LETS TALK ABOUT BEING HEALTHY

If I could get a repeat on a certain area of my life it definitely would be my health. Health is something I’ve taken for granted for a long time.  I’ve been struggling with my weight for almost 20 years.   I was very athletic growing up, however, let myself go due to an injury and it’s been downhill ever since. Basically, I developed some chronic health problems to compliment the weight gain. As I take this journey, I’ll open up more about some of the things that have decided to be unwanted guests in my health world. 

I remember while being a teenager I could drink all the minute made orange sodas and eat Fruity Pebbles cereal and go on about my day. Now I feel the effects when I eat bad food. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you can’t eat unhealthy foods, I just can’t. There’s that saying about the 80/20 rule and it’s true. Diet is 80% how you eat and 20% exercise.

However, if you’re not practicing 80% of eating healthy and managing your portion control and eat unhealthy meals 70% percent of the time, eventually your body won’t allow you to afford it. It will pay you back in the form of feeling bloated, gassy and you’ll feel like you gained 5 pounds over the weekend :).

Over the years, I’ve attempted probably every diet gimmick known to man and guess what? None of it worked. Some offered quick fixes; I lost 15-30 pounds doing diet tricks, however, gained it all back once I reverted back to my old eating habits.

Recently I learned that losing weight is all about your mindset and finding your motive or “why” (as some like to say) for being more healthy. What works for me is learning what works for ME and not what others think will work for me. You can easily get inspired by success stories but it’s important to see what motivates and works for you.

Time for one of my analogies:

You have to treat your healthy living like your love interest-if eating salad all day doesn’t work for you don’t try to stay in the relationship by eating salad all day because you will cheat. You’re most likely not to cheat if you are happy-this keeps you committed.

For me, this meant learning that going to the gym just doesn’t work for me (that can change later in life) and spending money for pills and shakes didn’t give me that magic fix. It’s all about what works. My eating relationship can’t be drinking 3 smoothies a day-I’ve seen some great results but after the 10 days, I want food! My ideal (proven) healthy relationship would be working out at home, taking walks, playing basketball and repeating healthy meals that I love.

The Body Eventually Becomes Older

So, 20 years later into my 30’s my health is pretty much the same. I’m still over weight and attempting to find this perfect balance that we have all heard of. Some may question my commitment level and others may think they have the perfect prescription for me. Truth is, nothing works until YOU figure out what works for you. Having a medical set back may also do the trick.  

I started to develop this certain type of anxiety about my health. It all started in September 2016. I started feeling things going on in my body that I wasn’t used to. No matter what I tried it just seemed like nothing was working.  It’s a scary thing when the body you’ve known forever starts responding differently to certain foods or even old habits like staying up really late.

I think some of us experienced feeling bloated, out of shape, and back pain. You start thinking back on all the times you said next month or next year was going to be different. I lived long enough to know that it is hard to lose weight the older you get-especially if you’re already out of shape. Trust me, if you’re in your twenties please work out because in your 30’s it becomes harder, in my opinion. 10 years ago, I could lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks. Now I’m lucky to drop 5 pounds in a month. 

What To Expect

This health section is not about me trying another magic pill or quick fix BUT taking things back to the basics. That means finding a healthy balance by managing what I’m eating with healthy food portions and committing to physical activity. I’m hoping by holding my self-accountable, I’ll  encourage and motivate others to do the same.  Again, I have a few health issues I would like to address.

Also, I’m getting married next year! I don’t want to be that person starving myself because my wedding is in October of 2018 and I waited until August of 2018 to get serious about my health. Trust me no judgment- Just stating the obvious. We all know someone or ourselves that had to do something extreme to achieve last minute results. It’s OK!

So, follow up with the health portion of my blog to follow up on my health journey. You’ll read articles on what didn’t work for me and how to find out what works for YOU!

I have two upcoming interviews with two friends that took control of their health by changing what went into their bodies. One of my friends adopted a plant-based lifestyle to correct some health issues and ended up getting pregnant. She was told by her doctor that her chances of getting pregnant were very slim.

My other friend started working on her health about 2 years ago with Beachbody.  Her goal was to manage some health concerns and to prepare for pregnancy. She not only improved her health but now has a healthy baby! Her pregnancy was super easy and she attributes that to committing to healthy choices.

Nope, I am not here to advertise Veganism or Beachbody. They both are very good. These two interviews will drop soon to give you options. Sometimes, it’s hard to make a decision when there are so many options out there that want to charge or get an email for information. It’s here for free!

I want you all to figure out what works for you. I thought it would be cool to hear their stories. You’ll see how they both did something different but still got the same results-healthy living.  I went Vegan on July 17th and I can’t wait to share that goodness of a story with you all.

I think some of us can make simple decisions so hard and we struggle to do what’s best for us. That includes me too! We all know the saying that eating an apple a day keeps the doctor away but we still won’t do it. What about that gallon of water you should drink a day? Right. This is why I wanted to add the health section on the blog.

Last not but not least, I combined Lifestyle with Health because some of the things I’ll discuss will have something to do with health, whether it’s healthy choices you make regarding life choices, friends and relationships-you can read about it here. I enjoy reading posts about 10 things I learned the hard way, Ten things folks don’t know about me, and other lifestyle subjects including routines, hacks and other things that I like. When the posts are not about my health and more “lifestyle” related, it will always be in a separate category.  Also, If I find that my Lifestyle posts start to take over my Health posts, I’ll create another dedicated page.