I have a little story to tell.
I've made some changes in my life recently and by sharing, my hope is that someone out there may be influenced in a GOOD way.
Warning: my little story is rather wordy... aren't they all? :)
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My up-down story
A few years back, I was coursing through a really difficult time in my life. Attempting to hold a failing marriage together was beginning to take it's toll.
I hadn't really paid attention and taken care of myself because we were plunged into survival mode. My thoughts were on my son and our uncertain future. It was only when I ended up glancing at myself in a department store full length mirror one day, I gasped!
You see, the house I lived in at the time must have been built by a giant. All the mirrors reflected someone around 5'6" tall from the chin up. Crazy! I lived a long time without a mirror showing off what I really looked like.
But the department store mirror didn't lie. I had put on weight and a lot of it! It was then that I resolved to stop the fiasco of over indulging for comfort and get things back on track.
I joined a local Curves gym and immediately fell in love! It was such an encouragement to walk into a place with other non perfect women just like myself. What I loved about Curves was the fact that the workout program was built as a circuit. The machines were on self adjusting hydraulics so you really couldn't 'do it wrong.' With the machines set out in a circle, you were to run in the same spot until you heard a ding, then you'd move to the next machine. Ding and you'd run, etc. The machines were geared to help you build muscle which is the best fat burner there is. For only 30 minutes 3x a week!
After joining for awhile, I first noticed returning strength which felt empowering. So I decided to ramp things up and look into their eating plan with some hesitation.
You see, I don't like unnatural things to do. I didn't want to cook special foods leading me to cook two meals at home,. I didn't want to have to keep track of an entire list of foods, points and such. And I didn't want to have to give up 'fun' food long term. I just wanted something relatively easy to just 'do.'
The program looked encouraging so instead of plunking down more money, I purchased their book instead. And did it on my own.
After a few weeks, I finally landed a full length mirror and hung it in the house so I could at least see what I looked like when I got dressed. I'll never forget that first glance. My jaw hit the floor. I didn't recognize that thin person in the mirror!
Not only was I successful at the weight loss thing, I surpassed my own expectations. By the time my marriage was a done deal and the moving truck dropped us off at our new location, I had dropped 25 lb which was below my goal weight. And the weight was still rolling off on it's own. I actually started eating burgers to slow down the loss!
I stopped going to Curves when I became a single parent because they didn't allow children in the waiting area. So I resolved to do the best I could at home on my own with LOTS and LOTS of power walking. It worked for awhile, until the rain started pounding down. I lost motivation without the workout and started getting sloppy with my eating habits again.
And then I started
Today? I've gained back 15 of those 25 lb and haven't been very happy with myself lately. I've had a taste of what it felt like to be fit and trim and desire that back.
Not long ago I decided to find my Curves book and start reading again. I couldn't find the book so I started snooping in thrift stores and found another for a whoppin' dollar.
But I didn't read it right away. Reading it meant that I was committed to a 'plan.' I really didn't want to follow anything! So I held tough for abit longer.
A week ago my frustration hit an all time high. Our weather turned HOT overnight and right on cue, my summer clothes didn't fit. I went for a walk at a snail's pace and felt hot, fat and out of shape with the waistline of my pants cutting into me. I decided that day it was dumb to buy larger clothes and smarter to fit into the ones I had.
So I decided to bypass crappy carbs and just eat protein and salads. I didn't really think much further ahead than that one day. I just wanted to ride out the day to see how I felt about it all. The day went by pretty painlessly, so I extended it for two days. No commitment, remember? :)
After the 2nd day, I stood on my scale out of curiosity. And I was down 5 whoppin' pounds!
Honestly, all I did was stop eating crap. Went off breads, flours, starches, sugar and ate protein and fresh veggies. THAT'S IT.
I've since picked up the Curves book for inspiration and found I was on the right track. Following a few simple rules was all this was going to take.
Why share this here?
I shared my two day experience on Facebook HERE and know what happened? The comment line BLEW UP. There was kudos, chit chat about what diet plan worked for others and lots of talk about healthy eating and tips galore. I was pretty stunned!
But much more transpired than the quick scale loss. Today, after one week:
- the desire for constant naps have vanished!
- clearer and sharper thinking
- better memory
- more energy
- more patience
- happier!
These improvements after one short week encouraged me to take that ginormous step and make an official commitment to improve my health and hopefully lose a few in the process.
Because, trust me on this one, if your health goes, a lot of your life as you know it follows. (more on that one another time)
So, are YOU in?
Have you been desiring a fresh start to better eating and feeling better yourself? If so, this may be the group for you. :)
So here's what I propose. I'll come on board on occasion and together we'll share tips and advice on better health, eating and encouragement for each other. Perhaps I can even feature the odd guest that's doing really well. Or we can have health related giveaways or challenges on health goals.... whaddaya think?!? Care to brainstorm with me on what we can do?
It doesn't matter what plan you follow. The posts will be geared in such a way that no matter what you personally chose, you will benefit.
Never in a million years did I think I'd be inclined to post on a topic like this. And maybe you're a little stunned yourself. So I'm going to gauge this series by comment interest. If you like what you hear, I hope you'll join in, because I'm gonna take quiet as it's time to eat that chocolate cake once again, alright?!? :)
And the support won't stop here. Join us over at FJI Facebook for ongoing conversations, tips and suggestions anytime!
So, as I sit by the computer tonite typing this up while gnawing on a few fresh veggies, let's do a trial run...
Tell me why YOU wanna be a Junk Loser. :)
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