On my journey to losing 75 pounds, I learned quite
a few things. It was only after making
the vow to “get FINE in 2009” and learning about eating the right foods,
calories in vs. out and portion control that I got my MIND healthy. Now it was time to get the BODY healthy
too. And by body, I mean starting with
my head and going all the way down to my feet!!
To get my body healthy, I took
these 3 steps:
Step 1 changed
my attitude
Step 2 changed my diet
Step 3 changed my physical activity
In this post, I will explain these four
things and how I went about doing them.
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Step
1 I
changed my attitude…
First, I had to get my head straight and change my attitude
toward this whole “getting healthy” thing!!
I also had to make healthy living a habit that would stick with me,
hopefully, for the rest of my life. I
had a come-to-Jesus meeting with myself (so to speak, but I definitely knew I
was going to need His help too!) to get things straight with me.
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I
knew if this was ever actually going to work, I had to be patient.
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Above all, I decided that if I was really going to do this, failure was not an option.
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So
I completely changed my lifestyle.
Fortunate for me, I was blessed in the sense that my husband was 100%
supportive and on-board because he wanted to get healthier too.
When
I say it was a LIFESTYLE CHANGE, I am not exaggerating!!
I
completely changed:
-
my attitude- the foods I ate
- how I ate
- the times I ate
- the way I prepared the foods I ate, AND started writing down and keeping track of everything I ate, AND the amount of physical activity that I did (well…I went from zero to lots, basically)
Step 2 I changed my diet…
Honestly, it was the food
part that had me the most worried.
I love to eat and knew that I would need to control this part the most. So the first thing I did when I decided to
get healthy was change my diet because I had heard 70% of weight loss was what
you eat.
So I started eating a more balanced diet. I started eating more veggies, especially
green ones because I had read all about the benefits of getting enough
fiber. I also upped my protein intake,
and started drinking protein shakes and eating Greek yogurt and cottage
cheese. I was lifting weights at the
gym and knew protein would help that muscle build faster and stronger, and I
was looking forward to arms that didn’t jiggle!
I started eating lean meats such as fish, chicken and ground
turkey, and extra-lean cuts of steak and pork.
I added in whole grain breads, pastas, rice, and oats and discovered new
things like quinoa and wheat berries. I
started drinking lots of water, and started taking vitamins, and watched my
sugar intake.
I started packing my lunch – and snacks – for work every day
so that I wouldn’t be tempted to go get fast food during my lunch break or buy
a sweet treat out of the vending machine in the Teacher’s Lounge. Not only did I save my waistline I saved
some money too!
I was realistic, though, and implemented a “cheat day” every
Sunday where I could still have the foods and treats that I wanted. As time went by, though, and I started
really assimilating my new way of eating, I found that I didn’t need the cheat
days as often, and that I actually craved veggies! Not only that, knowing how hard and how long
I had to work to burn off that dessert, was the only deterrent I really
needed!
Step 3 I
changed my physical activity…
…or, started actually started working out. That’s probably more accurate to say! J
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I wish I could say that the first thing I did was check with
my doctor (as any good fitness pro will tell you to do) to make sure I was
physically ready and able to launch my 5-6 times a week high-impact/vigorous
cardio activity routine. But I didn’t. Matter of fact my first time back to the gym I did a Step class
and just about died. Almost, but not
quite. J
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I wish I could say the next thing I did was go out and
invest in cute new workout clothes and some good-quality cross training
shoes. But I didn’t. Matter of fact, I used old gym clothes and
hand-me-down Nikes.
I wish I could say that I did the smart thing and slowly
and cautiously eased into a workout routine so as not to harm my body or
injure myself. But I didn’t. Matter of fact, my first week back to the
gym (after seven years of very little physical activity) I went six days in a
row, and ended up doing Step classes, Zumba classes, and Body Pump. I’m a “full monty” kinda person. I almost did because the classes were crazy
hard…but I kept at it.
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Here’s
what I DID do:
1. I bought a heart-rate monitor to start tracking
calories burned and learned all about my heart-rate zones! To read more about this, click here.
2. I figured out approximate calories burned in the
different exercises that I was doing. I
really wanted to know so that I could keep track of calories in vs. out (and
know when I could eat a little more!).
I used the website NutriStrategy
to help me, but there are a couple more that you could also use, here and here.
3. I became a gym rat and started working out ALL THE TIME!! I did a variety of different types of workouts so I wouldn’t get bored: step aerobics, spinning, Pliates, body pump…and later added Zumba and running.
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And I knew,
from past experience, that after the first couple of weeks of panting, dying,
and wanting to quit, my body would adjust and the physical part would get easier
more manageable.
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I
started working out in March and by July I had dropped about 20 pounds. I worked out all summer and by the beginning
of the next year (2010) had dropped another 20. By now I had lost about 40 pounds in a little less than a year. One thing I noticed is that the weight was
coming off a lot more slowly now (that I was 30) than it had when I was 22 and
had lost all of that weight when I first moved to Houston. I continued to workout and weight train and
maintained my weight loss because of this, but also because by now I had
learned how to eat. That summer I hit
it hard at the gym, working out twice a day and really concentrating on my
weight-training program.
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Because
of this, I lost another 20 pounds. It
was shortly after that that I hit a plateau and felt like it was time to kick
it up a notch. That’s when I started
running. By the end of 2010, I had run
two more 5Ks and a 5 miler. I ran six
more races in the Spring of 2011, and dropped another 15 pounds.
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So here I am now, three years and 75 pounds lighter. I have lost
body fat, gained muscle, am healthier than I have ever been, feel better than
I’ve ever felt, eat better than I’ve ever eaten…and I’m a runner! I
finally got my mojo back…and worked darn hard to find it…so I am not about to
do anything to jeopardize it! J I
wish I could say it’s been an easy journey but I wouldn’t be telling the truth
if I did.
So where am I now?
Get FINE in 2009
Action Plan
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Step 1
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admitting I had a problem that I wanted to fix. – CHECK
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Step 2
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form an action plan to carry out that plan –
CHECK
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Step 3
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get informed and acquire the knowledge that I would need
to best tackle my problem – CHECK
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Step 4
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follow-through and WORKING MY BUTT OFF, no pun intended! – CHECK
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Step 5
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maintain the weight loss so that I stay healthy from now
on. …still to come
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***Stay tuned for Part 4, the last post in the series,
where I share my AFTER pictures and talk about what I do to stay healthy and
maintain the weight loss.***
Inspirational!
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