Hey there, I’m Gina and the author of FitBlogr. The focus of this blog is to document my daily food intake and exercise to help me find a healthy balance in life.
I graduated in 2006 with a BA in Graphic Design and Minors in Art History and Photography. I currently work as a Graphic Designer/Webmaster at a small company about an hour from my home. Nice job, horrible commute! I live in a small city with my husband, Todd, and our dog Kahlua.
My Eating Habits
As of right now, I am trying to learn what most children do subconsciously: Eat when hungry, stop when you’re not. This blog will hopefully help me work out my eating patterns and the healthy (and not so healthy) decisions I make. I want to work on “everything in moderation” so I don’t deny myself anything, and open myself to endless meal creations.
My Exercise Habits
Luckily, whenever my healthy eating habits fall astray, my exercise habits have been there to pick up the slack. I have had a gym membership for almost 3 years, and try to run with Kahlua a few times a week. I exercise 4-6 days a week, switching from running outside, to cardio on the elliptical and crosstraining machines. Whenever I don’t feel like heading out to the gym, I have several yoga, cardio, and sculpting DVDs. This means no excuses!
My Past Weight Loss Stories (and Current One)
I never thought of myself (or saw myself) as overweight in high school even though I slightly was. I graduated high school and became extremely self conscious and nervous about heading off to college later that year. So, I started my first “diet.” It consisted of two Slim Fasts a day, one for breakfast, one for lunch, and something very low in calories for dinner. My “exercise” was 100 crunches every night and 20 lunges on each leg.
Yes, I know, I look back on that now and cringe. I can’t believe I was that stupid. First, I was only eating about 600 calories a day, and second, it wasn’t even close to a healthy way of living. I did lose weight though, not surprising considering I was starving myself. By the time I started as a freshman in college, I had lost 20lbs. But, like most colleges with the all-you-can-eat buffets at every meal, my “diet” didn’t last long. I gained all the weight back during the next three months, plus another 10lbs over the following three years. I did have a late growth spurt, but I still graduated college at my heaviest weight ever.
I joined a gym shortly after graduating and would go a few times a week but then eat all the calories that I had just burned off. I managed to lose a few pounds before my wedding in September 2007, but I still wasn’t happy with my body. My second attempt at weight loss began in January 2008. I started counting calories, limiting what foods I could have, and tracked my calories burned with the help of my new Polar watch. And the weight slowly came off. By June I was 30lbs lighter and I maintained that weight until November. I started eating more and more of the food that I had not had in months. Then I added on the holidays and loss of motivation, and here I am today. Because I restricted my food intake so much, I set myself up for failure in the long run (again!), I gained back the 30lbs that I had worked so hard to lose.
I realize, looking back now, that although I lost all the extra weight, I was a little too skinny, and I was always worrying about what I was eating and if it would hurt my weight loss. I was not as happy as I thought I would be and continued to see myself as a work in progress. I became frustrated with my eating and how I could only have certain things and I guess I finally cracked.
Practicing intiutive eating, not restricting myself from foods I love, and exercising most days of the week, I hope to shed the few extra pounds that have no reason to be there and keep them off for good. Looking ahead, I hope to accept myself, be proud of my body, and have a good relationship with food. That is my main goal for life.
