First Blog...Why I am doing this?

Why am I doing this, easy question to answer. Last July, I was diagnosed with melanoma and had two moles removed. One off my upper left thigh, that was the largest, and one from my upper right forearm. I had a lymph node removed from my left groin area and it was biopsied for 5 strains of cancer. The results came back negative. I did not have any other form of cancer floating around in my body. I am cancer free. I thank God daily for this fact.

Me. Fat and unhealthy on a recent vacation to Key West.

When faced with facts that make you realize your mortality, you quickly realize how short life is. I decided to change all my bad habits that were adding to a shorter life expectancy for me. The first being to quit smoking. Easier said than done. I have been a pack a day smoker since I was 20 years old. I am over 40 now. I never really wanted to quit. I liked smoking. I take that back, I adored smoking! I liked it with my coffee in the morning and with a cocktail at night. I liked to chain smoke as I drove to work. Quitting would be no easy task and it wasn't. I wanted to quit smoking before I attempted any other improvements to my health because I felt that as a smoker I could not lead a healthy lifestyle even if I were to eat right and exercise daily. Plus, I knew that quitting smoking was going to take all of my energy and focus. I would not be able to focus on exercise and a healthy diet while giving up cigarettes. 

It has taken me 10 months to quit smoking. Yes, 10! I quit approximately 6 times over those 10 months and no attempt lasted more than a week. As of this writing, I am 15 days without a cigarette and feel confident enough to move on to diet and exercise. I am positive that my battle with cigarettes has come to an end. Now on to the diet. After I turned 40, weight began to creep on and I cringed. After I was diagnosed with cancer and had melanomas removed, my life became sedentary and I put on more weight. I cringed more but did nothing about it, until now. 

At this first writing, I weigh 234 pounds. My arms measures 14" around, my upper thigh is 26", my waist equals 42" (gasp) and my hips are 53" (sigh). I weigh what I weighed when I was pregnant with my daughter and I am disgusted. I am considered obese. At 5'11" I should weigh about 165 pounds. I am large boned so this is an ideal and healthy weight for me. I have been thinner. I weighed 148 pounds before I got pregnant with my daughter but 165 is my goal and here are some more goals.

• I will eat low fat and low carb foods daily
• I will consume no more than 1500 calories per day while I am dieting until I reach my goal weight
• I will consume at least 7 "raw" foods daily
• I will exercise daily with a focus on yoga
• I will continue to be smoke free
• I will add muscle building routines to my exercise routine

Today is my first day. I have eaten low fat and raw foods to meet my goal. I exercised to "Hip Hop Abs" for a half hour and did yoga for a half hour today.

"Corey can do it!"