Getting Healthy: A Major Change of Lifestyle

I stood on the scale, looked down, and saw the number I had been dreading. The number I told myself that I would never reach. Yet, there it was, plain as day, staring right back at me. I stepped off and back on. I got the same result.

Then I did something I don't do very often. I cried.

I've always thought of myself as a pretty healthy person. I don't eat McDonald's every day-- in fact, I get fast food maybe once every four or five months. I love vegetables (but I hate fruit, fruit is evil, fruit is what got us kicked out of Eden-- just kidding ;)...or am I?). I don't eat a lot of red meat. I don't drink pop (or soda or Coke or carbonated sugar concoction of death or whatever you call it in your region). I don't sit on my derrière all day long. I like to go for walks.

But I'm 5'3" and according to those BMI charts at the doctor's office, I'm obese. I don't feel obese, though. I've never had a doctor tell me I was obese. I don't have shortness of breath, ache-y joints, high blood-pressure, sleep apnea, etc. So I decided to do a bit of a more in-depth BMI calculator that takes into consideration more measurements than just weight and height. I mean, I'm really muscular. I have insane calves, quads, and glutes (yeah I said it, I have a nice butt, chill). I've got a very broad upper back, shoulders, and chest. Parts of me are honestly just bigger, and a lot of my family is built that way too, whether they are overweight or not. So, I measured, punched in the numbers, and, turns out, I'm not actually obese, I'm just overweight. Whew, sigh of relief, right?

WRONG. I'm a perfectionist, and "just overweight" doesn't cut it for me. A little over a month ago, I decided I was fed up with being in between sizes and with my clothes not fitting quite right. I was tired of not being able to run (I love running). I was tired of feeling fat and self-conscious, something I have felt since 5th grade. That's almost 14 years of feeling like an ugly tub of butter that people are constantly judging. I've never had to wear plus-sized clothing, but that's because I'm not plus-sized. I should never have to wear plus-sized clothing, but I was beginning to be afraid that I was headed in that direction.

I had watched some family members lose a lot of weight on the NutriSystem diet. I was so proud of them for finding a program that fit their lifestyle and for sticking to it. They have a very busy schedule and NutriSystem provided the tools they needed in order to get healthy. That's what really struck me. They got healthy. Yeah, they lost weight and got amazing results, but they did it in a way that taught them the value of nutrition. I started to research nutrition and began learning about different vitamins, minerals, macro-nutrients, and more. Then, I started a fad-diet; the Ketogenic diet. And it worked!--for three weeks. I lost 11 lbs when I went keto (which basically is a low-carb, high-fat diet). However, I was really struggling with the types of food I was eating. I felt that I was having to pay for weird ingredients that weren't always natural, and, honestly, I just didn't feel healthy. My inspiration ran dry and I quit.

January of 2017 hit me like a train. I had gained weight again, I felt anxious and uncomfortable in public, and I just was unhappy and stressed. 2016 was the year in which I realized I did not want to follow the career path I had chosen 5 years earlier, the year I had become more conscious of my emotions and decisions, the year in which I began to see substantial problems in my menstrual cycle, including increased dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, and infertility.

I think we all have that trigger that gets pushed and we decide we have to make a change. For me, that was infertility. I realized that, yeah I wasn't eating fast food or laying in bed all day, but I wasn't taking care of my body, and therefore, pregnancy was going to be difficult to accomplish.

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body." --1 Corinthians 6:19-20

I love both letters to the Corinthians-- Paul gets so "tough love", and I'm really weird and that "tough love" pushes and drives me. This passage popped up on Pinterest one day and it felt like St. Paul was giving me one of those *ahem* moments and staring directly at me from heaven. I was so stuck inside of myself, lost in moping and hopelessness-- let me tell you, infertility sends you straight to rock bottom and leaves you feeling absolutely worthless. But God knows me: He knows that in these moments I need that Corinthians "tough love". So I took the message to heart and finally decided to change my life for the better.

I began slowly, starting with nutrition because I love food. But, because I love food, I thought it was going to be really hard to find a diet/meal plan that worked with my passion for cooking. I soon discovered two different diets; the Paleo diet and Clean Eating. What was amazing to me was how good this food looked-- I wasn't going to be buying a bunch of "diet"-labeled products, or weird foods with weird chemicals in them (I have a thing about weird chemicals, okay-- a lot of cancer in my family). A lot of what I was going to be eating were vegetables and meat-- and this girl *loves* vegetables and meat! What was sad, though, was knowing that, once again, I was going to have to make some major cuts to my favorite food group.

But this time, I wasn't being told to completely cut out carbs. Rather, I was encouraged to cut back on my carbohydrate intake and become more conscious of the types of grains I was consuming. (Not all carbs are created equal-- there are good and bad ones!)

I started saving tons of recipes-- recipes that were totally easy, affordable, and used normal ingredients. Recipes that my husband was going to enjoy as well!

