This section of the website is about tracking my progress. One thing that’s really important when you are trying to change is to make yourself accountable, and this is my way of doing that. Once a month I will be posting an update of my progress – both in terms of weight-loss, and in terms of other achievements in my quest for a healthier and happier lifestyle.
The purpose of this journal is not only to share updates and achievements with my readers, but also to hold myself accountable and track my progress on a personal level. Part of the MedAsian Diet’s philosophy is to do be accountable to yourself by keeping a journal – mine just happens to be public!
My Journey – an Introduction
I reached THAT point. You know that point. The point in your life when you finally have had enough. Enough of clothes not fitting. Enough of eating when you aren’t actually hungry. When you sit down to watch your favorite TV show and before you know it you have eaten a whole bag of chips. That point for me was when I stood in front of a full length mirror completely naked and saw how I really looked, and I mean how I REALLY looked.
I saw pasty white skin. A protruding belly. When I looked down I could no longer see parts of my body. I saw the beginnings of fat below my belly. In my youth I had jokingly called it a “front butt.” Now the joke was on me – and I wasn’t laughing any longer. Actually, I was trying to fight the tears welling up in my eyes. I felt so disgusting. I decided right then that I didn’t want to feel like this anymore. I finally reached MY point.
I asked myself “How am I going to reverse this? Can I?” To be honest I am a lazy person and a procrastinator extraordinaire. Then came the “ I can’t do it. It’s too hard.” Then several days later while still telling myself that losing the weight was too hard I had another thought. I have done this before and it was just a few months ago.
In September of 2017 my husband Justin and I spent 10 wonderful days in the Mediterranean regions France and Spain. We ate whatever we wanted, had ice cream and pastries as snacks every day. I had dessert with dinner every night. I was on vacation so I could do whatever I wanted. We also walked just about everywhere we went. When I got home I was surprised to see that I had lost five pounds!
Thinking back on this I realized I can have my cake and eat it too. That is to say I can have a small piece of cake and after dinner take a nice 20 minute walk around my neighborhood. I can have that chocolate croissant for breakfast as long as I find some exercises to do in the mornings. I started to realize that I can do this. It will take some effort and planning but it can be done. I decided that I was going to live my life like I was back in the Mediterranean. I would eat what I wanted, but in reasonable portions. I would exercise regularly but not obsessively ( I hate exercise by the way). I would find ways of getting exercise that I didn’t consider punishment.
One thing about diets that I have always hated is that they seem so restrictive and you can only eat certain things. I love mediterranean food but can I only eat that forever?? I mean I love chinese, Japanese, and Thai food as well. Then something clicked in my mind. I reached for my phone and started googling aspects of the Asian diet. What I found is that the
Asian and Mediterranean diets had a lot in common. I started to get really excited and motivated. So far I have a plan for the food, but what about the exercise part??
I hate exercise, but I know in order to lose weight I have to do some form of exercise. What exercises did I enjoy? I love hiking and taking walks with my husband and our dog Ella. I am interested in yoga. I also knew that I needed to raise my heart rate to help burn fat and also find some exercises that can strengthen my core. I grabbed by phone again and started another google search. I found beginner yoga poses, and some core exercises that didn’t include sit ups. I also learned that at age 40 I needed to start with weights to help with strength training. I devised my own 12 minute exercise regime to do in the mornings to start my day.
So I am going to start this journey on January 1st 2018. I’m sure I will stumble and probably fall along the way, but I know I’ll get right back up and continue. I want to reach that point that I see in my future. The point in my life where I am healthy, my desired weight, and have my body look the way I want it to. I hope you join me on my journey, and that I can inspire you to go on your own journey.