It's just like riding a bike

Why is it that whenever I decide to once again take control of my eating habits, we have a birthday celebration at work. Complete with a smorgasbord of delectable goodness, including CAKE!

We all gathered on the first floor around 8:30a.m. to sing the traditional happy birthday song, and then the buffet line began. I didn't eat breakfast, and was actually quite hungry. I brought oatmeal to make, but decided to skip the oatmeal and see what goodies were a part of the birthday celebration.

Luckily, I work with some fairly health conscience people. There was a vegetable tray with Broccoli, celery, and olives. There was some fruit and  there was a variety of crackers and some cranberry cheese spread that is AMAZING!!! And of course there was the CAKE. The chocolatey, multi-layered, peanut butter filled melt in your mouth delicious cake.

I had a choice to make. I could decide to "start my lifestyle change" tomorrow and go ahead and partake of the cake, or I could take a small plate of vegetables and some crackers and head on back up to my desk and start my day.

You know what, I chose the latter. I'm quite proud of myself. If I would have given in to the cake (and oh it was hard to bypass), I would have started a vicious cycle and put off getting healthy yet again. And let's be real, my health is way more important than a sugar rush, no matter how tasty it is.

I did have 3 cups of coffee though, but after work I went to Wal-mart and bought myself a bicycle. I made Pork Chops, green beans and salad for dinner and afterward my roommate and I went for a casual stroll to the other side of the neighborhood and back. (probably 2 miles). I haven't ridden a bike in over 15 years and quite honestly thought I would fall on my face, but you know what - it was easy. just like riding a bike. And the Orange Blossom's are so fragrant which makes my heart super happy!

Needless to say, small changes during the day can make or break how you feel and how proud you become of yourself. I know if i would have given in to the cake, I would have felt guilty. I also believe that you can't completely deprive yourself of food because that food will become the one thing you can't stop thinking about. So, I'm about to eat a brownie. It's not cake, but it is chocolate and sometimes a girl just needs  chocolate!

Here we go again....

Back in 2010 I started blogging about my weight loss journey. I did it for me. To keep be accountable and to keep me honest. I lost fifty pounds that year and felt the best I have ever felt in my entire life. It wasn't easy, but I did it!

Fast forward five years and in that time, I moved, dealt with family health problems, been stressed at work, had fights with friends, dated jerks, and basically let my health suffer.

At first I didn't notice how much I had gained back. I was running and even participated in a couple of 5k races. I joined the Y for about a month or 2 and went maybe 3 times. Then I got lazy and complacent and tired, quit the gym and the pounds just came back.

It wasn't until I went shopping and realized I had gone up to a size I had never been before. I officially gained back all my weight and surpassed my heaviest point.

The good thing in all this is I know I can lose it again. I have it in me, buried under layers of fat, but it's there. I've done it before. I can do it again.

It won't be easy and I fully anticipate some failure along the way, but ultimately I am the one in control.

So here I go again. 5 years later, back in the same place I was when I first started this blog. I'm going to try really hard to keep myself accountable and update weekly.

Operation Karen gets healthy and stays healthy has begun!