“I feel good–Like I know that I should now…” |
It’s week 5. Phase I is done. I was just starting to feel comfortable with 3 meals plus 2 snacks a day of real food. Exercising 3 times a week at “The House of Pain” and not eating 2 hours before bedtime. How do I feel now compared to how I felt just 5 weeks ago? What a difference!!!
Let’s start with working out. Just 5 weeks ago walking up 3 flights of stairs left me winded and fatiqued. My legs ached with the effort. Now I’m actually running on the treadmill–30 seconds in a run, 30 seconds resting–several times in a row. This is amazing considering I was never a runner. Doing squats across the room and back (a room as long as a city block) felt like a death sentence. My thighs burned and I thought I’d fall over. Now, I can make it back and forth faster and much more easily. The entire weight resistance/cardio circuit (1 full hour of it) leaves me feeling energized but relaxed and strong. Not crampy and exhausted. I can honestly say that this amazing feeling is worth more than all the turtle sundaes in the world. I never want to feel the 24/7 couch potato blues again.
I don’t think I would have the energy and drive to work out this way if I was eating the way I used to. I remember always feeling too full. Not really being hungry or even considering whether or not I was hungry–I was too busy eating. Now I think about what would be not only satisfying but what food groups would balance out my day. Have I had my veggies, fruit, whole grains. And my tastes have changed enough to actually want these foods, rather than french fries, hamburgers, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I plan on having these things some time, but it’s just not a constant craving and choice.
What is my biggest challenge? Number one is portion size. I do get really hungry, but I try to be reasonable with my servings. Not always successfully but I’m certainly conscious of it which is a big improvement. Eating enough of the right foods, at the right time provides the energy to work out hard.
The second biggest challenge is still the weekend or downtime when I’m at home alone. There is always plenty to do and I suspect I want to eat to avoid doing things I prefer not to do. I never seem to have this problem when I’m out and about. I’m trying the technique of just promising myself to spend only 5 minutes doing these tasks (I can spend longer if I choose). Hopefully I’ll get more done and think about eating less.
I also find that not being able to eat until I’m way too hungry (too high on the hunger scale) is asking for trouble. Overeating is almost inevitable. Regular meals and snacks every 3 hours or so seems to prevent this from happening. So, carrying a Fiber One bar, apple or other suggested snack is a real preventative measure. And I almost always have a bottle or two of water on hand.
Oh, I almost forgot…A really big hurdle in my life is getting enough sleep. I still have to work on this one. When I get enough rest I feel like a different person, and working out demands that I get more. Not that I always do. I understand that not sleeping enough can increase the appetite as well. This is definitely a work in progress. Falling asleep early is something I’ve rarely known. I’m kind of envious of people that do this naturally.
Finally, I have to achnowledge how key my teammates are in my successfully starting and sticking with this program. Could I have done it on my own? Probably, but with great difficulty. The proof is in how long I “sat on the couch” before actually doing something about my eating and fitness habits. Living the struggles and successes of the Best Life Diet along with Veronica, Anna, Mary Ellen, Lakita and Cecilia amplifies the experience. It’s pretty weird that most of us lost the same amount of weight (exactly?!?) at the 30 day mark. And whenever I doubt the progress I’m making, I’ll see the other gals at the gym and can see the very visible results on them. I must be succeeding too. How exciting to share such positive, health-affirming lifestyle changes with this group of women.
All in all, I recommend every last bit of this program. From soup to nuts. Eating to working out. Pain to pleasure. From trying to solve my neverending battle of body and mind alone to having a group and team of supporters to share it with.
Go Team!!!
