My Journey to Vibrant – Day 1

 (Note: I have changed the title of my quest from “road” to “journey” as I think I will be travelling a few different paths to get where I need to be)

Finally, it is here! After two weeks of putting it off due to health concerns, I am ready to start this quest.

And what a way to start – I am a full seven pounds lighter than I was two weeks ago when I did my initial weigh in. Saturday was the first time that I made my goal of 5,000 walking steps (a Costco trip helped) per day.

So, what are my goals?

In the area of weight, my first goal is to lose another 34 pounds, which would put me under the 200-pound level. Yes, I don’t mind sharing my weight. After all, this blog is to keep me accountable even more than it is to share the journey. I don’t care how fast or slow this goes, as long as I don’t go back up. Once I reach that goal, I will decide how much further I want to go.

My diet is actually well suited to losing weight. I have to watch my fat intake for my liver and cholesterol, have already cut out refined sugars for the most part, and have a small stomach which wants less food more often. I will be sharing my new eating habits as I go.

The first item of note is my fruit and greens smoothie hubby makes me every morning. It is a good size that I usually have it 3 times during the day. I have been having this particular blend for awhile now and I believe it has contributed to my initial weight loss. The drink contains mixed power greens, banana, frozen fruit (berries and mango), and coconut milk. It is a very good way to start off my morning!

Along with the weight, I want to become more active and fit. I can not do all the normal exercises and apparatus that make this easier; however, I have a pretty good arsenal for my own personal boot camp! LOL

• I have an exercise bike which I can ride a few minutes at a time before my knee gets sore. If I do this a few times a day I know I will be able to increase the times.
• I have a chair gym. It is a simple folding chair with arm and leg pullies and a sturdy base for my feet. I have only used it with exercises I know; however today will be the first using the stretching DVD.
• As mentioned, I want to walk.It maybe just in the house, taking Violet for a walk in the grass behind us, doing a few trips to the recycling bins or touring Costco.
• We have a mini hot-tub in the back yard. It is an inflatable model that doesn’t have seats built in so I can just walk circles in it. It only comes to just above the knee; however, I see it helping me to ease back in so I can go back to the pool and walk in deeper water.

I am going to take all this slowly and I will not be afraid to back up if pain or other symptoms increase. This is for my health so there is no point in making that worse.

The third area I want to keep on top of is my emotional health. I don’t want this all to become a chore because I know from experience that just sets up failure. I want to keep it fun and positive. My faith comes in here as I keep my mind focused on the positive reasons for doing this. God loves me the way that I am (so does Hubby) so I have nothing to prove. The goal is to find a healthier me, not a more beautiful one.

I will try to check in at least every Monday with the previous week’s progress.

So, on to day one!

Lydia!