WELLNESS: A NEW JOURNEY

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Today marks 29 days of a new lifestyle change. I made a decision 4 weeks and 1 day ago to change the way I take care of myself, to be more intentional with my health and what I eat. This decision was a long time coming...to be honest, I've never really cared much for my health. I always had a fast metabolism, so I *thought* I didn't need to worry about what I ate. I've never been the athletic type, so exercise wasn't always on my to-do list. ;) I know me and if I don't make a decision with my full heart and am 100% bought-in, then I won't follow through. BUT when I DO make decisions, then I do it, I'm committed and bought-in. So, what lead me to finally make this commitment?? A few things:

1. I want to be healthy for me. I want to feel my best, have energy, and be proud of myself. I want to feel strong, have endurance, and feel like I'm treating me the best I can. I want to live.

2. I want to be healthy for my husband. There's so much to be said for feeling confident in your body. I want Jon to see that confidence and, frankly, I want him to really like what he sees!

3. I want to be healthy for my future children. One day, when Jon and I decide to start a family, I want my body to be in good shape to carry the little darling through pregnancy. AND I want to keep up with the little rug-rats. I want them to have memories of their mommy playing with them and being there fully.

4. I don't want to die early because I didn't care for my body well. One day I will die, BUT I don't want that to be because I didn't care for my body how I should.

So here I am. :) A month into healthy eating and exercising, I've gone through a lot of feelings, changes, and have set some exciting goals.

Old habits die hard ---> Let me put into perspective my previous habits. No exercise, nothin'. Sometimes a random dance party might break out, or I'd help a friend move, but other than that, my day to day "exercise" consisted of walking to my car, my desk, and into the kitchen. My eating habits might have been worse. Here is just a brief list of my frequent cravings and comfort food habits: french fries, Cheezits, bread, cream cheese, potatoes, cheeseburgers, chili dip, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew, and sweets!! Whatever I craved, I ate. My one GOOD habit was that I would stop eating when I got full. But I didn't think twice about eating whatever I wanted. This was my lifestyle. I never struggled with my weight, so I always assumed I was fine and didn't need to exercise or eat really healthy.

Steps in a new direction ---> Once I made this new decision for my life, I set up an appointment with my personal trainer//nutritionist, Christy. I've been blessed with access to a free, beautiful gym at my 9-5 job and decided to finally start taking advantage of all they had to offer. The first day, Christy sat down with me and assessed my "body age" through various strength, flexibility, blood, and body fat tests. These results show how healthy my body is by giving it an age. My ACTUAL age is 23 (almost 24) and my results were 28. Ouch. It may not seem so bad, but I actually took this test for fun 1.5 years ago and my body age then was 19...so in 1.5 years I've "aged" 9 years!! The test shows that my obtainable age is 18. So that was a huge wake-up call. We talked about my exercise goals, she showed me around the gym, and then we talked about nutrition and she gave me a set of great goals. Another wake up call...my resting heart rate was at 97...without any caffeine, and technically it shouldn't be above 70...GAH! Way too high!

Changes ---> I've definitely experienced some exciting changes over the past 29 days. I'm sleeping better, getting up more naturally, I feel like I have about 10% more energy, I feel happier, I feel more confident, I feel more lovey towards Jon, and I'm starting to really see some differences in my body! My arms are getting more toned, I'm seeing some definition on my stomach, AND I feel stronger.

Feelings ---> Even though the changes I've been experiencing have been AWESOME, I've definitely gone through some ups and downs in the feelings department. Initially I felt optimistic, determined, and excited. During the first week, after making these drastic changes, I was surprised to feel myself mourning?? It's weird to explain, but I deeply missed my junk food! These feelings really shocked me and made me feel really emotional for the first two weeks. Now, four weeks later, I'm feeling better, still determined and trying to get the hang of making these choices a habit and lifestyle shift.

Day-to-day ---> Currently I'm exercising 3-4 times per week. I have one personal training session each week with Christy that serves as my butt kicking exercise time and form of accountability. We mainly focus on weights during this time. On my own, I do a weight routine 2 more times and include 10-20 minutes of cardio and then I like to add in a cardio-only day somewhere in-between. I workout at the gym at work, at my apartment gym, and sometimes in my living room.

With my nutrition, I'm going with the "handful" method. I'm eating three meals a day and trying to make sure those include 1 handful of fruits, 1 handful of veggies, 1 handful of protein, and 2 handfuls of grains (which can also be subbed out sometimes for a handful of fruit or veggies.) For snacks, I try to have about 1-2 each day that are healthy and varied.

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My Goals ---> These are the goals I've developed for myself based on conversations with Christy and personal goals. I intend on growing these and developing more, but here's what I'm starting with: :)

1. Be at my obtainable body age of 18.
2. Use portion control by using the handful method with meals and snacks.
3. Eat breakfast everyday.
4. Only enjoy a soda on the weekends, if I want.
5. Cut down on the cheese! Only have cheese at one meal, if any.
6. Get my resting heart rate down to 65.
7. Get abs!!

I'm so excited about this new journey. I'm really becoming passionate about it and I love feeling the conviction of caring for myself. I want to be healthy and active! I'm excited to journal my experiences and share them with you. :) I would LOVE to open up the comments for general tips on being healthy. Got any good resources? Favorite reads? Snack recipes?!? Please share! I would love to hear. :)