Is it an obsession?

I don't know if Scarlett was obsessed with her weight, but I remember the contrast ofthe first scene in the movie, with mammy pulling her corset and later, after she had her baby, again, mammy pulling on her corset. When she was getting ready for the picnic, she didn't want to eat; she wanted to eat at the picnic, not before-hand as mammy wanted her to do (because ladies ate like birds at picnics). She didn't care about what she looked like when she was 15. Then, after the baby, she wanted to be as skinny as she was when she was 15.

I don't want to be that skinny. I don't even want to be skinny. I just want to lose the 20 pounds I've gained since I started working at my current job (5 years ago). I don't look bad, mind you, but I'm a breast cancer survivor, and there is new data: For every 11 lbs of wait gain after diagnosis, the chance of it proving fatal goes up 14%.

But there's more to it. I used to be an athlete. I had muscles. Where did they go? I adopted a child 3 years ago. I think the weight gain was due more to that than the job. But I don't have pregnancy to blame it on. I still call it my baby weight, though. I think it's because there is so much less time to work out and fix healthy meals.

Anyway, I want to lose weight. And inches. And gain muscle. Today, I start another weight loss journey. This is an ongoing theme in my life for as long as I can remember. Well, since high school, anyway.

I will hold myself accountable on my blog with frequent updates. The plan?

1. Eat more veggies and less junk (e.g., sugary and processed foods)
2. Move more
3. Drink lots of water (and by default, less diet coke)
4. Try a "new" movement at least once a month: biking, rollerblading, swimming, yoga, etc. Some of these are things I've done before, they're just not in my regular exercise routine. Maybe if I add new things, I'll not think of it so much as 'excercise' and do it more.

I'm also going to try to train for a half-marathon using this 3-day-a-week routine: Mon - run 2 miles, Wed - run 4 miles, Fri - run 6 miles. Every Friay, add a mile (though I think I'll add only a half mile). Since I know I can't do that regimen yet, I'm supposed to work up to that regimen, so I won't start adding to Fri until I can run 6 mi on Fri. Of course, I don't think I can even run 2 mi on Monday, but tomorrow we shall see.