Here we go!

Here we are.... at the beginning of my journey....again! This is my year. The year to get to a healthy size. The year to cure my chronic tendonitis. The year to heal my bum knee. The year to end the threat of diabetes. The year to gather back my self esteem and confidence. The year to cure it all.

I have been overweight my entire life. There are so many chins in my 3rd grade school picture that my teacher used it for a math equation. I have never been thin. I can't say that I haven't been healthy though. I've never been the type of person who gets addicted to fast food restaurants. I have always tried to eat well with an occasional slip-up on the weekends. I'm not a big drinker. I like to have a beer or a glass of wine twice a month. I am also an exerciser. I hate it, but I do it. I enjoy strength training and like to see my muscles take shape under my skin. During one of my yo-yo diets, my son said to me, "I liked it when you were comfy as a pillow. Now, you are hard as a rock." Needless to say, I'm back to being "comfy as a pillow" and I don't like it. I am very frustrated because I have tried every diet and have jumped on every fitness bandwagon. I just end up underneath the wagon and it's tough to push it off.

Here I am....in my 40's. It's harder to remove the weight and get healthy. One medical test a few years ago proved that my adrenal glands were burned out meaning that I had no metabolism. My hormones are starting to falter and it's not fun. I'm on Lexipro for mild depression, Zyrtec for allergies, Tums for constant stomach discomfort. I see a PT for chronic tendonitis in my arms that was accidentally diagnosed as carpal tunnel years ago. My right knee is constantly aching and now, my foot has an injured tendon. I'm constantly bloated and my digestive tract doesn't seem to work correctly. My female plumbing has also changed for the worse. My self esteem has plummeted. The road to diabetes has shortened and I will be joining my entire family unless I do something about it. My body is self destructing and I am the only one who can change it.

On January 6th, I started a plan called First Line Therapy. This is (yet another) nutrition, fitness and stress management plan that focuses on the inside out. Your body gets read by a BMI machine. This machine tells you how your body metabolizes food, how much body fat you have and how your cells are doing. Every six weeks, you check in with your therapist who weighs and measures your waist to hip ratio and retests using the BMI machine. You eat real, low glycemic food and exercise for 30 minutes a day.

I am happy to say that I have never felt better after six weeks. I have lost 12 lbs and a ton of inches. I am happier and feel better. I am truly hopeful that THIS is the nutrition plan that will turn my body around from the inside out! It is a lifestyle change and not a diet.

I will be checking in for my FLT visit on Tuesday. I am excited. I am a little skeptical that things will keep going as well as they are. I tend to plateau after a few pounds on other diets.

My hope and purpose for this blog is to help others on their journey. I had given up and thought that without a metabolism, I would never lose weight. I truly believed I was on the road to obesity like other family members before me. I have seen some glimmer of hope with FLT.

I'll post again after my visit on Tuesday. Wish me luck!