Hi. My name is Gina Caciolo. Here I am wearing a hat I crocheted out of sustainable eco-alpaca yarn and a shirt I bought at the thrift store Impact!
Today is my first day towards a life of change and healthy living. This past Saturday I was drinking wine with my loving partner. I went to the bathroom at a certain point, and stepped on the scale. What proceeded was a lot of tears, and eventually a few slow pouty steps back to the bedroom. When my parnter looked at me, he could tell immediately I’d been crying, and I told him I stepped on the scale in his bathroom and found that I had gained 40 pounds in the last 4 years (in fact 20 in just the last year.)
He sat next to me, and held me, and said, “Well, this is the moment that you have to remember. Be determined and move forward.” He was right. That was the moment I needed to say, “Stop saying you’re going to do something, and start doing it.”
A little bit about myself… I’ve been living in New Haven, CT for just about 3 months. I work through an Americorp VISTA program called New Haven Education. My site location is Dwight Hall at Yale. I lived in California for the last two years, and moved here to get involved in Development work. I do grant research, and will eventually be writing grants, as well as helping with branding, and raising money through cultivating donors.
In 2008 I lived in Boulder, CO for just about a month and a half. I ate a vegetarian based diet because I didn’t have the money for meat and because I didn’t know how to cook meats. I walked to Naropa’s campus (apx 10 short blocks) for class, back to my sublet for dinner, back to Naropa for late night readings, and back to the apartment. With these two things, I went from 145 to 135 pounds in 6 weeks.
But over the course of the next two years, I drove everywhere and didn’t keep an active lifestyle. I didn’t really walk much, and I didn’t eat as well as I had before. When I moved to California, I thought everything would change.
It didn’t.
I didn’t walk more. I didn’t walk at all. I didn’t eat better. I “tried”, but I didn’t really know what I was doing.
The next summer, I worked really hard at losing weight. I watched seasons upon seasons of the Biggest Loser. I watched my calories and only injested 1200 calories a day and did 500 step ups and rode my bike and swam. I lost 15 pounds over 3.5 months.
And then I gained it all back… and more.
When I came to New Haven, I went to a doctor’s office to get a prescription. They weighed me… and I was shocked. I had gained every last pound back and then an additional amount. I started walking to my job instead of taking the shuttle, and I started trying to eat a little better. It didn’t help. In fact, I gained 5 more pounds.
Now I’m where I am today. And that’s ok. I’ve decided to change my life.
I watched the documentary Forks Over Knives and I was totally inspired. I read The Engine 2 Diet and was more motivated. I bought the Forks Over Knives cookbook and I went crazy. I watched other documentaries like Fresh and Ingredients and decided it was extremely important to start buying local food. I started shopping at the farmers market as much as I could.
Today, I went to New Haven Reads Book Bank and picked out a number of gardening and cooking books. My partner and I have talked about wanting to rent a home rather than an apartment, because we really want a yard where we can grow food in a garden. I made sure to grab a few gardening books for this reason. Also, I will be volunteering at Yale’s Sustainable Farm starting this Sunday. While reading the books will help, it will be better paired with hands on experience and a notebook.
I’m excited to learn more about food as it will be a big part of my life for the next year.
So, starting tomorrow, I will walk to work, walk on my lunch break (except when I have to work through my lunch hour), walk home, and then exercise for at least a half an hour four days a week. I will read about food and growing food and watch more documentaries and I will write about all of it. I most look forward to cooking new delicious meals. I will even post my weight every Monday, as I will work at Yale’s Farm on Sundays, and I believe that may make a significant difference. I am going to do everything I can to lose the 40 pounds I have gained in approximately 38 weeks. I believe this is definitely possible, especially with the support of my friends and loved ones.
Alright, time for me to go to bed, so I can wake up and start fresh! BOOM!
Quinoa is for Lovers 