The Epiphany

When I returned home from Disney, staying with my parents for 2 months, I decided I needed to get in shape, mostly because I needed an outlet to get out my frustration and aggravation about random situations (that lets admit, we all have). Not just that but after being away from my boyfriend for 5 months and another 2 on the way I wanted to look amazing the next time I saw him. Not because he would love me any less looking the way I looked coming home from Disney, because he would, but because I wanted it, for me, to look better. It was finally that time- to take charge of my life and make it happen.

My dad offered to pay for a 1 month membership to the gym my mom goes to, but to do that would have cost $59, which even though my dad would be paying for, I didn't want him to have to pay that much. At that point I started looking at other options. My mom has always been one to get random fitness things and had Slim-in-6 on dvd so I decided I would just do that for a few weeks and see how it went. The first week went well, I worked out 5 out of those 6 days that you are 'supposed' to. However once the 2nd week came around to do the "Start It Up" dvd, I was bored! SO BORED! (Which tends to be a reoccurring factor with me in all aspects of my life, but I can't be alone in that right?). Being bored slowed me down a little bit, I found myself not wanting to work out that week, just because I didn't want to do the same thing day after day, so I decided to skip up to the "Ramp It Up" dvd, and that helped drastically. I felt the burn again and was suddenly motivated once again to get into shape.

After a week of "Ramp It Up" it happened again, I was bored. Luckily there was a third dvd to this program "Burn It Up", and although you aren't supposed to start that one until you've mastered both of the other programs, I couldn't do those anymore they were too boring. The third dvd kicked my butt! The first time I felt like I was going to die, it was so intense, I was sweating within the first 15 minutes which was nice for a change I finally felt challenged, in a good way. Towards the end of the workout I didn't think I was going to make it, but finally just as I couldn't do anymore, it was over. I was so relieved, proud... exhausted. This continued for a couple of days. I seemed to be maintaining a 2 days on 1 day off workout schedule, which worked for me, it still gave me about 5 days a week but with a day off in the middle so I didn't feel overwhelmed or exhausted. And before I knew it after 3 weeks of working out I was down 4% bodyfat and 7 lbs!

Aside from the workout aspect I decided I needed to keep a handle on what I was eating regularly to see what could be improved upon. A few years ago I had found the daily plate which is a food tracking website that has just about every food on the planet on it to enter into your food journal. I started tracking my food intake, not just major things, but minor things too, every single thing I put into my body I put on this site. It helped a lot, I realized how much I was overeating in certain aspects of my life. Excess in snacking, drinks, and in going out to eat. This taught me to be a little more conscious of what I was putting into my body. I stopped drinking soda alltogether and decreased the juices to a minimum, allowing usually just 1 glass in the morning with breakfast. I started eating healthier snacks like a handful of almonds or a Fiber One bar instead of a candybar, something just as satisfing but that would keep me feeling full longer, making it so I would eat a little less.

Although keep in mind I like the taste of Fiber One bars, you may not, this doesn't mean you have to eat them, just try to find something that is high in fiber, lower in sugar, higher in protein and lower in calories, so that it keeps you feeling satisfied longer. Even something like a Nutrigrain bar is better than a candybar. It has more of a natural sugar rather than refined sugar and is filling with whole grains. The point is- don't just do things because its what someone else did, find something that you like to do in order to make this a lasting situation.

It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be to keep a food journal, espcially using the daily plate. If you have a blackberry or iphone, they even have applications you can download so you can do this straight from your phone as you are eating regardless of where you are. It is more convenient than ever, and makes it so much easier to keep track of things. It also helped me to make a more educated decision on what I was eating when I went out to eat, especially if I was going to a place that doesn't have the nutrition info listed. I could look things up before I left the house to give me an idea of what would be a healthier option when I did go so that I wouldn't feel excluded by not being able to eat out cause "I'm on a diet." Come on you know, you've all heard that excuse used by someone or you yourself have used that excuse. Well I'm here to tell you that you don't have to use it! You can still go out to eat with friends and family and eat normal food. You may have to compromise a little, for instance- if I'm going to eat some of the bread that is brought to the table before the meal (or chips and salsa) I make sure to eat a meal that has veggies instead of mashed potatoes. Just little things that help lower the calorie count to make it a little healthier.