Getting ready for the change

At work today, I picked up a copy of women's health magazine. As an adolescent I often read beauty magazines, until I listened to the "Sunscreen Song" by Baz Luhrmann and heard one line of lyrics which said "Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly". After that I actually succeeded in staying away from them for a while, because it's true...the average woman who reads those magazines does not look like the women featured on the pages, and the reader usually has at least one physical attribute that they'd prefer to change, and I always disliked myself after glossing through the magazine. However now that I am on the path to feeling and looking better, I figured Women's Health is a legitimate source for some helpful tips. The magazine is full of health-related statistics, and this one jumped out at me today: 34%-the percentage increase in your risk of death over a 14-year period if you spend 6 hours of leisure time a day sitting. I have basically spend my entire life sitting. As a child, my father worked all day and mom didn't drive, so I essentially sat home watching TV and movies all day. I had no interest in sports, and as technology progressed I gained a large interest in computers and video games. This coupled with my persistent love of television allowed me to make a habit out of sitting down. Sitting down in class, then sitting down at work, then coming home and "relaxing" by (you guessed it) sitting down. And although during and after college I've truly enjoyed exercising and being active, unless someone offers me the chance to do so, I am generally lethargic. The above statistic is truly scary to me, because I am probably the epitome of the person that the statistic describes.

I've always gone through life assuming I'd have a long, healthy future since I'm young and "feel" healthy. However, taking a deep look at how I live my life, I realize that there are many past and current factors that put me at risk for health woes. 1) I was (practically) addicted to tanning for almost the full 6 years of college. 2) I have a medical condition that messes with my hormones and insulin and puts me at a predisposition for diabetes. 3) I'm basically obese. 3) I have a family history of cancer, heart problems, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. 4) I get winded going up the single flight of stairs to my room. -Being overweight can't possibly rectify any of this, and although I'm young and feel fine now, it will only get worse in time. It would be a gross error for me to practically throw away a healthy future because I am too lazy to treat my body like a temple.

Therefore it is my goal to not only work out, lose weight and try to stay active. I also would like to educate myself on nutrition and general ways to live a healthier life. I only get one chance at this life and it seems so sad that I would possibly resign myself to treating my body like a garbage dump, not caring what I put into it and not taking care of it one bit. As an analysis, I'm about to list what I ate today. The food I consumed is an average account of what I would normally eat throughout the day:

Breakfast:

-Egg bagel with sausage, egg, cheese, hot sauce & ketchup

-Snapple regular iced tea.

No Lunch.

Snack:

-Coffee with french vanilla creamer & 1 sweet and low

Dinner:

-2 pieces of plain pizza with pepper and garlic powder

-Bowl of meatball soup with angel hair pasta and grated parmesan cheese

-Glass of diet soda

Dessert(?)

-4 boxed chocolates.

I am also going to record my food consumption tomorrow as well, as it looks like Thursday will be "D-day" since I'll get my DVD's at some point tomorrow.

I know my entire transformation is not going to be short-term or a fad-diet. The entire undertaking has to be a lifestyle change by being active and staying active, keeping track and analyzing what I am using as fuel for my body, and taking care of my mind and spirit as well. Tomorrow once I get the Power 90 kit, I'll be updating this and discussing what the plan itself entails. For now, I'll leave you with some other points that the Sunscreen Song makes...some of them are worth listening to!

-Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth

-Do one thing everyday that scares you

-Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours

-Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults

-Enjoy your body, use it every way you can...don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own...

-Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.

Hope you enjoyed reading this...updates tomorrow!

-Nic