What I’ve learned in the first month of my lifestyle change.

The day I decided that enough was enough and embarked on this lifestyle change of mine, it was probably an all time low with respect to how I felt both physically and emotionally.  As I mentioned on a previous post, I was struggling with low self esteem and feeling like people, especially my customers would judge me because of the way I looked. On top of that, I was also struggling with feeling tired ALL of the time, no energy whatsoever so even the most basics of things would tire me out or leave me without breath. Going to the grocery store, or to the mall, or any activity that required me to stay on my feet for an extended period of time would result in me feeling like I walked around with a knife stuck on each heel by the time we got home. My blood pressure is fine, same with my blood sugar and while my cholesterol and triglycerides were borderline, they were still fine so I really couldn’t say my health was rapidly deteriorating, yet I felt terrible all the time. I’m in my mid 30s now, which isn’t really that old, but it is old enough to know that I couldn’t keep going the way I was before it would be too late. So, while I’d like to say that there was a very deep and meaningful reason behind my decision to change my habits,  the reality is that I just want to look better and not feel like shit all the time.

Change, is hard, really, really hard given the kinds of things I like and the kind of work I do where I’m eating out all of the time. Asking for water instead of a coke proved to be very challenging as stupid as that may sound, and everyone who knows me and my baked goods addiction will know how much I’ve struggle not to buy cookies or cupcakes on the weekends. But I will say that once I got into the habit of making better choices, rather than buying on impulse, it suddenly became easier to walk by the cookie aisle or the bakery section at the supermarket and not feel that temptation. I also like that making these new choices made me feel good about myself.  Yes, I still like sweets, and it’s not like I have not had any “treats” this past month, but overall I feel great about the kind of food I’ve been eating.

If you want a true, lasting change don’t crash diet – All of these crash diets and/or fad diets don’t really work for people like me. I have tried every single diet I can get my hands on, from Atkins, to the Southbeach diet, to Paleo and all of them had something in common; they were not sustainable.  You may see some progress in the beginning but then it all goes to hell. In order to keep up your weight loss, you have to take a more drastic approach to the way you eat that more often than not ends up backfiring. You feel guilty all of the time, and then when faced with the kind of food you like, you end up binge eating everything in sight because you’ve been denying yourself for so long. This only causes you to feel even worse than before, only to start the vicious cycle all over again until you end up giving it up for good. Trust me, I’ve been there.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had to stop viewing food as a comfort or even as my enemy. The only real thing I’ve given up, as I mentioned above has been cokes and cupcakes, other than that I’ve just added more vegetables to my diet and watch my portions. I’ve had some “not great” meals her and there but I’ve done so knowing full well that I’ll have to work harder during my next workout and that I would have earned those calories fair and square. Food has now become the fuel that gets me through the day and gives me the energy to achieve my goals. Working out has also made me want to eat more nutritious whole foods and not junk, so I now look for higher quality, nutritious foods and say no to foods that do nothing for my health.

Listen to your body – The combination of working out and “diet” can leave you feeling like you’ve been ran over by a truck when you first start. It can also make you crave sugar and greasy foods big time since your body is not used to fueling that kind of activity and if you’re not careful you can end up eating back all of the calories you worked so hard to loose. When I first started working out I had planned on being good all week and having a “cheat” day on Sundays where I could treat myself to anything I wanted, however once my body got used to eating better the need for that cheat day went away. I hate that feeling of being full after a heavy meal now, instead I’ve incorporated some “bad” carbs and higher calorie foods into some of my meals during the week but in smaller quantities. White rice one night and maybe some potatoes on another and even some whole wheat pasta. I really don’t feel like I’m on a diet at all so it doesn’t feel like I’m depriving myself on anything.

Don’t obsess about food  and plan ahead –  It became pretty clear to me the fist time I went to the grocery store that shopping for food now would be very different from what it used to be. Looking at nutrition facts and portions and making sure you get the right kind of food it can get pretty overwhelming. Once you get home and are ready to cook you obsess over the amount of each product you’re using and how many calories. This is all good if you like that kind of thing but I don’t. I love cooking too much to make that experience miserable. Cook what you know, modify a few ingredients to make it healthier (whole grains whenever possible, more vegetables, etc.) and eat a smaller portion than you used to. Remember, the idea is to make a change that will last forever so depriving yourself won’t help.

What I found works for me is to plan ahead my meals for the week and buy only what I’m going to use that week. We got a couple of awesome cookbooks and the recipes inside are not only easy to make but delicious and leftover are great for lunch the next day. This has taken away a lot of my stress going to the supermarket.

Water, water, water all the time – I know this is a given but I realized early on that I was not drinking enough even though I thought I would. My body ached more than normal, I was getting cramps and muscle spasm and feeling generally nauseous after working out. Once I started drinking more water things got better quickly. Not only will it keep you hydrated, but it keeps your appetite in check as well, not to mention, that your skin will really appreciate it.

Making a lifestyle change is not easy, and I’m still trying to find my way and find new and better ways to improve. Of course I’ve stumbled along the way and will probably have many more moments of weakness ahead of me, but I’ve learned that change does not happen from one day to the other. There will be setbacks, highs and lows and progress may be slow  but if you are serious about making a change and making that the new normal for the rest of your life these are a few key lessons that I hope will make things a little easier.

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