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Aiming to Lose 50 Pounds in 50 Weeks

Should I blame it on Movie Club…or thank them. I’m going to thank them, but you need to know how and why this idea to chronicle my next 50 weeks came about in order to understand how my Movie Club got me off my *** and into a Weight Watchers meeting.

In early September, my husband and I went to Mexico. I figured out that if I lived there, with a chef and no access to a refrigerator, I could probably lose weight. It was all about the fish…fresh, plentiful and grilled to perfection. It was enough to make me not want junk food. But then I came home and met the enemy in my kitchen. My refrigerator was calling to me as I re-entered reality. And I knew that my fresh fish “pipe dream” had come to an end. 

You see how I blamed the refrigerator. It’s a handy way to circumvent the obvious problem of my relationship with this appliance. We have been in love with each other for so long that we have developed a mutually satisfying existence. I fill it full of junk and it lets me remove whatever I want, whenever I want, and eat it.

And then there is the fact that I don’t exercise. I never did. I was the kid who was picked last for all sports teams and dreaded P.E. class because I hated to be out of breath, which I frequently was because I was the “overweight one. “ I come from a long line of non-athletes. My father and mother prided themselves in the fact that they hated P.E. class, and I wanted to be just like them.   They turned out just fine and not overweight, so if I waited long enough, I would be just like them…or so I thought.

Even though I am 5'10", I must have gotten the genes of some of my other “bigger” relatives who didn’t exercise. So, before I go any further with this weight loss idea, let me just say that after 57 years of not sweating, being out of breath and avoiding “spinning classes”, which I thought had something to do with yarn, for now, I’m not changing a thing in that department.

Which gets back to Movie Club. Every other month, my club of six couples, meets and discusses a movie over a potluck dinner. This month’s pick was Julie & Julia. If you don’t know about this movie, Julie is the young woman who decided to make 524 recipes in 365 days using Julia Childs’s cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

By writing a blog, Julie was forced to be accountable and finish all of the recipes in the allotted time. I know that I operate the best if I am forced to be accountable, so it makes perfect sense to me that if I write a blog, something I have never tackled before, I am more likely to succeed with my goal of losing 50 pounds in 50 weeks.

Now, it’s not going to be a “slam dunk” for me because I love to eat. I don’t have any other excuses than that. It’s interesting that my two Labrador retrievers are slim and fit and never get table food because I want them to live FOREVER. But when it comes to me, I don’t seem to have the same motivation. I don’t want to live forever, but I do want to be around a lot longer, so I know I have to treat myself as well as I treat my dogs.

So, join me and see how my shopping for food, preparing my meals, attending Weight Watcher meetings, going out to eat and going on vacation, one of which is a seven day cruise, is working for me.

Whether you are an armchair follower or a partner in my weight loss journey, let me know how you are doing. You’ll find me, almost every day, writing my blog, “Fifty Pounds in Fifty Weeks,” at fiftypoundsinfiftyweeks.blogspot.com

 

  
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Comments
11.02.2009
Lisa Jennings
That is great! Ultimately you want to keep active in a variety of ways but stick with what you like (or don't disklike) and it works - eventually you will "like it so much" that you begin to challenge yourself. If you have the time and money - do a bootcamp core when you are READY because it is so much fun working out with other gals and our trainers mix it up and push us - when I am done I am sweating but feeling so great! Even though I train on my own - being with others makes it fun and you are constantly pushed! I am a bootcamp core participant for life - I want to teach my skills to my children and would love to see an afterschool program for kids in place ...all in due time!
11.01.2009
Jane Angelich
Thank you Lisa and Linda for your words of encouragement. Lisa, I have taken your advice and began walking five miles a week in week two of Weight Watchers. You are right...I don't hate it! In the first six weeks of my 50-week journey, I have lost 8.6 pounds. I appreciate your "push" that helped get me motivated.
10.29.2009
Lisa Jennings
I just started out very slow - I had kids at 39 and 40! Now they are 10 and almost 9 and I have to keep up with them. They both want me to start taking karate classes. Being strong and flexible to hang with the boys was a motivator but really - I always had the hidden desire to be fit and weight train. I started out slowly walking and eating better - baby steps. I was so surprised at how intense the feel good was after sweating - this keeps me in the game - not just the results but the great feelings and great sleep that results. So as things progressed, all areas of my life got better and stronger. Best of luck and let me know how you are doing - it really can be done and change you entire life! lol! lisa.
10.15.2009
Linda C Smith
Wow, I congratulate you for this goal and for the public way in which you'll take the journey. I want to want to do the same thing...I did not unintentionally repeat myself here. Wanting to is one thing, but I'm still at the wanting to want to. And I want to for my own wellbeing, as an example to my daughters and so that I can be healthy and strong enough to play with my 2-year old grandson. I'll be 59 this year and I'm so not happy with all things physical...you are an encouragement to me.
10.15.2009
Lisa Jennings
I really encourage you to move: Nutrition is 70% of the game but at our age (40 plus) it is very difficult to burn off fat unless you do some cardio - like walking, at least 5 x a week for 30 plus minutes with a good heart rate. I lost 50 pounds of fat in 5 months, gained major muscles (I also weight train) and dropped four (4) sizes. This was achieved through nutrition (lean protein loading every 3 hours) and exercise. Once you begin to drop some weight, I think you will want to add the movement in - by 30 days in - I was hooked and now I am hooked for life on exercise and proper nutrition. I invested in a good trainer who was also into nutrition. I now do bootcamps, weights and cardio 5- 7 x a week - and I started at 49 and never exercised A DAY IN MY LIFE! I am now a freak! I love it all! I look great, feel even better, and my mojo came back with a vengenace. Good Luck.
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