And So It Begins...

Lets start off with some background info. My name is Corey, I am 21, and I live in Virginia Beach, VA. The reason I am writing this blog is because I am trying to lose weight so that I may join the United States Coast Guard. Just over a year ago, I walked into my local recruiting office and I was told "Get down to 200lbs and come back and see us." Now...if I had started training that day, I probably would have been VERY close, if not actually in the Coast Guard. But I went through many ups and downs with weight loss. I started and stopped countless weight loss routines since that day. It wasnt until last week when I finally decided that I CAN do this and I WILL do this. Currently, I am 273lbs. My maximum weight according to Coast Guard Recruiting Standards is 208lbs. My goal is to get down to about 195lbs...and I want to do it by my next birthday (July 5, 2011) Im doing this with some advice Ive been given by close friends and family, and even people I dont know. Is it possible to get down to that weight in that period of time? Im not sure...but I intend to do my best.

The reason I am making this blog is to help myself track my progress, and I also want to help people that are in the same situation as I am by showing them you dont have to starve yourself, or spend money on "6 minute abs" or other scams, and you dont have to wake up at 4:30am and run 3 miles 7 days a week and eat small, bland meals to reach your goal. Now I am in NO way a professional or very experienced at all in this subject...Im just doing my best and seeing what works along the way. That is the point of this blog. You dont just wake up one day and say "Im gonna lose weight!" and get right out and make the necessary changes. It takes time to really motivate yourself into doing it. Believe me...I know. And you arent going to do it all with just the snap of your fingers. You're going to have days when you fall back on your diet, or you dont feel motivated to work out. And that's what I want to document to help myself by looking back and seeing what I need to do differently, and showing others what not to do and how to avoid speed bumps. Everyday I will post something. It may be a 6 paragraph story, or just a 3 word check-in. But everyday I will post what I ate and how much activity was done, etc. The only thing that may help me and other may not have at their disposal is the amount of activity I do at my job. I am a walking courier at a law firm in Norfolk, VA. We occupy 4 floors of the building and every 30 mins, I have to walk the floors (at a brisk pace) and drop off/pick up mail. Not to mention other tasks having to be done throughout the day including lifting heavy objects, etc. I work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. So that's a lot of activity. Also, every monday evening I will post 2 pictures of myself. One picture of the front view of myself, and one from the side. Wearing the same thing and standing in the same place in the same position. Since one post a week is quite often when it comes to weight loss, you (and I) may not see much difference in size or shape. And every 2 or 3 weeks I will weight myself on Monday morning and I will post my new weight, whether I lost or gained. I have to be totally honest in this entire process.

This isnt going to be easy. Im going to go through good and bad times. Some weeks I may have gained some weight, some weeks I may have lost a lot of weight. Either way I will alter my routine accordingly and I will update every change and every positive and negative I come across. Until next time.

-Cor.