Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Why I Became Overweight

In Response to Sheila's "Why I Am Fat Wednesday" post...

1. Because I love junk food. I don't keep it in my house for the most part, but when I am at work, I get hungry (or maybe not even hungry, but the urge to eat strikes more often than not) and the VENDING MACHINE is way to convenient. I will grab Peanut M&Ms, M&M Cookies, Cherry Licorice Bites, Cupcakes (yeah, they took those out of the machine)...

2. Pop's were too convenient to buy out of the vending machines at work. Water selection always tended to be empty when I wanted water... and I never thought about taking my own bottles to work. Before Coke & Pepsi switched their Diet Drinks to Aspartame, I had no choice but to drink Regular Pop as I got migraine headaches with the NutraSweet

3. Working Full time... I gained 10 lbs the first summer after graduating High School... not a big deal, it was still within my healthy weight by Doctor Standards. I was very physically active as a teenager in high school, so never gained weight no matter how much I ate. I also went to college full time. I rarely ate at home since I was in school all morning/early afternoon and worked 3:15-11:15 every night. I ate mostly out of the cafeteria in college and fried foods from the Deli at work. I worked as a Cashier in a grocery store, so only physical activity, if you want to call it at, was grabbing groceries and scanning them across the scanner...

4. Lack of Physical Activities... same as in #3. Working full time and going to school full time left me no time to work out... Before graduating HS, I used to run track, march in the band, and was physically active at home riding bikes, gardening (we had several HUGE gardens to tend too all summer long), or when I was with my Dad in FL, we spent the summer swimming and water skiing.

5. High Risk Pregnancy. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I was put on bed rest when at 1 month... total bed rest at 4 months due to my High Blood Pressure and Incompetent Cervix. Most physical activity I got was learning to knit and crochet and working my cross stitch.

6. Lack of Motivation... "No one to work out with me" I tend to better when I have a partner to go to the gym with me.

"Stress at home"... hubby and I have had a really rough marriage. My husband went through some major bouts of depression and turned to alcohol. Being from a family where both my dad and step-father drank heavily, I took it really hard. I NEVER wanted to be in a marriage where my husband was a heavy drinker. I basically hibernated in my bedroom, addicted to my Internet and my friends online that I could vent my stresses with...

7. Mindless Eating... I would eat food without even thinking about it. If it was there, I would eat it. Did not worry about how it was going to effect my health in the long run.

AND NOW... What have I learned from all of the above...

1. Eating healthier... Fruits, cheese/crackers, nuts, granola bars, trail mixes. Choosing salads over high calorie foods when I do eat out or grilled chicken over fried.

2. Switch to Diet Pepsi... once they switched the formula to Aspartame, I could drink the diet. I cut back on the intake though as I continually felt bloated, constipated, and just plain blah after drinking large amounts. I drink alot of water now. Even when we eat out, it's usually water with a lemon slice. At home, we installed a water filter on my kitchen sink to give me no excuse for not drinking water. (I hated all tap water... always tasted like dirt to me )

3. I no longer work behind a cash register. I work a physically demanding job so I do get a workout each and every day without trying. I try to avoid the vending machines and take my own snacks to work and my own drinks. Though, I still have issues with the machine...

4. No longer an issue with a lack of physical activities. With my job, I have no choice but to be active. I also work in time whether at home or in the gym to get a workout in.

5. Not ever going to be pregnant again... Once on total bed rest was once to many. I'm happy with my little family. Doctors have told me if I was pregnant again, I would probably be total bed rest the entire pregnancy. That's NOT for me.

6. As NIKE says, "Just Do It"

Initially, my motivation was I was the younger healthier, more fit one when going to Curves. It really motivated me to be just that, though I did have weight to loose. Seeing women my age and older extremely overweight, motivated my by causing me to see just what I do not want to be like.

Motivation...To look like I did in HS for my 20 year class reunion...

Motivation... For me to look better than I did when I got married to surprise my husband when he returned home from his year long tour to Korea.

Motivation... To feel better both physically and emotionally about myself.

Motivation... To protect me from the illnesses that are passed down through the generations in my family. High Blood Pressure (which I was on meds for for 15 years. luckily, my body became regular so I no longer take meds), Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancers, etc...

7. Making a Conscious effort to eat healthy. And when I am not eating healthy, I still make a conscious decision knowing just how it is going to affect my goals. I don't let that bad decision keep me from reaching for that goals. I just keep on trucking and eventually, I know I will make my goals and learn to keep my habits healthy.

3 comments:

One Pretty Little Box said...

Loved your list!

Journo June aka MamaBear said...

Your list is awesome and it sounds like you have the determination to succeed.
Path to Health

Christine Jeske said...

You and I had the same loss this week.

About the pork meatballs --- it's not really 8 servings. I would make it to serve 8 people, but personally I only eat 2 meatballs. They are each 1/4 cup, I make big meatballs. And they are very filling w/ a portion of the sauce and 2 cups of veggies!

I need to find time to do a similar post. Good list of personal motivators!