March 2017 has been a banner month for my family. One granddaughter turned three. I finished a master’s degree and will graduate in May. My younger daughter just got accepted into nurse practitioner school at the University of Southern Mississippi. But the biggest news may be that the same daughter is getting married sometime this fall.
For me, that’s plenty of incentive to try to shed some of the weight I have put on in the last 10 years – coincidentally the same time I came to work at Hinds Community College.
We have a lot of events that, as Public Relations director, I am called upon to cover, along with my staff. At Hinds, we know how to put on a great event with lots of tasty food. VERY tasty food.
And, since I am no longer a newspaper reporter running from The Clarion-Ledger newsroom to the Capitol several times a week and skipping lunch to make deadline on a breaking story, not only am I eating more but I am not getting the amount of exercise I used to get.
Everyone tells me that losing weight is 80 percent what you eat (both what and how much – portion control!) and 20 percent exercise. For that part, I am taking the advice from Facebook friends who said drink lots of water (your weight divided by 2 = the number of ounces per day), make healthier food choices and cut down on the amount.
But the other 20 percent is exercise. I have had a membership at our fabulous Wellness Complex on the Raymond Campus since it opened a few years ago. For employees it’s a great buy at $10 a month, payroll deducted. And my office is right across the parking lot – so what excuse do I really have?
So for the past two weeks I have been spending 2/3 of my lunch hour across the parking lot on the treadmill, elliptical and bike trying to jump start my weight loss program. So far I’ve lost three pounds and can already tell a difference in my stamina, if not my waistline. The rest of the lunch hour I’m dining on a green salad or homemade soup warmed up in the office microwave – and smaller portions than I have been used to.
Both Hinds Wellness Complexes – we also have one on the Utica Campus – are open to the community at a good price. And, of course, students can pay $50 for an entire semester’s membership. For more details about what both have to offer see the website or Facebook page.
In the meantime, wish me luck on losing those 30 or so pounds I’m hoping to shed by October!
