BEFORE PICTURE
Well, here is the dreaded "BEFORE" picture. I originally created this blog for me. A place to be a scrapbook of sorts of my weight loss/health journey. What kind of scrapbook would this be without the before picture? So here it is, and in the spirit of transparency, I'm also going to tell my weight. I'm 5'2 and 149.5 pounds. My ultimate goal is to be 125. Every book/blog I've read has said that between 115-130 is the healthiest place for a 5'2 frame, so my goal is 125. 
I RUN 4
Please take some time to visit this amazing website: http://www.whoirun4.com/ This nonprofit organization matches runners/athletes to children and/or adults who have special needs. Runners use their buddy (coach) as inspiration and post updates on the web weekly. Many runners spread awareness about their buddy's disabilities through t-shirts, body paint, etc... My friend Tara has a beautiful daughter named Giuliana who struggles with Apert Syndrome. Giuliana has a running buddy who has sent her medals and hats from her Warrior Dash races. Giuliana loves the gifts! To learn more about Giuliana and Apert Sydrome visit her facebook page http://www.facebook.com/LittleFlowerGiuliana. It takes several months to be matched to a buddy, but I can wait. In the meantime, I can post my updates to my "future buddy" and stay motivated by all the stories on the site. So this was the picture I posted today. I wrote,"Ran 6 miles today for my future buddy!"
Calorie Range/Limits
One reason I have quit MyFitnessPal over and over again is because I have this awful black or white, all or nothing attitude. The site tells me I need to eat 1200 calories each day to lose weight. That works for about two days. Then on day three, I'm STARVING. So what do I do? Ditch MFP and eat like a three day starved pig. After my tummy is sufficiently full, the guilt slowly creeps in and I once again resolve to start with MFP the next day.Yesterday, I was chatting with my friend Jennifer about this exact problem. She shared with me that she is tired of restrictive diets such as Paleo, Atkins, South Beach, etc... She also told me that if MFP doesn't have the EXACT food/recipe she is looking for, she just picks one that is close to it. (I'm thinking at this point, "HOLY COW! You can do that!? Is that even allowed!?" Told you I was black and white minded!) Riding on the heels of that conversation, I decided to visit the Success Message Board of MFP. THREE different people who have lost substantial amounts of weight noted two things: 1) They ate within a calorie RANGE, and 2) They did not deny themselves specific food group.
So I've made a few decisions:
1) I'm tired of this 1200 calorie mess. I'm allowing myself to eat within a 1200-1500 range, and if I exercise, I get to eat more! Whoo hoo. I love to eat!
2) I'm not going to restrict any food groups anymore. Here's my reason why: In the past, I would eat awesome all day. Then I would eat a cookie. Cookies were not allowed. So I quit my diet and gave up. Once I gave up, I eat about 4 more cookies. So instead of convincing myself that I completely messed up by eating one cookie, why don't I just allow the dang cookie?
So that's it, Friends!
Have a great day!
--Dizzy Lizzy
