Saturday, September 4, 2010

Taking the Plunge!

Deep breath, Kendall....

Hi!  I'm Kendall!

As the title suggests, starting a Healthy Living blog is quite literally like taking a plunge into a very deep pool.

Or, more accurately, doing a backwards somersault, off a cliff, into shark-infested waters!  So yeah, I'm a little nervous.  But I'm getting ahead of myself, here.  Let me Begin at the Beguine.

My weight loss story:

Short version...I used to weigh 196 lbs.  Almost two years later, I weigh 127 lbs.

Long version...

I first started gaining weight my freshman year of high school.  Bad eating habits developed in middle school (my first taste of the a la carte line) carried over to high school, where the selection of bad foods was MUCH larger.  Most days, lunch consisted of a burger (chicken/beef) or popcorn chicken and french fries or a big bagel with cream cheese and a yogurt.  I also drank at least two 20 oz. fruit juices from a vending machine daily.  I didn't exercise.  Out-and-out refused to walk the mile home from school because it just wasn't cool!  I promise I was hardly ever that girl, but I put my foot down about walking.

I gained about 30 pounds through high school.  My highest weight then was about 175 lbs.  I'm about 5'8", so things could've been a lot worse...unfortunately, they did.  Get worse, that is!

Enter college and my first job.  College wasn't really the issue.  I went to a local college close to school and lived at home.  A job meant that I finally had disposable income and I spent a lot of money on dinners/lunches/breakfasts/snacks/desserts/whatever with friends and family.  My father and I would "treat" ourselves to lunch at McDonalds or a local Chinese restaurant at least once a week. I ate out with friends ALL THE TIME!  Growing up, my family didn't eat out much at all.  Money was tight and my mom's a vegetarian.  Elsewhere, this doesn't limit dining options.  In central Maine, it surely does.  When we did eat out - maybe a half dozen times a year - it was an uber treat.  So I had money and I was pumped to do this thing that before had only been a rare occurrence.  I went overboard.

One day, I decided to hop on the scale in my school's bathroom.  I never got on the scale at home.  It was older than I was, so I told myself that it could hardly be depended upon to gauge my weight after all these years.  Yeah, denial much?!  So I'm standing on this digital scale in a school bathroom.  Shoes off.  Praying that someone else doesn't walk in.  The number finally stopped and levelled out at 196 lbs.

196 lbs...That's almost 200 lbs!

196 lbs...That means, according to standard BMI charts, I'm ALMOST obese!

Then and there, I decided to do something about this!  I wish I could remember that moment as the hallmark that it was, but I surely remember the days, weeks, months, and now years to follow. 

I worked my butt off.  I started exercising in secret, in my bedroom.  I'm sure my parents thought I was having a nervous breakdown.  Hours locked in my room after work and between classes.  Mysterious jumping, dropping weights, and exclamations of "Oh, shit!"  Sweating.  Heavy breathing.  Whatever they thought, they kept a tight lid on it.  I finally had the courage to tell them what was going on after I'd lost 30 lbs...about 6 or 7 months later!

Wrapping this up, in the end I lost nearly 70 pounds.  Never joined a gym.  The jury is still out on whether I ever will.  Some days I think it would add some spice to my life.  Other days, I feel like i wouldn't go enough to make it worth it.  My "food philosophy" has changed over time.  I ditched all soda and juice (and most milk) in favor of water.  I don't eat any fast food and I stopped eating Lean Cuisine and other diet foods in favor of healthy, whole foods.

So's that's the gist of all this!

Come back soon for an update on what's going on with me now!

How does tomorrow work for you?!

Before
I chose this picture because the angle is SO supremely unforgiving!

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