There is NO WAY that number is true

There is NO WAY that number is true
So, I like a goodly portion of all other stay at home moms am thinking about what to make for dinner tonight. I am also thinking about an e-mail my sister sent about birthday/harvest party--then that got me thinking about cake. Now all I can do is picture cake. Chocolate cake, vanilla cake, carrot cake, yellow cake, oh sweet food of the dessert gods. I mean, what would a celebration or holiday be without lots of food? We Jews have that-It is called Yom Kippur- and let me tell you- it is not exactly a fun fest. I love food. I love to go places that want to give you food: book club, open houses, in my former town: costco, happy hours, board meetings, and yes, I will admit I sometimes will be persuaded to endure yet another kid's birthday party just for the simple promise of that iced, heavenly spongy cake. As I sit here and admit this I feel some shame-but console myself that you all do the same thing. You know who you are putting "just one more" mushroom puff in your mouth before you go home.

But really, I must face it. My celebrations have extended to almost every day--some times a couple times a day. While, this is fun and brings some enjoyment; it is wrong. Celebrations are SPECIAL occasions. When every get-together, trip to the store, Friday, or quiet evening becomes about the food, a problem develops. Aside from being slightly mentally ill for being so motivated by food, you get plump, or if you prefer:chubby, porky, chunky, plus sized, overweight, portly, fat, or obese. I am fat. For months I have been calling myself voluptuous, curvy, or convincing myself that my dearest husband loves my huge breast and would never want me to shrink. Men want a little meat on the bone, Right? Here's the truth-meat equals muscle, not fat. Ouch.

My plan: 1. Move more-duh....ok, more specifically, I want to walk daily and walk any place that is less than one mile from my home. I want to exercise 45 minutes 5 to 6 days a week. I want this exercise to include cardio, weights, yoga, and stretching.

2. Follow as closely as possible Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live Plan. His plan is quite remarkable. I honestly feel that if everyone ate the way he describes, we would be a fit, healthier, and longer lived nation. My problem is sticking to his plan. While, I enjoy almost every vegetable and luscious piece of fruit-I never go long enough without caving in to some "special" moment. I will be working on redefining what constitutes a true special occasion and how much I really need to make it a celebration.

3. Get consistently good nights of sleep.

4. Journal what I eat. So I can see possible issues and not wonder why I did not lose any weight the week I ate the finished off the cake, gobbled down the chocolate chip cookie dough, worked my way through the carton of ice cream, and a devoured half a pizza (even though, those are by no means on the ETL plan in the first place).

5. Find support. Some will come from my family, from this blog, from encouraging reading materials, from looking at wonderful clothes, and other sources EVERY day.

Oh, and if you read this far and are still wondering what the number said, I will tell you: 200 even-scary and so painful to admit. It really was true (I got off and weighed myself two more times to be sure). My sweet, closest friends would say they would have guessed a much lower amount. I have let myself go. In my defense, I am a very muscular person and my fat is equally distrubuted all over. My chest is within a inch of my hip size and I have a very defined waist. The doctor's weight chart says I should weigh: 95 + 4 or 5 pounds per inch above five feet tall: 107-115.......hmmmm. Then another chart for BMI says I should weigh between 110 (bmi of 18 to 140, bmi of24.7) Whatever the case, I better get started.