Phase One

Today is Mike and my anniversary.  Negative one year.  I'm excited.

Until I remember that in approximately a years time I will have a lot of photographs taken of me.

Yikes.

I currently weigh more than I ever have in my life.  None of my clothes fit me.  And I get sweaty and exhausted with the slightest physical activity.  All of this is leaving me feeling decidedly un-bridal and more than a little pathetic.  Therefore, I will be starting the "Better Life Diet" Phase One.

I know, I know.  You are not supposed to go on a crazy crash diet before your wedding.  Diets have a tendency to make brides-to-be even more crazy and controlling than they already are.  Which is why I am not going on a crazy crash diet.  I have one year to loose weight at a slow, healthy pace by making changes in the kinds of foods I eat, how much I eat and by increasing my physical activity.

Let me tell you a little something about me and diets.  I hate them.  My answer to diets in the past had been that life was just too short to not eat the cookie/bagel/delicious-but-nutritiously-lacking-treat.  (I deserve it!)  I also was confident that people who followed strict diets are probably a zillion times more miserable living with all those restrictions then I am being overweight.

My answer to both of my previous serious objections is the same.  I'm making these changes in order to take (better) care of myself.

Life is too short to always be hot and tired/to be worried about having high blood pressure in my twenties/to feel awkward and uncomfortable when people look at me.  I want to feel strong, healthy and beautiful.

And not be ashamed of wanting to feel strong, healthy and beautiful.  ...  I have feminist baggage about caring about the way I look.  I must keep repeating to myself that I want to make these changes for me.  Not my friends.  Not society.  Me.

I will think of eating healthfully as a way to honor and nurture myself instead of as restricting/torturing myself.  This is absolutely an opportunity for me to feel better physically and mentally.  I'm excited, motivated, and ready to go.

Since one of my pet peeves is people always talking about their diets, (I think it should be up there with religion, politics and money as topics avoided in polite company) I will not be talking much about my diet on the blog.  I will however be checking back about this in four weeks when it is time to weigh in, check in, and possibly move onto phase two.

Have any of you decided to tackle better health lately?  Do you need a wake up call (like a looming wedding) to get you started?

~Claire Out