What's the plan man?

       Before Photos

 Ok if there is one thing I don't enjoy, it is getting my picture taken. This was not fun for me! Poor Jon must have taken 20 pictures before I finally just gave up. Thankfully, I will only be posting these every 20 pounds and who knows? I might actually start to like striking a pose!

So here I am, Day ONE and I am excited, nervous, overwhelmed but most of all, optimistic. The last few weeks of introspection have been really valuable for me. It wasn't easy but I learned alot and I see more clearly (and maybe with more empathy) where I am coming from. When I first started writing I thought my issues all lie with food. If I can get the food under control, my problems will be solved. What I have learned is that the problem lies with ME and the decisions I make surrounding food. Using food to soothe myself, using food to celebrate, using food to punish instead of simply using food to nourish my body. I have come to realise that my struggle this year will not be with food, it will be learning to deal with life without using food as a coping agent.

At the beginning of December when I started thinking about doing this blog, my old thinking took hold. I wanted to come up with some really cool eating plan that I could put my signature on. I made up my own little food triangle and tracking sheets. I thought I would share what I ate each day so that others could follow along. But I realized something, focussing on the food plan instead of the reason I am the way I am would never lead me to succeed. I would have some weight loss initially but then I would start questioning my program, questioning my results, and fall back into old habits. I realized I needed to make the food part of my journey somewhat automatic, meaning I didn't have to really think about it, so I can focus my energy on the more important things.
Part one of my plan is WEIGHT WATCHERS
While a bit of a bitter pill to swallow, this is also really liberating. I have decided to follow Weight Watchers to get this weight off once and for all. It won't be the first time I do WW but it will be the last. The reasons I have decided to go this route are:

1. It is proven and it has worked for me in the past.
2. No foods are forbidden. This was important for me since whenever I go on a diet I tend to be very extreme and I am the queen of low carb. Now that we have a little boy, I want to ensure that I am teaching him good habits, not extreme habits.
3. It is based on portion control which is a huge issue for me.
4. My husband wanted to do it and I think it is important that we do this together.
5. There is the accountability of weighing in weekly. I have actually had Jon hide our scale so I don't weigh inbetween meetings as I can get a little obsessive about weighing. The excitement of seeing the progress every monday morning should keep me driven. No peeking inbetween!

The main reason I chose it is that it is easy for me to follow. I am a nutritionist, I know what foods to eat. I know that if I just follow this plan (I mean ACTUALLY follow it as written, not tweak it) that the food part of my journey will be taken care of. I won't have to think about it and it will free up my energy to focus on getting my other issues in check. Making this decision, while hard, has taken so much pressure off of me. Why reinvent the wheel? Just follow the program and don't stop. Seems simple enough right?

So yesterday morning Jon and I went to Weight Watchers, signed up and weighed in. I am actually about 12 pounds heavier than I thought (OUCH!) but it is not the end of the world. Weight that comes on fast, comes off fast.

Part two of my plan is CLEANSING
I truly believe that cleansing the body is crucial for longterm weight loss success. I will be posting alot about this but as of this morning I started a herbal cleanse that I will be doing for the next 6-8 weeks. Why? Well I will get more in depth about this in the next few days but short version is:

FAT HOLDS TOXINS. AS YOU RELEASE FAT, YOU RELEASE TOXINS

Cleansing helps your body to handle that increased toxic burden. If you are fat, you are toxic. This is a fact. I work for a natural health company and we specialize in cleansing but there are lots of options out there. More on this tomorrow.

Part three of my plan is to MOVE MORE
I went for a walk this morning and that is what I am going to do every morning. Each day a little further. I am also going to try to incorporate a new form of exercise every month. This month I am going to buy some Kettle Bells and start using them. I will share my experiences. Not everything I try will stick I am sure but I am hoping to resurrect some sort of passion for fitness.

Part four of my plan is SELF CARE
For me this encompasses everything from putting lotion on my whole body instead of just my hands and elbows to taking certain supplements. It is taking the time to nurture my body on the inside and on the outside. I always take time to put on my make up and do my hair every morning but I might skip taking my vitamins or shaving my legs. I want to feel good about myself and part of that is taking the time to take care of myself. Also a big part of my self care will be learning to cope without food. Letting the emotions run their course and know I will be ok on the other end of it. It is in those moments of feeling raw and exposed that self care, or self LOVE, will comfort me the way food did before.

Part five of my plan is SHARING
Last but not least, I want to genuinely share everything about this journey. I want to help others the way that all of you are helping me. This blog is a big part of that but I also what to interract with people going through the same thing. If you have any questions about anything I blog about, please send them to me. You can send them to my email if you don't want to post a comment. You can send me a message on facebook. I'll answer everything to the best of my ability.  Invite your friends to add me as a friend if they want to follow along. I want my struggles, truimphs, confessions to stand for more than just a number on the scale.

This is it, my five part plan to change my body and life. I wish you all the best in 2013 and that whatever goals and dreams you aspire to will become your reality. Happy New Year to my family and friends, new and old. Let the games begin!