It’s been six months since I scribbled “Lose twenty pounds–and I mean it this time!” on my New Year’s Resolution list. And I did mean it. I really, really wanted to lose the weight. For Christmas I’d asked for the Insanity workout DVDs. What was my husband going to say to that? That was one of the first packages I opened.
Starting January 2nd, I followed the program nearly every day. I invited my sisters-in-law to work out with me. I ate healthy and drank water. I felt better than ever–until I stepped onto the scale that first month. And groaned.
How do you gain weight while on the Insanity program?
I did it for four months–four freaking months!–and lost two pounds. My friends and family tried to reason with me, saying things like, “Don’t worry, you’ve gained muscle,” and “It’s worth it if you’re healthier, right?” I put on a smile and shrugged, but deep inside I felt that lifelong hatred of my body flare stronger than ever.
That, and the fact that my husband stopped eating chocolate at work. And lost ten pounds.
Yeah. Seriously.
Anyway, I gave up for awhile. The two pounds I’d worked so hard for disappeared and I added a few more. Something needed to be done. So I did a little research and talked to some friends, and decided to scrape up our savings and do an expensive food program called Medifast. We could only afford a month, so I HAD to stick to it. And stick to it I did. My five-week program is nearly over, and I’ve lost fifteen pounds. I worked for every single freaking one of those pounds, mind you. It wasn’t easy. There were times I felt so water-logged I worried about drowning my insides, and there were times that I felt so hungry I felt like a panting dog, eyeing my kids’ crumbs as they got scraped into the garbage.
But I did it. Something finally worked.
I’ve learned something about myself this month. I used to think food was a right, or a reward. I was always a “live to eat” person rather than an “eat to live” person. But as a thirty-something mom with three kids, I just can’t eat that way anymore. It’s not that I can’t enjoy food–it’s that I need to enjoy less of it, and the right kinds of it. I’ll never be like my sisters, who can eat all day and never gain weight. And you know what? That’s okay. I know what works for my body now. Small meals, more often, and lots of water and vegetables. Less starch, sugar, flour, etc. More protein.
It’s something I could have done on my own, without having to pay hundreds of dollars for dehydrated food packets. Duh. I was an expensive lesson to learn. But it’s something I’ll keep doing, for my sake and for my family’s.
Now, excuse me while I dump those Insanity DVDs into the trash.
How are your New Year’s Resolutions going? Is there something that worked for you?
rodewayoflife 
My exercise goal for the year was to exercise once a week. I’m horrible at exercising and I don’t like it much. They say not to make unattainable goals so once a week was better than what I was doing. I didn’t even start until April. One thing that really helped me was prayer. I prayed one day saying I really need to exercise for my health please please give me the desire to do it. I started doing it and sometimes it is only once a week but it has been more often. I’m learning to like the sweat and the pain. I’ve learned that no I don’t want to exercise on some nights but I need to so I don’t think about it and do it. I have not gone on a diet but I have been eating less of stuff and not eating some stuff. I think ok I want some of the dessert later so I will only eat one piece of pizza. I have lost a couple of pounds so far but get discouraged because my belly is my bad area and I don’t think it has gone down even an 1/8 of an inch. Oh well I guess I’ll keep plugging along!
My New Year’s Resolution was not to make any New Year’s Resolutions. Ironically, it’s the only one I’ve ever managed to stick to.