Happy 5 Month Anniversary To Me

Attention! Attention! Attention! I am so happy to report that I have made it through my first five months….and quickly approaching month six! I committed to going to the gym 3 days a week, and I am happy to report that I’ve stuck to it and completed my fifth month of training. During this time, I have only missed two days due to sickness (one of those I could have completely prevented). So, what has been changing since I began my training?

Some of the biggest changes I have experienced is that I definitely have more energy than I have ever had. I would have thought that waking early and working out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday every week would cause great exhaustion, but it has had the complete opposite affect on me. I have been getting the best sleep every night, and the night sweats are completely nonexistent now. The bloated feeling that seemed to become a normal day to day feeling is almost nonexistent now. I feel so much stronger, and the confidence I feel about myself is entirely different. It is almost difficult to explain….it isn’t a cocky type of confident feeling. It is more like I feel good about myself because I know that I am no longer being lazy; I am heading in the direction towards better health.

While there have been so many positive changes, there are quite a few things that have not changed. My eating habits have not changed in the way they should. The holidays made it very difficult to even “think” about eating healthy because let’s face it…I LOVE SWEETS!

Sugar is my worst enemy. That one time I could have prevented my sickness….the one I mentioned earlier…..well that was all brought on by the enormous amounts of sugar I was consuming. The comforting idea about this entire journey is that I knew I wouldn’t knock out all of my goals at one time. At least I am still on the right track.

My husband and I just returned from a much needed vacation, so now is a great time to knock out the next part of my goal towards a healthier me. I really thought that making the gym a habit was going to be the most difficult part, but I was completely wrong. Eating completely healthier is definitely the most difficult journey in my book. I have been cursed with a love for sweets, and I must be delivered from it. Because my eating habits have not really changed, there hasn’t been any weight loss in quite some time. That is to be expected. Afterall, did I really think that I could continue eating the way I was just because I was going to the gym? (I honestly hoped it worked out that way.). The ugly truth is that diet and exercise do go hand in hand.

When my in-laws moved into our home after Hurricane Ian, I strongly believe I began to stress eat. Not that THEY were stressful, but the entire situation was a bit taxing. Now that they are in their own place and we have returned back to a “normal-ish” life, I can develop some sort of eating plan. The first thing that I decided to remove from my daily lifestyle was carbonated drinks. I honestly feel that even though the Stevia sodas are supposed to be better for you than a regular diet soda, it is still not good for you. So, I stopped buying them altogether. I’m implementing more water into my day (even though I was supposed to be doing that from the start–shhh, don’t tell my trainer). I am not eating near as much sugar as I was around the holidays, but I still feel that I’m consuming more than I should. I would like to get to the point that I have eliminated sugar completely (the unnatural kind).

I am also planning to consume more fruits and vegetables rather than processed snacks. I know, that alone will make a world of a difference in my weight loss. My husband and I are also being more disciplined about fasting three days a week. Let me clarify that this fasting plan is not for weight loss, it is for our prayer life, so we are not being strict about all of those intermittent fasting plans out there. I would rather consume much less food than fast, so the only way I would ever fast is if it is for good reason….prayer and a closer relationship to God is DEFINITELY a good reason.

Now that I have made going to the gym a habit, it is time to make a healthier eating lifestyle a habit. There are so many “diets” out there. There are also the diet shortcuts, but none of those things are permanent. I recently found out that there are many people taking some sort of diabetic drug for weight loss. My trainer has been researching it and found out that once you start, you must continue taking it for the rest of your life. It’s no different than a diabetic who needs insulin for the rest of their lives. I don’t want to have to take a pill or a shot to be able to stay slim. I don’t want to have to go under the knife to remove fat from my body. I strongly believe that a healthy diet and a disciplined exercise plan go hand in hand, and I am determined to prove to many that if you do those things…you don’t need all of the drugs and surgeries to lose weight. I am determined to prove that hard work, determination, and perserverance is the ONLY way towards a healthier lifestyle. We should all know that in life there are no shortcuts. The same goes for weight loss, there are no shortcuts. What happens if you stop taking the weight loss drug? What happens if you continue living the same way you did before the surgery?

So, the rest of my journey begins. Over the next few months, I will be conquering this healthy eating lifestyle along with continuous exercise. I will be conquering this whole weight loss thing because I will be putting all of the good things in my body instead of the horrible things I’ve lived on for so long. I have 47 (almost 48) years of bad habits to break. This will definitely be one roller coaster of a ride. Stay tuned….