Moving Around More

Last Friday, I wrote that I'd indulged a bit on Thanksgiving and that I needed to move around a bit more to make up for that. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself because that's exactly what I ended up doing. On Friday/Saturday, I spent three or four hours cleaning and putting up Christmas decorations, which I followed with a mile-long walk with my dog. On Sunday, I took a two hour bike ride, which I enjoyed in spite of the freezing temperature. My eyes were actually watering from the blistery wind, but hey, it wasn't too bad because I got to see some pretty sights along the way. 

Ice is starting to form on the lake.

The ice isn't very thick yet, but brrr!

Anyway, I figured I should try to get some good cycling in before it gets too cold outside. I haven't cycled much since summer, and I could definitely feel the difference in my legs. I'm also much slower than I used to be, but oh well. It's supposed to be more temperate later this week, so I hope to get another ride in soon. My goal is to walk/run for a half an hour three or four days a week and to go cycling for at least an hour once or twice a week. When it gets too cold to go cycling, my plan is to start the Couch to 5K Running Program. 

In my last post, I also wrote that I was nervous about getting on the scale this week. While my official weigh-in isn't until Wednesday, I cheated and weighed myself yesterday. To my delight, I weighed 174.4, which means I've actually lost a half a pound since Thanksgiving. Yay!

Thanksgiving

For many people trying to lose weight, Thanksgiving can be a challenging holiday. I was really worried that I'd overeat and sabotage my diet. I ate a lot (more than I probably should have), but I think I managed to avoid going completely overboard. I plan on moving around a bit more than I usually would over the next few days to (hopefully) make up for my indulgences. I hope stepping on the scale next week won't be too scary. 

Other than that, though, I had a nice Thanksgiving with my family, and if anyone else is reading this, I hope you had a nice holiday, too. 

Getting Started

This is my first official blog entry, and I'm not quite sure how I should begin. I should probably introduce myself, huh? My name is Jen, and I'm twenty-eight years old. To be honest, I'm really ashamed of my weight, so I don't plan on revealing my full name or posting any photographs of my progress -- at least not yet, anyway. Yes, I know that's pretty lame, but I feel very, very self-conscious. If other people read this blog, that's fine by me, but if no one does, I'm perfectly fine with that as well. That said, you're more than welcome to come along for the ride. I'm writing primarily as a way to keep track of my progress, and I plan on writing updates at least twice weekly.

Anyway, I started gaining weight about three years ago. For most of my life, I was really thin. Some would even say I was underweight at one point. From fourteen to twenty-three, my average weight was between 105-110 lbs. I'm 5'3", so needless to say, I had a pretty enviable figure. In 2007, I was around 120 lbs., which I didn't mind, but by 2008, I weighed between 130-135 lbs., which was pretty upsetting to me at the time. Over the course of a few months in 2008, I was successful in losing ten pounds, but over the winter of 2009, I gained it back with interest. By April of 2009, I was up to 150 lbs., which completely devastated me. To make a long story short, as of today, I weigh 175 lbs. That's completely unacceptable to me; that's something that I desperately need to change, hence my decision to start this blog. I have several fitness goals, but from a weight loss perspective, I'd like to get back down to 120 lbs. I'd especially like to be down to at least 140 lbs. by July 1, 2011, so stay tuned.