This is me. My name is Ashley and I'm 29 years old weighing in at 236.6 lbs. This is not my biggest though. I ballooned out at 298lbs back in 2010. I have always been one to struggle with my weight and I've tried every diet out there. I even jumped on the gastric banding bandwagon. But 3 years and 1 child later here I am. Due to insurance changes and financially responsibilities, I am unable to go into the doctor to get the fills you need for the lap-band to work. I was also not one who would get it so tight that all they could eat or drink was broth or soup because I felt that that was unhealthy. So I am on my own again. I've have been dealing with depression and pcos for quite some time now so I take this one day at a time.
I have 2 beautiful children who are the light of my life. My oldest, Dareon, is 9 years old and his little sister is Fiona and she turns 2 in January. I have been married to the most amazing man, Tony, for over 6 years and counting. Not only am I a full time mom but I also work full time. I was given the opportunity a little over a year ago to work from home, which cut 3 hours off of my work day (the commute to and from work) and I am thankful forth at every day. But it also took me away from the onsite gym and available trainers. I sit on my butt for 7.5-8 hours a day so I try to spend a lot of my time on my breaks and lunches either doing things around the house or fitting in a walk or jog. At the most it's 35 minutes a day. I find it hard to work out on my days off just because most of those days are spent running errands. I also attent the University of Phoenix full time in order to finish my business management degree. I have a lot on my plate so going to a gym is very difficult for me right now, especially with my husbands job, which is why I chose to attend the UoP in the first place.
I needed something simple and I was tired of yoyoing all the time. So I joined Weight Watchers. This is Day 1, which to me feels like the hardest day ever. I find that I am one of sabotage myself for under lying reasons which I hope that I have worked out. Now that I know my problem, I can fix it right? It's no that easy. I am choosing a public forum here to accountability. So this is going to serve as my fitness journal, both exercising and food choices. I appreciate you taking the time to read a little bit about me, and now it's time to get this day recorded.
Weigh In: 236.6 lbs. RHR: 104bpm Bloodpressure: 117/84
I have started with Weight Watchers' Points Plus tracking method which is all online be cause there is no way to fit another requirement into my day. With this method I can track my food on points on the Weight Watchers app that I have on both my iPad and iPhone. Talk about convinient! So my points goal for each day is 38 and I have 49 extra points for the week that I can use. Plus I earn point for exercising.
Food:
This morning started out with one of their breakfast's - Hot Cereal with Berries.
I know, not very appetizing, but it was filling. Basically it's a package of cream of wheat made with skim milk and topped with blueberries. For snack it was 1/2 of a light English muffin topped with FF cheese and a tomato paired with some wheat thins and a laughing cow cheese. Lunch, I went with a seafood salad from the grocery store down the street and it hit the spot after my workout on lunch. I a paired that with cucumber slices. Not bad huh? Up to here everything was going great. I was hitting my goal and drinking my water. Then I made the mistake of opening the meat and cheese tray in the fridge. I thought that some crackers with meat and cheese would be a nice healthy snack. Boy was I wrong!! Not only did the rack up quickly in point but it took away all the points I had for the day. Now I was going to defiantly go over. Tonight was also dance night for Fiona, so that means it's dinner on the go. After dance and a quick stop at Walmart, I chose to hit up the drive through at Taco Bell. It was once of the better choices, at least I thought so. For my dinner it was 1 crunchy taco and 1/2 of a chicken quesadilla. Not my best day at all.
Mind you I ate 1/2 of the quesadilla because I was full. If I ate the whole thing, that alone would've been 14 points! I always thought that I had good eating habits. As a kid, I use to opt for the fruits and veggies instead of chips and candy, but I've developed a lot of bad eating habits over the years and I am beginning to see them developing in my 9 year old. With the problems that this country has with childhood obesity, I want to make sure that my kids know and understand what good food choices are. They are part of the reason why I joined WW. I want to set a good example and be a good role model for them but also I want to make my 30th year the best one yet!
So I tried my hand at running today. I've always wanted to be a runner, but I have never actually tried running. I mean, when I was a kid I ran around all over the place, there was no such thing as staying inside on a gorgeous day. With living in the sticks in Florida, everyday was a gorgeous day to my parents. So I gained the nickname toothpick bc of my weight.
Everything was great at least until I hit puberty that is. Then BAM! The "girls" showed up. They made it very hard to do a lot of sports because let's face it, it just hurt to do all that running around now. Back then supportive sports bras were hard to find AND expensive so it was the one thing I wish I had that I didn't. I steadily lost and gained weight through middle school and high school, but I was never able to be the "perfect"girl and I struggled with that. I now know that no one is perfect and what's important is to be healthy, but when almost every friend you had was what you considered the "perfect" size, it was hard to see it that way.
Back to today's running episode. I went on lunch at 12 and got my workout clothes on and got ready with my nike app ( measuring time and distance for me), my iheart radio running playlist (pulsing pop is my choice), and my water bottle in hand. Even though it's the middle of December, it was 84 degrees here in the sunshine state but the humidity was down( which I was thankful for). 
This is my track. I have this huge yard and part of it you are walking up hill and then the other part you are walking down hill. So I started my warmup by walking up the hill then I decided to run down this part of the yard. At first I felt great, not too much burning sensation in my muscles and I wasn't too out of breath. That lasted all of 3 laps. By the time the 4th lap rolled around I was not running anymore. My calves were burning as well as my lungs. I wouldn't call it an epic fail but it wasn't what I set out to do. With frustration I walked for the remainder of my lunch time, which was about 35 minutes in total.
It's better than nothing but I still found it disheartening. I am looking into finding which would work better, the couch to 5k program or the Galloway method. On a side note, I am reading this amazing book right now. It's called Running Like A Girl: Notes on Learning to Run by Alexandra Heminsley.
I'm on chapter 3 and loving it so far. It's refreshing to read a book that shows the struggles a beginning runner has. Go check it out on Amazon!
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