Accountability

The plan is to write in this blog every morning before I start the day, even if it is only just a line or two. I want to hold myself accountable to the goals that I have set for myself:

1. Get healthy
2. Get to goal weight of 120-125 pounds
3. Balance mind, body and spirit

This is where I'm coming from:
In January, I began the Take Shape for Life Program at 152 pounds. Today, I'm at 142 pounds which means I've had a really, really slow rate of losing. This is not because of the TSFL program but because of "breaks" that I've taken from the program. I was actually at 139 a couple weeks ago, but thanks to a vacation visiting home in San Diego, I gained quite a few pounds back. These "breaks" are part of why I got to be so unhealthy in the first place. It's not that I don't know how to eat. It's not that I haven't read The Omnivore's Dilemma or studied nutrition. It's that I always somehow convince myself that it's okay "just this time" or "just for this birthday" or "just while I'm on vacation". I am so tired of talking myself into believing unhealthy habits are okay and then feeling the effects of these habits so immediately after indulging in whatever unhealthy thing it is.

Last spring, my boyfriend took me to Sedona, Arizona where I met a Hopi Indian who told me that we must balance or minds, body and souls.

I'm a 26 year old teacher and graduate student and I've admittedly had a strong bias to keeping my mind healthy, curious and busy. While this has led me to feeding my spirit in many ways--I love to read and recently I've been reading a lot of Buddhist texts and mindfulness texts, it has also led to quite a neglect of my physical body.

In Uganda this past January, I was immersed in a culture of dance and music, one where I was constantly moving all the time and that movement was important to daily life. I want to align my mind, body and spirit much more than I have in my adult life. I want to eat healthily. I want to drink water. I want to do yoga and I want to get back into swing dancing, which I once loved. I want to move and treat my body kindly.

Eating healthy and moving a little more are the best ways for me to live up to my goal of aligning my mind, body and spirit. I'm no longer taking any "breaks" from the healthy life I want to live.

I will reach my goal weight by June 2016, if not earlier, no excuses.
Hope you can support my journey.