One Hellish Weekend

I found out yesterday that my father may have had a heart attack. I think he's ok. He'll be getting an angiogram in the next couple of days so I should know more. I did not exercise this weekend because if that, hearing the news just took all of my energy. On the other hand it is another reason for me to lose weight. My dad is in his 50's and is fairly healthy. I need to get healthier so that this won't happen to me. I'll keep you posted on how he's doing.

I think I'm going to start posting some recipes on my blog. I have a difficult time finding healthy recipes that I like so I hope that by posting some recipes on here I can help other people. Please send me your recipes as well and please let me know if you've tried my recipes as well.
Now is as good a time as any to post a recipe so here it is, I had Greek Salad for dinner tonight and it was lovely so I'll start by posting this recipe.

Greek Salad
Cucumber (half, cut into large chunks)
Cherry Tomatoes (handful)
Red Pepper (half, cut into chunks)
Light Feta Cheese (to taste)
Olives (about 5)
Lemon juice (dash)
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
Oregano (to taste)

Mix everything together and voila, you have a tasty and healthy salad.

Ok, I struggled to write that recipe as I don't really measure quantities. This is probably part of why I overeat. I think it's probably ok not to be precise with a salad like that because it's full of healthy ingredients, but I do that with everything. I'll try and start measuring things so that I can post more precise recipes and stop eating larger quantities than I should.

Lack of Motivation

I did not go swimming at 6 am on Monday. I was not motivated to get out of my cosy warm bed and leave my sweet husband to share a swimming with strangers. I did however make it to the pool a day later at 8pm. That's something that I can get motivated for. The problem is that I am not always free at 8pm and I am always free to go swimming at 6 am. I am going to attempt a morning swim again tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.

The Journey Begins

I am morbidly obese. The definition of this is "Persons who are 50-100% or 100 pounds above their ideal body weight". I'm about 5'6" and weigh about 315 pounds. My ideal body weight is about 130 - 145 pounds. This is my goal.

I have tried to lose weight before and failed. This time I am determined to succeed and I am hoping a blog will keep me more focused and accountable. I am also hoping this blog will help other people who have a lot of weight to lose.

I think it's appropriate to list all of the reasons I need to lose weight in my first posting. If anyone else has any good reasons (as there are loads!) please feel free to let me know.

I need to lose weight so that I can
- lead a long life
- walk up stairs without getting out of breath
- walk anywhere without getting out of breath
- have more energy
- do up my seat belt on airplanes
- buy clothes from regular shops
- fit in all chairs
- go to the gym without feeling self conscious
- not dread seeing people I haven't seen in a while
- stop hearing people comment on my weight
- wear sexy lingerie
- get reasonably priced life insurance
- get naked in front of my husband without feeling self conscious
- wear nicer clothing
- feel better about myself
- not suffer from the numerous health problems caused by obesity
- lead a more active lifestyle
- look better

There are some pretty important things on that list so I need to do this. I need to lose weight. My life literally depends on it. I'm going to do this the right way, I'm going to eat healthy, low fat food and I am going to exercise. And most importantly, I am going to stick with it until I reach my target weight.

I am going to start first thing tomorrow by going swimming at 6:30 am!