Creating a Healthy Lifestyle | My Personal Journey
This is what Dr. Brene Brown would call a vulnerable post, so I'm just going to go for it! My personal experience with creating a healthier lifestyle was one of the main reasons for starting 30ish. I hope you find my story helpful as you continue to create a life you love. So here goes nothing!
"It" crept up on me slowly. "It" being the unhealthy lifestyle I had created. From spreading myself too thin to eating or drinking whatever I wanted, because hello, when you are stressed and always in a hurry who cares what you eat! Exercise? Not even a thought that crossed my mind. I was in get it done, survival mode. Feeling sluggish and seeing an unhealthy upward trend in the weight department was normal. But hey I was living my best life or so I thought.
Over a holiday break, my sister and I decided to do a crazy bet with HealthyWage to lose a few pounds. Cue the panic, as I realized I had just bet money and had NO idea how I was actually going to lose weight! Where the heck do I even start!? With a lot of help and a lot of trial and error, I have created long-term healthy lifestyle changes. One year later, I have lost 25 lbs, lift weights I never thought I could, walk upstairs without getting winded, and most importantly, feel strong and confident in myself.
The steps below outline my journey.
Getting started was the hardest part. Let's be real. If I wanted to see or feel changes I couldn't keep doing what I had always been doing. Progress wouldn't be instant, so somewhere deep down inside, I had to muster up the motivation to start. Finding an incentive, like HealthyWage was key for me.
Fake it till you make it. I told myself I was a healthy person, so when I made a decision I would ask myself, "Would a healthy person do this"?
It's ok to get help! Thank goodness my bestie told me about Noom, as I had no clue how to eat healthier. I signed up and was hooked. Noom taught me eating healthy was just how I should eat instead of seeing it as a diet. Noom also showed me how to have my cake and eat it too - no need to restrict myself! My mind was blown as that was a complete mindset shift for me. I also knew I had to get moving so was gifted a Fitbit to help me track my steps each day.
Modify habits based on your goals. After I got this Noom and regular walking thing down, I started strength training with Madeline Moves. Incorporating strength training meant I needed to eat more protein to build any sense of muscle, especially since I started with pretty much zero. Now my weekly habits include walking 12,000 steps almost every day, Madeline Moves 4-5 times a week, and O-p-e-n yoga 4-5 times a week.
Consistency is key. I'm ready to be in it for the long run. It is amazing what can happen in 1 year! I can't wait to see progress in 2 years and 5 years. I'm sticking to it because I know it will pay off, even if I don't see immediate results.
Don't think. Just get up and start moving. When I roll out of bed I immediately start moving (sometimes in a sleepy fog!) Don't overanalyze. Go for it and don't look back.
It's not all about the scale. I make sure not to confuse a number on a scale with a healthy lifestyle. Once I got to my desired weight, I shifted my focus from losing weight to transforming my body composition. You can be a heavier weight with lots of muscle and I'm all for that!
Eat a lot? Awesome you have more energy! If I eat more than normal one day, the next day I see it as an opportunity to exert the extra energy! I use it as fuel to get moving!
Everyone has their own journey. The most critical step of all is to rock your own journey. Some things that work for others don't work for me and that's ok! Be proud of who you are, where you are starting from, and know it will look different because we are all created perfectly unique.
We are all in this together, share your tips in a comment below!
