The First Day of the Rest of My Life

I've had many first days when it comes to my weight loss struggles. Many diets have come and gone and I've lost weight (up to 40 lbs at one point) and gained it all back plus some. I'm at my heaviest weight ever. As of this morning 280.66 lbs. I can't tell you how frightening that number is. But 250 was frightening too, as were many other numbers. But I've passed them by. But today is different. I've got resolve. I've got determination. I've also got this blog. As many different weight loss techniques that I've tried I've never really tried talking about my feelings and allowing myself to be fully and brutally honest. This is my safe place to do that. With everything but my name and identity. In order to truly be honest I feel the need to hide my face. For here and for now I am the Fat Sister.

I have seven sisters, and of the seven I've always been the fattest. Not that they are fat, none of them are. I outweigh all of them by at least 100 lbs. But I'm betting closer to 125-130 lbs. I've always started with a goal in mind, a specific number that I want to get to. But this time my goal is my health. I know the magic number is somewhere under 200 lbs. Probably closer to 150, but when I put it in numerical terms it seems so completely and totally overwhelming.

On my paternal side both grandparents, both aunts and an uncle have type two diabetes. There are also cholesterol problems, heart problems, and blood pressure problems. I have children that I need to live for. At the age of 29 I'm too young to be this fat. I don't currently have serious health problems. My blood pressure has always been low. I don't have diabetes. But I do have migraines and back problems. My knees and feet hurt a lot- mostly because of the weight put on them I would guess.

The plan this time is baby steps. A process of small lifestyle changes and incrementally taking it to the next level so that I don't get overwhelmed and quit. My husband is joining me in this journey, although he doesn't know about this blog at the moment- that may change. He wants to lose about 25-30 lbs. His doctor is concerned about his blood pressure and has encouraged him to do this as well. But my journey needs to continue far longer then his. I need to be able to keep our diet changes going so that it's our regular routine.

The most dramatic steps are starting today. After two weeks I'll be adding stuff.
The current goals:
1. Drink more water- minimum 64 ounces a day- I'm aiming for 3 refills of my 32 oz cup
2. Exercise 5 times a week- this may sound like a lot, but I'm counting 15 minutes as exercise, rather then trying to exercise for an hour 5 times a week. I want to make the frequency a habit, and when I need/want more focus on changing the duration rather then the frequency.
3. Modified South Beach Phase 1- Meals are lean meats, veggies (non starchy) and fruits. For the next two weeks no carbs. Sugars are eliminated completely (except for those naturally occurring in fruits and veggies.) Low fat dairy is also included.
4. Honesty is the best policy- I'm blogging daily about weight loss struggles that I face. I'll be baring my soul- and my gut. Pictures coming soon. Weigh ins weekly, pictures monthly along with measurements.