Working It Out

Me in October 2005

At the beginning of 2007, I had mono. It knocked me out… for several months. And it totally messed with my body. Around that time, I stopped being able stomach animal protein. It started with red meat, and eventually I wasn’t even eating fish. I became a full-on vegetarian for 2 years. Over that period of time, I gained weight, continued to feel “off” and tired…a lot. I made a few half-hearted attempts at getting healthier… none of which really involved exercise.

I did start working out with a trainer in the fall of 2008 but financial and logistical reasons made me stop. At that time, I had a blog where I would journal my workouts, meals and losses. It was helpful for me, but it got boring and tedious after a while and I stopped around the time I stopped seeing the trainer.

In the spring of 2009, I just had to do something… I felt “toxic”… I don’t know how else to explain it. I did the Master Cleanse. The full 10 days. It wasn’t that hard, and I got through it. I lost 11 lbs… but the thing for me that was so amazing was that I found myself craving meat. I remember distinctly being at an event for Bob’s company during the cleanse. As they passed around appetizers, the thing that shocked me was that I was drooling over the roast beef canapés and not the chocolate covered strawberries!

When the cleanse was over, I gradually started adding meat back into my diet… mostly fish, chicken and turkey… very rarely will I eat red meat, and I still have issues with meat on the bone. BUT it was around then that I started to feel better. Then in the fall, after doing a lot of research, I stopped taking the birth control pills that I was on for years. No, I’m not trying to get pregnant… I’m just choosing not to use those pills anymore.

So here I am, 6 weeks into 2010 and I can honestly say I’m on the road to better health.

Ten Things I'm Doing Differently:

1. I’m working my ass off at the gym… literally. On January 1, Bob and I went for our first workout (not ever, of course, but as a part of this lifestyle change). We’ve been going 4 times a week ever since. In fact, last week we upped it to 5 – adding a day of just cardio.
   
2. We downloaded an app for our iPhones called “Lose It”, which is a calorie counter. Calories are something I’ve never counted before. Carbs, sure, but not calories. Anyway, we both faithfully enter every morsel of food that goes into our mouths and it’s been very enlightening. Did you know that a serving size of frozen yogurt is ½ a cup??
   
3. NOT depriving myself. If I want some chocolate, I have it. Just not the whole thing.
   
4. Eating mostly WHOLE foods. And if I buy anything prepared, it better have a short, recognizable ingredients list
   
5. Lots more water and green tea. I’ve always felt better when doing this.
   
6. Multi-vitamins, every day.
   
7. Reading motivational blogs written by healthy eaters, like Kath Eats Real Food
   
8. Eating at home more. This way, we can control what goes into our recipes
   
9. Eating at the dining room table, not in front of the TV.
   
10. Giving up the "all or nothing" mentality. In my former life, if I had a piece of cake or whatever, I would have said, "why even bother going to the gym today? I had a piece of cake last night." Now, I say "I had a piece of cake last night, I better work a bit harder at the gym today."

Why Working Out is Awesome:

• I feel so much better
• I move so much better
• I sleep so much better
• It’s fun to go with a workout partner… encouraging and pushing each other makes it interesting
• It decreases my appetite (I know…it’s supposed to increase it…)
• It’s a great way to start the day
• It clears your mind. Lots of thinking gets done on that elliptical.
• It’s so cool to see how much stronger I’ve become, just in 6 weeks

How much have I lost? I wish I could honestly say… I refused to weigh myself until Feb 1. I can tell you I’ve lost 5 lbs since then. So it seems that I’m losing at about a rate of 2.5 lbs per week, which “they” say is normal. I can tell you as a former low carber, it’s tough to see such slow weight loss but I know it’s the best way to do it. And the fact that I notice the difference in the way my clothes fit helps, too.

Another motivating factor for me is that my Dad is also working out now!! This is huge... my Dad was not a gym guy. But he is diabetic and needs to drop a few for his health. So when I found out he was working out too, I told him how great I thought it was. And I told him, "If you keep going, I'll keep going". It's a deal I'm not about to go back on.

I don’t intend to turn this blog into a “My Weight Loss Journey” blog or anything. I won’t be writing much about that stuff at all actually, other than to say “had a great workout today” or maybe mention a new fitness goal I’ve reached or complain that my husband is losing weight twice as fast as me. I’ve just been kind of holding off on posting because I wasn’t sure how I wanted to bring this part of my life into the blog, and it’s been a huge focus for me over the past 6 weeks. But less weight is part of the mission of this blog, as well as one of my goals for 2010. It’s time to work on my fitness.