Day One

Day One is so far so good. I'm not interested in putting up a detailed menu of what I ate during the day with nutrition totals, because I really don't think the Fat Fighting world needs to know how much niacin I managed to squeeze in before lunch, but I have to say I'm excited by the food I bought at the store today. I went this morning with the purpose of getting one grapefruit and I stayed for an hour and bought a week's worth of groceries and staples for my pantries. And lo, there was not one sack of Oreos, one frozen pizza, nor one bottle of actual Coke in the entire purchase. Just good, wholesome (okay, rampantly pesticided) fruits and veggies, lean meats, and maybe just one half gallon of fat-free, sugar-free ice cream. I am so, so excited.

I've decided to follow the principles of the GI Diet for the Reduxing. Of all the diet plans and manuals and websites I've read (and I have pored over each and every one of them, usually while eating a Kit Kat), the GI Diet gives me the most warm fuzzies. It doesn't restrict foods, it doesn't have required supplements to purchase, and it just seems so balanced and healthful. I'm actually looking forward to a week under these guidelines, as opposed to the three days I spent miserable on South Beach, until I caved and inhaled a mango I had stowed away in the back of my refrigerator.

I'm not so sure about calories/fats this time around. During the Great Ass Reduction of '02, I followed the Subway Diet and basically ate 1500 calories a day while exercising pretty hard. I managed to lose 60 lbs. in 6 months and discovered I do, in fact, have a chin and collarbone, but gained every last bit of my weight and then some when I realized the smell of a 6" chicken breast sub was making me instinctively dry heave.

So, since I am ever so much older and wiser at 26 than 22 (heh), I'm in this for moderation. 1500 still seems like a regular calorie count, but I'm not going to worry so much about adding up every breath mint and teaspoon of CoffeeMate I consume like I did the first time around. I'm guessing if I stick to the items in my kitchen and don't get seduced by the comforting neon lights at the Sonic Drive-In down the corner, I will probably always be on target for my calories and fats for the day. If not, I can revise later, because basically any changes I'm making to the way I eat and move now will be a massive improvement upon the girl who watched Biggest Loser on her couch while eating an entire stuffed crust pizza.

So, food...check. Water...check. I'm a good water drinker. That leaves exercise.

I belong to a gym, and I actually enjoy going there when I go. I intend to go tomorrow, but of course today is New Year's and so everything is closed, which I find so strange and funny considering New Year's is the number one fitness impulse purchase day of the year. Shouldn't they be offering a sanctuary to all the lard asses who need some sweat and salvation for 2007? In any case, my community gym is closed up tight, so I'm going to have to improvise with videos or...gasp...venturing outside for an afternoon walk today. It's so cold, though, and I have bronchitis, but I'm willing to hack through a quick 30-minute trek for the sake of health. My sense of inertia about my body and my life is SO strong right now that if I don't really push myself I just...stop. And I sit and I daydream about being happy and active and social, but I don't actually do it. I'm afraid that my sickness will be another contributing force to my general malaise, so I'm just going to ignore it and press on until I either get better or I actually die, having coughed up a lung on the sidewalk of my cul-de-sac.

Either way, I can say 2007 Erin did more in one day for herself than 2006 Erin did in a whole year.