My Monday

Today is my Monday - and I am actually excited that it falls on a Monday; Memorial Day to be precise. It is kind of fitting in a way - today on Memorial Day I will remember the people the many soldiers that have given their lives so that I can be free. However I will also remember what it was like to eat whatever I wanted, be lazy and as a result gain a lot of unwanted pounds. That is right friends, today I make the decision to be a healthier person. I would like to say that it was an easy decision that I would be fine either sticking by or not, but that is not the case. The story of my life is that I have tried numerous diets only to fail, paid for a gym membership only to make excuses why I can't go and am now at a breaking point. I can't fit into most of my clothes comfortably anymore, I eat fast food in my car for more often than I would like to admit and my energy level is at zero most days. Because I know that diets don't work, I am simply going to try and be healthier. I discovered a great TV show that gave me the inspiration for this change in my life that I will be using for many of my food choices. Cooking Yourself Thin is a great new show on Lifetime that shows bad eaters (myself included) how to eat some of the things that you love, but in a way that make those things cost you much fewer calories. It is a simple plan really; eat fewer calories, loose weight. If I can still eat things that I love, such as a Mango-Glazed Salmon or a Mediterranean Chicken dish then I won't hate my diet and give up. It isn't so much what you eat, but rather the ingredients used to make what it is you are eating - and portion control of course. To loose weight, I am going to start with a 1500 calorie per day diet. Ideally, I would also like to add things like exercise to the mix - but I will ease into that since the food is the bigger issue for me. Now saying that, it absolutely disgusts me that my usual McDonald's combo (a double cheeseburger, medium fries and a large sweet tea) is 1050 calories. If this is just my lunch a couple of times a week then no wonder I have gained weight! So anyway folks, today is my Monday. What I mean by that is that I am not putting this off any longer. I remember countless times deciding that I was going to try a diet and saying, "I will start on Monday" and then stuffing myself silly all weekend only to crash and burn by Wednesday. I am not waiting today - I am just going to accept that it is something that needs to be done, do it and hopefully...lose the weight. The hardest part for me will be the social events that I go to several times a month; but I figure that on those days I can eat other foods that are particularly low in calories to make up for it. I wonder how many calories are in a chocolate martini....