What’s all this then?

I’ve been reading a variety of blogs for many years now, and I’ve seen up and downs, happiness and sadness, but most of all I’ve seen achievement. People who write things down tend to get things done. Whether it’s goals to do with fitness, weight, finance or any of the other things us people tend to fret about, those who take the time to put their thoughts in order and on (virtual) paper seem to be the ones who reap the rewards in the end.

Me, I’m a starter. I start things and then I sort of tail off. I’ve started countless budgets, a bunch of fitness regimes and lists of things to do… sometime. Occasionally, I even think I might finish these things. I realised I needed a kick in the pants to get me started, and it wasn’t just the fact that it was getting close to Christmas and the New Year that made me think about it seriously.

No, it was a competition run by a young woman I’d like to call a friend. Shauna, of What’s New, Pussycat and The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl, put together a scavenger hunt – to find or take pictures of seven different things in a bid to win a copy of her newly minted book of the same name (the Dietgirl name, that is). I’ve been stalking Shauna for years now, probably since 2001. We met once back then before she left the country. Had I known she was going to become a famous author, I would have got her autograph.

Anyhow, I participated in this scavenger hunt and managed to score a copy of her book, having had my name drawn out of a pile at random. After I finished gleefully congratulating myself on being so lucky, I realised that I should face facts. Here was someone who’d achieved so much and then gone on to write a book about it all. I’m sure there’s many other such people as well, but this was someone I’d been stalking for so long that it feels like I’m her neighbour (like a crazy old lady who twitches the curtains to peek out at the street). But back to the point – I don’t want to write a book, but I do want to achieve my goals. And now seems as good a time as any to start.

Now for a quick bit of background. I’m 28, live in Canberra and work in a boring public service job – this means I spend about 8 hours a day sitting at a computer. I’m overweight, technically obese, if you take stock in the BMI, which I don’t, but that’s more for the sake of my sanity. The last time I weighed myself I was about 82kg, and then I got rid of the scales. I like to think I’m 5 foot 5 and a half (cos I used to be, before I moved to Canberra in 1998), but when I joined the PS and had my medical examination, they said I was 5 foot 4. When I was in NZ in October 1007, I weighed myself on my mother-in-law’s scales. They said I was 100kg. My husband kindly said that those scales were very wrong, but I’m not so sure.

Secondly, I suffer from depression. I’m on medication for this and see a psychologist anywhere between once a week and once every two months, depending on how things are going. My mother thinks my weight gain of the past few years is due to my meds. I think it’s because I’m lazy and eat crap food. In addition to this, the last batch of photos she has of me are from 1999, when I was still learning how to cook for myself, and hadn’t gotten beyond basic and generally healthy food. In comparison to those photos, I am now a fatty boombalada.

Thirdly, and I think lastly, my husband and I are trying to conceive. We made the decision back in March 2007 and after seeing our GP to talk about vitamins and other things, I went off the pill in April. Aside from a couple of months when he went back to NZ to try to earn some extra money between late August and late October, we’ve been trying pretty consistently, and still nothing.

I know that losing weight and getting fit would benefit me in many ways, so I’m finally going to start that journey. Wish me luck.