Then came the next part-- Activity. On Black Friday I had purchased a FitBit, thinking that the buyer's-guilt I get from major purchases would encourage me to become more active. It worked. For the month of December and part of January I was keeping track of how many steps I was taking daily-- less than I had thought! Also, the FitBit app was helping me drink enough water, a huge part of losing weight, and one of my biggest problems. I'm not a fan of drinking much of anything other than coffee and craft beers, so having to drink at least 80 fluid oz. of water a day seemed impossible (that's 4 big bottles of water). However, just seeing that bar graph on the FitBit app really made me hold myself accountable, suck it up, and start drinking water like crazy.

Just in time, FitBit came out with a new app called FitStar, which you can either do the free version (you only get two workouts a week), or pay $7.99 a month for unlimited workouts. What I love about FitStar is it keeps track of your fitness levels in different areas of your body; Chest, Arms, Core, Legs, Back, and overall Cardio. After each exercise you evaluate how difficult it was, as well as record how many reps/how much time you were able to keep up with the video. It is a great tool for someone who is not very athletic to get in shape and feel strong!

So I truly began this fitness journey in late January of this year (2017). Here's what my individual plan looks like.

1. Keep track of daily calories in FitBit app. Try to stay between 1100 and 1400 calories, depending on daily activity level.

2. Drink 80 fluid oz. of water daily.

3. Get in at least 30 minutes of activity daily.

4. Do at least 5 FitStar videos a week.

5. Stick to the Paleo/Clean Eating diet 6 days a week.

6. Eat 5 times a day at least-- Breakfast, Morning Snack (which I call Second Breakfast lol), Lunch, Afternoon Snack, and Dinner.

7. Saturday is considered "cheat day", but I still have to stay in the calorie limit.

8. Keep track of weight every other day-- never two days in a row (otherwise, when your weight fluctuates, which it will, you're more likely to become discouraged).

9. Open up to community by using Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, and my blog in order to hold myself accountable and stick to this plan daily.

10. Make God a part of this process!

It's been four weeks and four days since I began this process, and it is amazing what I have learned from this way of life! (Yep, its time for another list! My little sister would be so proud.)

1. I'm happier. Every day I wake up feeling energized! I actually don't mind talking to people sometimes! (okay, okay, don't get excited here, I am still incredibly introverted).

2. I'm lighter. I've lost 6 pounds since day one! I know that doesn't seem like much, but I'm very proud to say it. Also, I've learned that weight loss begins to speed up the further you get into dieting.

3. Slow and steady wins the race. I've been able to keep up with this diet for many reasons, but I think the key for me is accepting that this is going to be a slow process, but that will make it more effective!

4. I'm eating food I genuinely like. I thought my heart would break when I stopped eating pasta.

(actual footage of me letting go of pasta)

When I started making recipes with spiralized vegetables, especially zucchini, I was ecstatic to learn that I could still have pasta, but made out of vegetables and I love vegetables more than Rose could ever love Jack.

5. I'm spending less at the grocery store; and wasting less, too. I've noticed how my trip to the grocery store rarely leads me into the actual aisles. I spend my time in the produce and meat sections the longest, and occasionally in the dairy section. Everything else in the middle? Most of it is carbs and processed food that honestly, I just don't want anymore.

6. I'm discovering a connection between my spiritual life and my body. There is this beautiful connection between your faith and your body, that sounds so weird at first, but once you experience it, its amazing. The more active I have become, the more I find myself thanking God for my body and for allowing me to push it to its limits. I find myself simply talking to God more often. I give thanks every Sunday at Mass that I had the fortitude and perseverance to make it through another successful week.

7. My body is changing. I'm becoming stronger. I've gained muscle in my legs, arms, and back. I'm losing fat in my upper arms, waist, and back.

8. I'm paying attention to the food pyramid. That triangle of propaganda they shove down your throat in elementary school? It's not totally wrong. I've caught myself in front of the fridge, conjuring up a mental image of the food pyramid, going through the groups and figuring out what group I need to eat from at that moment (with the exception of the grains group). I've been trying to keep all of my major meals balanced, especially in terms of protein and vegetables. I try to have at least two servings of fruit a day (usually in the form of V8 or a smoothie because I really do not like fruit). I try to keep dairy down to one serving a day, two at most-- partially due to the paleo diet, partially due to the fact that I think I might be a bit lactose intolerant. I usually have one serving of protein a day, sometimes two. Vegetables? As many servings as I want. I really love vegetables.

I keep these little guys in our living room where I can see it. I got the idea from Pinterest. I really like having a physical representation of my weight goal and what I have accomplished so far!

This transformation took 4 weeks. That's a month. I used to think that was such a long time, but it has gone by so quickly, and I am so pleased with the results. I know that the more I do, the better I am going to feel. I'm one of those people that just has to be pushed--pushed by God and pushed by myself. On days when I don't feel like sticking to my plan, I read a passage from Corinthians. I look at my health board on Pinterest. I remember how bad it feels to fail. I remember how great it feels to triumph. Every day is a battle, and I intend to win each and every single one of them.

I'll keep you posted with more results when they come!