Let's start from the Beginning

The start to a total turn-about for my body is now. I've got myself a partner that can understand what I feel, what I ache, and what I can detest: Another woman. We are both married, happy, and in need of motivation. ^_^ We also enjoy writing in fantasy RPGs so there's our stress reliever!

We got to talking and said "let's be weight-loss buddies!" and so now we start.

I don't want to be in some army-like regime because I know I simply can't stick to that... I want something a normal person that is used to very bad habits can adopt. So we will try to avoid eating something 'unhealthy' on a daily basis and be proud of ourselves for not succumbing to that lust!

A little info on health related stuff would be good too, so here's something I came across to today:

I just got my body fat percentage from Yahoo's Health pages. Says that my total weight is about 46.5 percent fat. That's like... almost half! Which probably means I gotta lose at least 30% of my weight to be healthier.

I read through some articles and noticed several conditions that I may be developing (or could if I don't turn around my habits now!):

• Heart Disease and Stroke - being overweight causes high blood pressure which in turn is a factor that may cause hear disease and strokes.
  
• Type 2 Diabetes - overweight people are at risk of developing it... but i think it also depends on the family history. Better safe than sorry, though.
  
• Cancer - overweight women may get cancer of the uterus, gallbladder, cervix, ovary, breast, and colon. I have ovarian cysts and the doc recommended weight loss and exercise. Not sure if I got those from the actual weight or something else.
  
• Sleep Apnea - This is when the person stops breathing for seconds at a time during sleep, it also causes a lot of snoring. I'd have to ask my husband about that... I know I snore when I am very tired, but I am not sure of the frequency of this.
  
• Osteoarthritis - joint problems at the knees, hips, and lower back. Makes sense, the heavier one is, the more strain the joints have. I cannot run and my ankles are under a lot of pain... then again, even when I was thin I had a lot of ankle pain, but definitely now more than before.
  
• Gout - "Gout is a joint disease caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood." um... same as the previous one?
  
• Gallbladder Disease - weight can also give gallstones, higher risk on those of us that are heavier. I haven't noticed any gallbladder pain... that's good. ^_^
  

Okay well, recommendations in the article included losing weight (of course), and to do so we should do it slow and steady, trying to get away from fad diets and miracle promises. A pound-a-week is true weight lost while one-a-day may be nothing more than body water.

My weight-loss partner and I need to Eat Better ("Try to eat a variety of foods, especially pasta, rice, bread, and other whole-grain foods." YEYNESS!). Also a little added exercise can help. I'll be looking into easy things that starting ladies with our schedules can do without too much pain.