10 day countdown to changing our life

Meet my husband of almost 24 years. We met when I was 18 and we have been together ever since. In high school he used to be called Spazz, and then he became Big Spazz. We are self proclaimed foodies. When we travel, our motto is "try something different." Trying something different means we never eat at franchises when we travel and we try not to eat at the same place twice. For better or worse, we have raised our boys to enjoy food. Big Spazz is also an expert chef. His fried rice and peanut butter mochi are legendary (along with his catch and eat dishes like uhu tempura, steamed moana kali, crispy papio, etc.)

Obviously from our wedding pics, we are a lot bigger now and yet at that point in our life, we were the heaviest we had ever been, except for my pregnancy weight. In this pic, I was already a new mom and our oldest was almost two months old.

We did not get obese overnight. We've been this way for a while. We've tried different plans, albeit half heartedly (Weight Watchers, exercise, diets). In the mean time, Big Spazz was put on high blood pressure medication and I have not felt comfortable in my skin for so long that I don't know if I've ever felt normal. I am always the biggest one in the group. I never used to be that girl, but I've been that girl for all my adult life.

We are committed to changing our life and we're starting with this little book. It won't be easy. In fact, there may be swearing, but I feel like I have to do it for us. After one year of living away from my family, I have come to realize that I missed my husband more than anyone. I want to make sure that we spend as many healthy years together as possible.

My grandmother said that words held mana. Once it's said, it carries its own power, so I'm saying it out loud. We will change our eating for life, not because we need to lose weight, but because we need to live strong. The change starts on September 1. There is no looking back.