of health is all-inclusive. It is as important to be mentally and spiritually healthy as it is to be physically healthy.  

I spout about being “hot” for my sister’s October wedding, but what I really want more than anything is to be confident in my gown and to have the ability to dance the night away and not be a sweaty, breathless mess with aching feet after the first two dance songs at the reception.

So, I have a lot of goals to set and attain in the coming year and I’m looking forward to 2009 and hope that you are all off to a great start!

LP

My sister and her fiance finally set an official date for their wedding! YAY! So, I need to be lookin’ fine in my maid of honor gown in 10 1/2 months!

What do you think? I’m ready… I just hope the world is! haha Watch out, ya’ll… LP has arrived!

I couldn’t be more excited for my sister! We have a lot of planning to do and it’s going to be so much fun! She’s looking to lose some weight, too, before the wedding, so you might just see her here one of these days (I’ve told her about how fantastic all of you are)!

I need your help! So keep the support and encouragement coming! Thanks everyone!

 LP

My favorite aunt, Marilyn, passed away last Friday following a brief illness with colon cancer.

Now, I can’t seem to keep my act together. I have been doing a lot of emotion eating for the last few weeks and I think I’ve gained back five of the thirteen pounds I had lost. It’s so hard for me to make appropriate food choices (and portion choices) when I’m stressed and depressed!!! 

I could eat a bag of pretzles, 14 dozen cookies, a bagel, and wash it all down with a 2-liter bottle of Pepsi and a gallon of Freckled Lemonade and still not be satified.

So, tonight I’m going to get on my elliptical and max out for at least a half hour in hopes of feeling better.

TTYS, Buddies

 LP

Happy Post-Thanksgiving weekend, all! Hope you all had a great holiday/holiday weekend!

I did well by not eating a metric ton of food, but I made up for it with my alcohol consumption! I’m not a big drinker, but spending time with people in my age group usually involves conversation over a few beers (there isn’t much else to do after 9pm in my rural community). I should drink diet coke with a moderate amount of rum, but I enjoy a frosty full-bodied 300 calorie beer much, MUCH more. Can I mention that my new love affair with good beer is quite untimely? Why can’t I like MGD 64 instead?! haha

Anyway, the moral of the story is that I’m skipping my weigh-in this week. Heck, it’s the holiday season, right? When I get on the scale on Friday I am hoping to have at least maintained what I lost pre-Thanksgiving.

 You know what? I ate what I wanted, I drank what I wanted, I enjoyed myself with my friends and family. I have no regrets and I haven’t fallen off the wagon.

Amazing.

See you all next week! Take care

 LP

Well, that didn’t take me too long… I purchased an elliptical today! It’s a really highly rated compact model that I’m hoping to fall in love with.

My goal is to go to continue to go to Curves at least three days a week for a lovely 45 minute strength training/cardio combo and I would like to add an hour of cardio most days of the week when I get my fabulous new elliptical.

 They are lofty goals, but they are going to produce really great results!

 I’m so excited and I can’t wait to get my new piece of equipment! YAY!

 Apparently, week number one went a lot better than I thought it had. I lost 5 pounds!

 However, because of my job I’m finding it hard to get to Curves to work out before they close in the evening. When I don’t work out, I don’t feel mentally prepared to not stuff my face. That being said, I think I might invest in a piece of home gym equipment.

I’ve been wanting an elliptical for a few years, so I might go that route. Does anyone have suggestions for elliptical models that work well for heavier people? (The gym-quality ones are nice, but not exactly affordable - I don’t have $3,000 to spend!) I prefer something with magnetic resistance and a medium to long stride length.

Other than that, though, I feel fantastic! Life is good. I have tons of energy and I’m looking forward to week number two!

Loves!

 LP

What?  

Three-Hundred and Ninety-Eight?

I’m 24 and I weigh 400 pounds? *gasp* How can this be?

I am large structured by nature, heavy by nurture, but totally fat by lack of self control.

Hell, I have a sweet tooth large enough to scare off a pack of wolverines, three cougars, and a grizzly.

How is it that I weigh 400 pounds, but don’t feel like a person that weighs 400 pounds? (How does a person that weighs 400 pounds feel???) I am energetic, have a broad social group, I go out and flirt and have fun, and generally love and enjoy life. I often look in the mirror and see a total hottie!

However, there is no amount of self esteem that can ignore the fact that I am at a dangerous weight health-wise. I have both a strong cardiac history and cancer risk in my family: not good.

So, I need to get my act together and I need your support!

Thanks for joining me on my journey. This is day number one.

Loves!

LP