January 11, 2011

It’s a well known fact that I can tend to be obsessive about things.

Although I prefer to use the term “detail oriented” to my friends, it’s true that I am, sometimes, to a fault.  But the one thing I have never EVER been obsessive about is food.  When I was younger, I was blessed with a high metabolism.  I was able to pretty much eat anything. Some days I have been known to go most of the day without remembering to eat.  I know wreak havoc on my body by doing that.  In fact, there’s this new term I googled recently– “skinny fat”–and I’m pretty sure that’s me. Maybe doing this boot camp will help me get rid of the fat stuff and help me keep the skinny stuff.

I know that  studies show that without regular weight lifting and exercise, our metabolism begins to decrease beginning at age 30.  I’d had my third child at age thirty and my last two at 33 and 36 and I’ve definitely noticed a HUGE difference!  It makes perfect sense then that not only was my weight gain the greatest with my last two pregnancies, I’ve also held onto extra weight a lot longer.  My youngest is in first grade now and I’m still holding onto twenty extra pounds.  Blehhhh!  Since becoming a Mom seventeen years ago, I’ve pretty much put myself and my needs on the back burner, which is why I find myself really struggling with this newest challenge in my life.

I started a boot camp program a week ago Monday.  Not as part of a New Year’s resolution or because I’d suddenly found myself profoundly more out of shape than I currently am, but because I’m unhappy with a lot of things right now–things I cannot change.  I’ve always exercised and eaten mostly healthy and each winter when the Holidays roll around, I don’t think I have ever really gone overboard, but I have eaten what I’ve liked (well except for that one time that I made and ate an entire 9×12 pan of seven-layer cookie bar.  In my defense, I made another pan for the family, but now that I write that, I realize that was totally excessive)!

I don’t know why there seems to be more chocolate around the Holidays, but wherever they make it, they sure kick it in to overdrive between Halloween and Easter each year.  I usually don’t worry.  Bathing suit season in California is still six months away–plenty of time to get beach ready.  Of course, time is on my side (or is it).  Mother Nature seems to whisper more loudly each year that I’ve grown another year older and can’t make allowances for these things.

A friend of mine here locally told me she’d signed up for the boot camp and on a whim I decided to join her.  Now, a mere nine days into it, all I can think about is food.  “Do I really have to eat that?!”  “I have to eat again?  I just ate two hours ago!”  “Oh my God I’m starving, when do I get to eat again” and so-on.  I have to say, it’s absolutely exhausting!  The gist of course, is that I’m supposed to eat every 2-3 hours, a strict high protein diet of lean meats and fish, supplemented with steamed veggies, brown rice, sweet potatoes, lots of greens, and a gallon of water.  For the first time in my life I’m not only thinking about what I’m putting in my mouth, I’m obsessing about it–and it’s weird!

So when I say “a mere nine days” what I’m really saying is “Gosh, nine days is a long time, and I have to do this for twelve weeks?!”  I’m really hoping that things mellow out at some point, like say, maybe week six, where I’ve established new, healthier habits, and I won’t have to walk around looking at a piece of paper, like seventh-graders on the first day of junior high, trying to look at the map of where their classes are.

In the meantime, I’m going to chronicle the experience here…I hope I don’t bore anyone.  At the very least, it should be comical!