food, exercise and putting it all out there.

A few weeks ago I was trying on clothes at a large department store. As we all know, dressing rooms are not the most flattering place to be. The lighting, the mirrors, ugh. Unfortunately, as I tried on a blouse, I caught a glimpse of my rear-end in the dreaded three-way mirror. And once I realized that, yes, this really WAS my big butt in the mirror, I just stared at it for a while...wondering how this could have happened!?

Well, I know how it happened. It happened because I've made a series of poor choices...the poor choice NOT to exercise, the poor choice to eat more fast food than I should and the poor choice to eat larger portions than necessary. Or how about the poor choice to eat ice cream at 10 o'clock at night? Really?

The last time I was at a reasonable weight was about 10 years ago. Since then I've gained about 25 pounds. Yes. Twenty.five.pounds. I know. Tell me about it.

That day in the fitting room was a wake-up call for me. At that moment I knew I had to start doing things differently. I am 46 years old...my metabolism is definitely NOT what it once was...my hormones are going nutso...and this weight thing is not going to rectify itself. Especially if I continue to treat my body the way I've been treating it.

Since that dreaded day in the fitting room I have been making better choices. I've been walking and/or doing a light yoga routine almost every day. I've been counting my calories and making sure that (most of) what I put in my body is going to nourish it...making (almost) every calorie count. Salads with yogurt dressing for lunch, oatmeal for breakfast, yogurt or cottage cheese for a snack, smaller portions at dinner and (usually) no seconds. For a sweet treat I got some fudgsicles...did you know they are only 40 calories? I had no idea! I've also been enjoying strawberries dipped in Greek yogurt and brown sugar. Yum! And also low-cal.

And ya know, that's really where the problem lies...I really had no idea the amount of calories in certain foods, in any foods. I've never been a calorie counter, ever. I used the Weight Watcher's method before our wedding to drop a few pounds and ended up losing 15 pounds almost effortlessly. So it's good to at least be aware of how many calories you're putting in your body. And how many calories you're burning with exercise. It's really not a complicated equation.

I'm not going crazy over any of this. If I want something, I will eat it. I'm not one to cut out ALL of anything. I know myself too well. If I cut something out completely that's all I will want. So instead I am going with the "all things in moderation" approach. It worked for my grandparents...it will work for me, too.

I feel good about this. I feel good about moving my body. I feel good knowing that what I'm eating is going to fuel my body. I feel good knowing that my jeans are fitting just a little bit looser around the middle. I feel good knowing that this isn't a diet, but a lifestyle change. I'm not doing this just to lose weight, at least that's not my main focus. My focus is to eat better, to move my body, to take care of myself. And because of that the weight will come off as a result. I don't just want to be lighter. I want to be healthier. I want to be stronger. I want to be more fit.

I'm kind of excited about it all. And believe it or not, I'm even grateful for that dreaded three-way mirror!