Milestone and epiphany all in one day - 1st time poster

I have overcome a major mile-stone in my weight-loss and fitness goals, and I have to say that it's not until just recently that it dawned on me that what I do not only helps me but it also encourages and helps others, too!

We all say, I am overweight because "I don't have time to exercise," "I don't have the time, or money, to eat right," or "I am genetically predispositioned to be fat, so I will just be fat"... I know all the excuses, because at one point or another, I used them all, and a few more! As a matter of fact, I can't think of one person in my biologically related family who hasn't struggled with their weight, and obesity. We have all hit hard times — financially — and have at one point or another struggled with bills and keeping our heads above water, and if you know me at all, then you would also know that I run eight ways from Sunday from the moment I wake up, till my head hits the pillow at night. It's hard to find the time to focus on ourselves when we are the family chauffeur, accountant, cook, daycare provider, house keeper, teacher, parent, wife/husband, employee, etc. but I realized that when we take care of ourselves, we are more useful, and better equipped to be all the things we need to be, for those around us! When we eat right, and exercise, we scientifically reduced our stress levels, increase our energy, become more focussed, and our bodies begin to function in the most efficient manner they can! After all, how many times have we eaten that cheeseburger, and the only thing we want to do after that is fall asleep? Not really the best game plan for keeping up with our hectic lives, not to mention we are just killing ourselves slowly, right?

I have tried ALL of the fad diets - Shakes for meals, points and calorie counting, pills, fiber cookies, all protein diets, etc. Sure, they work for like a minute - but like anything - once you detour, all your hard work goes out the window. Our bodies are not designed to be deprived of calories, deprived of certain foods, or meant to live on shakes or pills. They are designed to efficiently, and effectively, use the natural foods put on this earth — thats right, I said NATURAL. Let's be honest, our bodies have no friggin clue what to do with that Cheeseburger, so it gets stored as fat! Sure there are calorie counting, and point counting, diets that allow you to eat that cheeseburger, and you may even lose weight, but what did we do to our bodies when we ate it? Hmmmm, well for starters, we completely halted our metabolism because our bodies doesn't know how to convert crap into energy, we ate an insane amount of sodium, increased our cholesterol, and actually made a great step towards a heart attack. GREAT! "How did I still lose weight?" we ask...well our bodies fed off of the lean muscle tissues and fibers (the good stuff) it needs to survive... we cannibalized! Sounds appetizing, doesn't it?

Now let's look at the common excuses-

1-"I don't have time to cook"
Okay - so lets say it takes 20 minutes (round trip) to drive through McD's, or an hour to go to a restaurant . Well since we know we have at least 20 minutes to eat, is there nothing we can find to eat in 20 minutes? ABSOLUTELY! There is NOTHING I cook that takes more than 20 minutes. Sure, I could spend hours in the kitchen making a gourmet meal, when I feel like being artsy fartsy in the kitchen, but we all know our schedules don't usually permit that. What can I make in 20 Minutes, that tastes good, reduces my cholesterol, helps prevent cancer, and gives me more energy than I know what to do with?

Breakfast-
Hard Boiled eggs - 10 minutes
Oatmeal - 2 minutes
Fresh Fruit - 30 seconds
Total mealtime: 12 minutes +/-

Lunch - Chicken Wrap
Chicken breast stove top - 10 minutes
Fresh Spinach - 30 seconds
Sliced Tomato - 1 Minute
Whole Wheat tortilla wrap - 1 minute
Total mealtime: 12 minutes +/-

Dinner - (last nights dinner example - cooked all at once)
Filets on the foreman - 8 Minutes
Green Beans - 10 minutes stove top
Risotto - 20 minutes stove top
Total Meal time: 20 minutes +/-

2 - "I can't afford it!"
Okay, so I know personally that when we eat FAST food, we spend about $5.00 per person. When we eat out we spend, like, $15.00 per person... Lets look at the cost involved with the same examples I used (per person).

Breakfast
Hard Boiled eggs - $0.60
Oatmeal - $0.20
Fresh Fruit - $1.00
Total cost: $1.80

Lunch
- Chicken Wrap
Chicken breast stove top - $1.00
Fresh Spinach - $0.30
Sliced Tomato - $0.25
Whole Wheat tortilla wrap - $0.50
Total cost: $2.05

Dinner - (last nights dinner example - cooked all at once)
Filets on the foreman - $3.50
Green Beans - $0.50
Stove top Risotto - $0.90
Total cost: $4.90

Now what if we say, "I eat the diet frozen dinners"... I say "READ what you are REALLY eating". Oh sure, you will get low calories and fat, but in return you are getting a reduced metabolism, chemicals, outrageous sodium, increased risk for cancer - yes I said CANCER, and heart attack. You don't even want to know the dangers of eating this stuff... http://www.askmen.com/sports/foodcourt_100/121b_eating_well.html. Read the ingredients...if you dont know what it is, I guarantee you, it's not good for you!

Now that that is settled, what about exercise? Well, for starters exercise increases your metabolism giving us more natural energy, it reduces stress levels, improves our immune system, and there are endorphins released when we exercise-meaning you are just going to be happier! Once we replace the garbage in our diets that weigh us down, we can certainly find more energy to be more productive, and in response, the hour or two we used to veg on the couch because we were too pooped, or stressed, to do anything else we could certainly use that time to exercise! Makes sense, right?

So what's left? I cant think of any reason to not become a healthier and happier YOU.... I do know, after my mom has been terribly overweight her ENTIRE life, and with her seeing what this change in lifestyle has done for me, she made the decision to join me on my journey and now has lost nearly 60lbs. WOOT WOOT!!!! I love my mom..my kids love my mom... and lets be honest, how many FAT and old people do we come across? Hardly any because obesity kills! We want to keep her around for a while, and I guarantee you that someone around YOU wants the same for you, too! I continue to watch and cheer on my friends, and all of you, while you all push forward to transform your lives, and bodies, for the good! I am so proud of them all, and what's better, I am sure you all have people in your lives watching you and are encouraged by you! Consequently, these spectators will start to transform themselves as a result! This makes my heart happy, and I am so excited for them.

By no means is the diet sample that provided deemed to be the "answer". I personally eat 5 - 6 meals/day and combine super foods in a great balanced proportion that work together to turn my body into a fat burning furnace. I also supplement one of my meals with a protein, vitamin, and mineral packed Shake - this works for me!
That was just an an example

Our nation has NEVER had a higher obesity rate than it has now, and this became very apparent to me when I went to pick up my daughter from school, last week, at lunch time, and every other child sitting on those lunch benches was obese. Sad, but true. It really is no wonder that if people aren't dying from some freak accident, they are dying from cancer, right? We need to get it together! We are not indestructible - and the change starts with YOU and ME! I want to welcome you to friend request me, as I feel we all need accountability and encouragement in becoming a better "Us" and we will get fit TOGETHER!