I need to lose some weight. Really. That baby weight never fully went away…and whether it is the fact that I am not chasing after Ezzy, or because I am a stress-case so much of the time, I am not really sure.
But the fact remains: I need to get in better shape…to feel better about myself and to be in a better position to take care of my girl for a long long time. I can’t afford to not be healthy.
I have been going to the gym, but I go for a bit and then I backslide. I feel guilty for leaving Ezzy, and I find it hard to find the time. It is more fun to sit around in sweatpants eating marshmallows…you know the deal.
So following the lead of this guy, EJ Scott, I am going to do something to make the weight loss feel like something I need to follow through on: I am going to loose weight for charity.
Here is the deal. I want to lose 30 pounds in time for what I have decided will be my Return to 30 birthday in August. This year I spent my (real) 30th birthday in the ER with Ezzy having seizures. So it doesn’t count. I intend to turn 30 again next year, and in honor of that monumental event I wish to lose the last of the baby weight and then some.
And I would like you to help by pledging to donate a per pound dollar amount to the Stennis Foundation in honor of that weight loss. Please let me know if you would like to support by pledging a dollar amount to me. We will work it on the honor system. I’ll post occasionally about how much I have lost (I will NOT tell you how much I weigh, however. I am way too much of a girl for that). And in return you can follow your pledge through by donating to the Stennis Foundation, which raises awareness of and supports research into leukodystrophy…the set of primarily fatal diseases we were mistakenly told Esmé had (for more on this read my post on Leukodystrophy). You can donate here.
I want to do this in a healthy way. My plan is to do the following:
1. Drink more water
2. Do a minimum of 40 minutes of exercise four or more days per week
3. Stop with the grocery story candy bars (if I am tempted I will give a dollar at checkout to whatever charity they are collecting for instead)
4. Eat breakfast everyday
5. Cut back on baked goods, wheat products, and processed foods
And for balance I allow myself the right to:
1. Eat special not-so-great for me stuff here and there and in small quantities
2. Have cupcakes from Au Bon Pain in the event that Esmé is back in the hospital
3. Adjust the weight-loss goal as needed. 30 pounds sounds great now…but if I am happy at -25 pounds, so be it.
I began this process about a week ago. I am currently at -3 pounds. Here goes nothing!