Healthy Lifestyle



 

Since the beginning of this year, I have been on a mission to change my bad habits and live a healthier lifestyle. I have been taking one step at a time by making small changes in my eating and exercising habits in order to improve my overall health and fitness. By making those changes and reprogramming my mind, I have found success in weight loss.

This is not the first time in my life that I have lost weight. My weight has been a constant burden in my life for as long as I can remember. I have always been a "big" girl! I was never very active growing up and my eating habits were always horrible. It wasn't until I moved away to college that things began to change. From the time I went away to college until the year of 2010, I lost a good bit of weight. I wasn't exactly doing anything to lose the weight. My life happened to become busier and more active. I believe I was at about 216 lbs at my lowest. Then the Winter of 2010 came and Jacob died. :( After losing him, I started constantly gaining weight.

I tend to eat when I am upset, mad, stressed, bored, etc. EMOTIONAL EATER HERE! Well, I was most definitely going through a crazy roller coaster of mixed emotions over the years following that loss. I ate and ate and ate! The more I ate, the more the weight piled back on. Gaining all of that weight back made me feel absolutely miserable and gross. Fortunately, I had never suffered from a lot of health issues. However, that doesn't mean I wasn't in danger! Plus, I was feeling more lethargic and depressed with every pound I gained.

Something had to give!

I was at 265 lbs! I am not sure if that is the heaviest I have ever been, but I knew I would surpass that number if I continued on the path I was heading down. Finally, I reached a point where I had to take a stand against continuing down that path.

It was difficult to get started but I began making those small changes here and there. Along the way I have struggled with the mental battles of unbelief, doubt and negativity. I've wrestled with all of the voices in my head telling me that it was too hard and I couldn't do it; and I've fought all frustrations that have made me want to give up and quit. There have been days of disappointment and days when I have gotten off track/failed. Yet, I NEVER GAVE UP!

 

Currently, I am at 217 lbs and have lost a total of 48 lbs. I'm aiming at getting down to 150 lbs. I am not looking to be a size 0 or 2. My desire it to become healthier and stronger. Once I am at my goal weight of 150, I will have lost a total of 115 lbs. My goal now is to lose 10 more pounds by the end of the month. Overall, I still have 67 lbs to lose before I reach my goal weight.

It isn't always easy to stay on track. Changing old habits definitely takes a lot of self-discipline and motivation, There are still days that I am frustrated and feel like giving up. As I just confessed, there are times I do fail and there are disappointments along the way. There is not only a physical battle at hand, but there is a huge mental battle as well. The mental battle is the toughest! If I can overcome my head, then I can do so much more!

 

I have a long way to go still, but I'm heading in the right direction. I believe that God is leading me to have victory in this area of my life.

 

 

Since others have learned of my weight loss, I have been asked to share some advice/tips. The following are some tips based on what I have been doing.

 

TIPS

 

 

* EAT but EAT HEALTHY!

-- eat more whole foods (fruits & vegetables, nuts/seeds, beans/legumes, whole grains)

-- canned/frozen fruits & veggies are ok if they're not packed full of sugar or sodium

-- eat leaner meats

-- eat 3 meals and 1-2 snacks a day

-- don't skip meals

-- use portion control and eat slower

-- no late night snacking (try not eating after 8 PM)

-- watch sodium/sugar intake; cut the greasy and fried foods
-- cut back on eating out and try steering clear of fast food if you can
-- use healthier oils, dressings and sweetners

 

* EXERCISE!

-- 5-6 days a week for 20-30 minutes a day

-- alternate between doing strength & cardio  

-- switch up your workouts (don't do the same thing all the time)

-- do some Yoga
-- go walking 30 minutes a day
-- get outdoors
-- don't forget to stretch

-- take time to rest

 

* DRINK WATER

-- drink lots of water throughout the day
-- drink 1 cup of water before meals

-- if you want flavored water, use Crystal Light or something like that
-- also drink Green Tea (I drink a cup first thing in the morning and usually sweeten it with Stevia).

-- no sugary beverages

 

*SLEEP

-- try to get at least 8 hours of sleep

*OTHER

-- make realistic goals
-- reward yourself when you reach your goals

-- pray

 

 

 

A Fresh Start

Apparently, I STINK at this whole blogging thing! I haven't made a blog post since January 13. Today is April 8. It's been almost 3 months! I honestly considered deleting my entire blog and giving up my lifelong dream of being a blogger (j/k). However, I changed my mind!

Instead, I decided to start fresh by deleting all of my old blog posts (if you were wondering what happened to my posts ... well, that's what happened) and giving my blog an update! I saved all of the posts in documents and will possibly pull from them to make one post someday. Maybe ??

Actually, I am currently working on my next blog post and will be getting that up either tonight or sometime tomorrow hopefully!

Until then .....