About a year ago I embarked on a life changing journey to self-improvement. I wasn't fat, but I was getting there, and I was definitely unhealthy. So, I started researching diets: Atkins, South Beach, Grapefruit...there were a million and they all promised the same thing: to get me skinny. But I didn't want to be skinny, I wanted to be healthy. I know my body type, and it is not one of a waif-like supermodel. So I started doing the craziest thing ever...eating right and exercising. Such a new idea! No one has ever mentioned it before!
I started by downloading a calorie counter on my phone. Most people use this as a way to "limit" themselves, but I used it as a way to educate myself...about myself. It made me take a hard inventory of what exactly I was putting into my body on a daily basis. Starbucks, Chik-Fil-A, random cookies and candies...they really started to add up.
Once I had my inner fat kid in front of me in black and white, I knew I had to make a change. It started slowly, like going to the gym to use the elliptical only when my favorite Real Housewives episodes were on. I started substituting (as much as possible) candy with apples, melons, and bananas. Cut sodas...well, again, as much as possible, and started getting my energy from coffee (made at home to save money!) or green tea. Slowly I started to crave water, if I hadn't been drinking enough, fruits if I wanted something sweet, and replaced my usual ground beef for ground turkey and chicken.
Almost immediately the pounds started coming off! I was pleased, but mainly I liked hearing how "good I looked" from my friends and family. Yet, I still wasn't happy with myself, and no amount of compliments or baggy clothes could change that. So, I started looking into working out. Actual exercising...not just watching TV shows on the stationary bike. My boyfriend Jeremy helped me a lot with this part.
He showed me two websites: cutandjacked.com and bodybuilding.com, and I customized several workouts to fit my needs. I still do cardio and abs everyday, but I also incorporate leg exercises, chest, shoulder, and arm exercises as well. Weights can be your friend ladies!!! You cannot get toned without them!
All in all, this year has been a complete lifestyle change. Shopping at Sprouts instead of Walmart turned into wearing Smalls instead of Larges. And I'm finally feeling great about myself, maybe it's all the endorphin from working out, or maybe it's the fact that for the first time in 25 years I have started to appreciate what my body does for me. This being an "adult" thing is starting to get a little easier.
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