So Far So Good, My Journey To Getting Healthy – Week One …

… I’m almost at the end of my first week of the new diet. Which really isn’t a diet, per se. It’s more like a concerted effort to eat healthier. I must say I feel pretty fantastic. I mean I’m still fat and junk (it’s only been five days) but my energy level is noticeably different. I stopped eating white bread, drinking soda, and eating fast food. Typically I’m no good to anyone after 3 pm, stalled on a carb crash. And you know what… diet food isn’t that bad either. I suppose anything tastes delicious when you’re half starving.

Using My Fitness Pal to keep track of my eating habits, I am utterly stunned by the amount of sugar I consume. Sugar and salt are in everything. Seriously. I noticed that by breakfast I had surpassed the recommend daily intake of sugar with just a single glass of orange juice and a yogurt. I haven’t figured out what to do yet with that information about sugar. I need to eat breakfast.

Related: 14 Ways Sugar Is Secretly Evil

I am truly enjoying the MFP website. It’s useful, informative, and people cheer each other on. You should seriously check it out. I do stay away from the forums though. There are some crazy hardcore folks over there and I’m just your typically fatty trying to slim down and be healthier, not train for the Ironman.

So here I am, at my fattest weight ever after having yo-yo’d for almost 15 years, each time gaining more than I lost. That was because I was following some diet trend instead of really just learning how and what to eat or how food works. That’s why keeping a food journal is so useful. They never should have done away with home economics in school. People need to learn how to prepare food and properly eat.

What prompted all this change, you might ask? My sedentary desk job and money. I sit for eight hours a day and everyone in the office eats out for lunch. Sometimes for breakfast and lunch. And they do this 3-4 times a week. Aside from eating ourselves to death, we were all going broke too.

This health kick really started when I was looking over my spending habits. I’m squirreling away every nickle and dime to get back to Rome and Spain. When I saw how much I was spending on take out and fast food I decided to stop right then. I brought my lunch to work and the savings started to add up. Inspired by this, I started keeping breakfast food at work too. Stuff like fresh fruit, yogurt, OJ and instant oatmeal.

When I noticed how much better I started to feel my cravings for McDonald’s breakfast bagels completely diminished. Then I registered for MFP to really scrutinize the food I was consuming. And wow. What an eye opener.

The best part; my boss noticed. He noticed my increased energy and decided to start an office wide fitness initiative. He is paying us money and giving prizes, like gym memberships, when we meet our goals. I’m sure it keeps company insurance costs down so everybody wins.

Let’s just hope this sticks. I’m notorious for starting projects and lacking follow through, like that time I started learning Spanish, or tried to sew, and cook, and garden….

To stay motivated I plan to post weekly updates. Right now I’m just hoping to make it through the weekend without the support of my co-workers who joined the fitness program with me.

Cheer me on from the sidelines, please.