en*light life

Putting Health & Well-being on the To Do List

May 14, 2010

You know that feeling you have when you know you need to start taking better care of yourself, eat better, exercise more, but somehow taking care of yourself falls to the bottom of your priorities? If you are dieting, maybe that slice (or few) of pizza is more appetizing than counting calories. Before you know it, those extra pounds pile on and you realize you are now in a rut.  Perhaps you try a few fad diets, make an attempt at exercise, but after hitting the gym a few times and counting calories for a couple of days you start to slip again and end up back to where you started. That’s where I was for the last few years.

As my metabolism started to slow down in my mid-twenties, and I started focusing on establishing my career, as well as taking on a few personal changes in my life, the last thing on my list was taking care of myself. As my life was progressing professionally, my body was racking up extra pounds. My 5′3″ petite frame started seeing numbers on the scale that had never been seen before.

I ate to deal with stress. I ate to deal with my personal and relationship problems. I ate to deal with the stress of gaining extra weight. I was in a vicious cycle that started with the thought of tomorrow I will change.. tomorrow I will start a healthy diet. Unfortunately, tomorrow always came and went, and the weight continued to creep on.

Over the last 3 years, I yo-yo dieted my way through several fad diets. I had gone organic and alkalized my body, had lived on lemon juice concoctions, zoned-out my body, took a trip through the South Beach diet, and joined an expensive gym to motivate myself towards health. All of my attempts towards a healthier weight made me yo-yo up and down the same 10 lbs. I kept setting goals such as “by the time I reach 25 years old, I will reach my goal weight”, but every year would pass, and before I knew it, I had reached the landmark 30 years old, and was at the highest weight of my life.

Celebrating my landmark birthday was bittersweet as I realized that while I was focusing on my professional life, I hadn’t included myself as part of my “to-do list”. I imagined what the next 10 years could bring, and frankly, the thought of carrying the extra weight and diminishing self-confidence frightened me. That’s when I made a decision to put myself on my priority list.

I started with working out in the mornings before work. My goal was to hit the gym 4-5 times a week, eat right, and not stop regardless of whether or not I saw results. The first couple of months were trying times as I struggled to wake-up at 5AM in order to get my workouts in and get to work on time.  At first, I put a lot of effort into the eating right/going to the gym routine and wasn’t seeing a bunch of changes; however, I had made a commitment to myself to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Unfortunately, I am one of those people that loses weight and inches very slowly; but luckily, I hadn’t focused on goals (i.e., hitting an ideal weight) - instead, I focused on the journey. My healthier lifestyle included cardio/weights 4-5 times a week, as well as maintaing a reasonable calorie budget and logging consumed foods in a food diary (utilizing the iPhone application: Lose it!). Although I didn’t notice any visible results within the first 1-2 months of my healthier lifestyle, I started immediately feeling differences in my energy level, and ability to focus. The time to complete tasks at work were sometimes cut in half, because I had much more energy, and was mentally sharper and clearer.

Getting “Trained”

After two months into my journey my clothes started feeling looser, and I hit my first fitness plateau – a goal that I had decided beforehand would be rewarded with personal training sessions. I had worked out with trainers before, but this time, I was going to do it right, and only select the best fitfor me. There was one trainer that stood out from the rest. Every morning I would see him work out his clients to the max, and he would keep them motivated and on track with his own high energy level. I knew immediately he would be a good fit in that he had the energy and drive to push me forward. From observation alone, he was the real deal. Standing at 6′6″ and a solid muscular build, he was not only someone I could look up to (literally), but respect for his own commitment to walking the walk in regards to health and fitness. In addition to my own observations, I asked other members and club employees who they recommended, and time and time again they recommended my future trainer. 

By the time my personal trainer conducted my initial health assessment and weighed me, I was 10 lbs. lighter than my starter weight. I informed my trainer that weight loss wasn’t my focus – that living a healthy lifestyle was my mission, and that a trimmer body was a side effect of lifestyle changes I wanted to adopt. He supported my mission, and helped me find strength I didn’t know I was capable of achieving.

Almost 30 lbs. lighter

I am now entering the 7 month mark of my journey, and am almost 30 lbs lighter than I was at the beginning of my journey. Although, I am excited and energized by my new lifestyle, the thing I am proud of the most is that I made (and continue to make) myself a priority. Along my journey I shrunk physically, but I grew spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.  There were a few surprises along my journey as well. For instance, although I previously prioritized my career over my health and well-being, as I transitioned to making myself #1 priority, ironically, I received more accolades for my work, and was recently recognized with an innovation award.

Continuing Forward

At this point in my journey, I am more then 50% away from my body’s ideal weight. A couple of weeks ago I had my last training session, but I still have to find ways to continue forward in my efforts in living a healthy lifestyle. The biggest lesson I have learned is that when I focus on the number I see on the scale, I start to stumble and feel weakened and overwhelmed by the trek ahead. When I stop, take a deep breathe, and remind myself that I am not trying to achieve a weight goal, rather, I am living and dedicated to a healthier lifestyle, I feel that I have more freedom and time to achieve things I never thought possible. The idea of becoming a runner, an athlete, and yoga master feels like a possibility that I can achieve within this lifetime, versus a goal that may or may not be reached.

The reward is in the journey, and the accomplishments are the things you pick up along the way. I am now commited to feel my best, and the rest, including a slimmer body and more positive self-image is a part (but not the point) of the journey.  Making myselft a part of my priority list,  ultimately, was the best thing I could do to improve my well-being and life.

Filed under: Diet, Exercise & Wellness

Tags: diet, exercise, health, weight, wellness, working out