Where to start

  I am finding myself in a place I never thought I would be.  I am staring 30 straight in the face, and there is really only one thing I feel like I need to conquer before that benchmark birthday.  I'm a little over a year away.  420 days for those who are counting.  I feel like everything else in my life is how I want it to be, or at least headed in the right direction.  Everything, that is, except my weight.

  I was always a pretty slim in my youth.  I was active and even though I ate my share of junk food, I had a pretty small appetite that kept portions pretty small.  I'm not one of those people that can pin point exactly where my weight struggles started. I remember thinking I was fat about the age of 19, but in all reality I was still in a healthy weight range at 5'3" and 130 pounds.  At age 20, I got up to 150 pounds.  That seemed horribly fat to me, so I started running everyday until I was back down to 130 again.  A few months later, I got sidelined by a catastrophic, life changing injury to my shoulder that took years to recover from.  I gained a little here, and a little there, but was still mostly at a happy weight.  Once I turned 21, eating fast food and drinking became a regular part of my life, and my body showed it.  Since then, my weight has just gradually crept on.  I got married, had a child, got divorced.  None of these things dramatically changed where my weight was hovering at: 170 pounds.  Sure I gained past that during my pregnancy, but I lost it pretty quickly. I've had times where my weight was closer to 160, and others where it was closer to 190, but the median weight was pretty consistent. I am ready to change that. I am ready to make a commitment to my life, my health, and my happiness.  I want to finally leave my discontent with my body behind, and rediscover how to embrace a healthy lifestyle.

  Today is day one.  I am cutting processed foods out of my diet, and for two weeks, will be cutting out most carbs altogether.  Carbs seems to be my weak spot, and sometimes it helps me to just purge myself of them, and slowly introduce healthy carbs back in.  I will be loosely following the South Beach Diet, but I mostly just feel like I can benefit from living a life with minimal processed foods and more physical activity.  So here is to the next 420 days.  It's going to be an interesting journey, one with ups and downs to be experienced.  I know I can do this, as long as I truly commit to making positive changes and believe in myself and my ability to finish this battle once and for all.