In my case, I needed to do something semi drastic when it came to my OVERALL HEALTH.
A year ago, I had advanced capsulitis of the shoulder & had to go to physical therapy for weeks. I would also wake up with stiff fingers and joints. A 6 hour bartending shift had me aching for hours afterwards, in need of Advil almost every time. Most activities were a slight challenge, including lugging groceries up 3 flights of stairs. Bending and stretching were tough. Even my right ankle became swollen & ached from a sprain probably due to excess weight.
My sleep patterns were all over the place, I had mini bouts of insomnia and slight depression. I despised shopping for clothes. I opted for big sweatshirts and loose pants. Oh wait, I didn't have any loose pants. I remember struggling to get out of my car some nights after a work shift, wearing SKIN TIGHT SIZE 14 PANTS that dug into my waistline, my thighs, and my butt.
I was always dragging after work & felt beat and broke down.
Physically, my self-esteem was plummeting! Lack of flexibility, aching & pain were NOT things I wanted to be happening to me on a regular basis.
I kept thinking... "Darci, you're going to be 50 years old in a year or so.... and then what? Do you think it's going to get easier if you do nothing? Do you think you should wait until you are 60 pounds overweight and THEN begin?" "Do you think your metabolism is going to rev up as you age?" I knew all the answers. I knew I felt old, tired and heavy. My double chin was not pretty and my saddle bags were becoming a SET OF LUGGAGE.
I also knew that I had quite a bit of education when it came to nutrition & exercise & I was NOT utilizing that knowledge.
I knew I could fix it. It was a matter of a good, realistic but a somewhat drastic GAME PLAN..... with a few UNEXPECTED tricks.
And so it began....
One year ago, TODAY....
First thing I did was buy a journal/notebook. I decorated it with stickers, used colored markers, cut out inspirational words from health magazines. I KNEW that by RECORDING every morsel that went into my mouth & every minute of cardio sweat that poured off my bod was the ultimate way to STAY ON TRACK and be accountable for my choices.
And then I made a radical decision. I mentally looked back on my eating patterns, did a REWIND of my choices, my weaknesses, my indulgences. I focused on the foods that made my weight increase, my energy drop & my clothes burst at the seams.
PASTA just kept infiltrating my mind!! Rigatoni, spaghetti, linguine fini, shells... I realized I was eating pasta more than I was having SEX!!! I WAS EATING IT CONSTANTLY. Not only was I eating it at least 4x a week, the portions were ASTRONOMICALLY LARGE.
So, I said to myself..... Self... lol- "Do you think you can STOP PASTA all together?" The answer at first was "Yeah, that's highly doubtful!!"
Then I figured I should at least try it for a week. I didn't think I'd make it past day 4.
Well, add 361 to that- and you'll see that I accomplished an amazing goal!!!
In addition to the NO NO on noodles, I also have NOT consumed a LICK of icecream in 12 months as well. Now, I didn't eat a ton of icecream, but when I did, I ate way more than a person should. So I figured after a few months of not eating it, I may as well cut it out for a year. It was a great decision.
Then, I decided on what I WAS GOING to put in my body. Back to the basics. NO power shakes or diet pills. No protein powders, frozen weight watchers meals, nutri-system bars. Just good, clean, fresh organic foods focusing mostly on produce, lean meats and a lot of variety. I also knew that having BREAKFAST every single day would be another KEY element to success. I decided to have Multigrain cheerios with fruit. You have to decide on something you know you enjoy and can stick to. I researched fruits that were exceptionally beneficial to women. So most of the time, I added blueberries, strawberries or bananas and of course low fat milk. Reasonable choices. Of course, over the year, I mixed it up with yogurt smoothies, an occasional organic egg & 15 grain toast, or even oatmeal.
What I did with my other meals is simple. I ate lean meats, mostly organic chicken and turkey, tons of RAW veggies, occasionally brown steamed rice after a few months, a baked potato once in a blue moon....and always made choices from the deep colors of veggies like spinach & tomatoes.
I will not lie- this took a generous amount of PLANNING and PREPARING. But, it's MY BODY and not only did I want to LOOK BETTER...honestly, but my main goal was TO FEEL BETTER. So I figured that the TIME I was expending to create healthy meals and the time I was expending by doing 45 minutes of cardio 4-5x a week was WORTH IT.
I wanted to make sure I did NOT eat pasta- so that was MY MAIN FOCUS when I planned a meal. I also wanted to make sure that I worked out with a lot of cardio at first to get the fat to start burning off. I did NOT JOIN A GYM. I put on YOUTUBE Zumba remixes and hi energy dance music and simply STARTED MOVING.... adding kicks, lunges, squats, kickboxing...... and I STUCK WITH IT. I did this in my own kitchen. I revved up the intensity on certain days, I added hand weights for light sculpting. The key was consistency.
To help with the monotony of certain eating patterns, I made weekly decisions to TRY NEW FOODS. I now eat many foods I never ate before: KALE, QUINOA, CHIA SEEDS, SPAGETTI SQUASH, GOLDEN LENTILS, PEA SHOOTS.... to name just a few.
There are always ways to get OFF TRACK... excuses.... rationalizations. It's part of life. But what makes me most proud is that over this year, I rarely let LIFE'S issues affect my progress. In fact, this year was one of the most troubling years of my entire life. I found out devastating news about a family member. I, myself had surgery and a cancer scare. For a few months, it was one horrible event after another. But I refused to let those things stand in my way or turn me back into a ravenous macaroni eating machine!!! I WORK IN AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT AND SERVE PASTA TO 4 OUT 5 CUSTOMERS FOUR NIGHTS A WEEK!!!!! I don't have a ton of money to spend, but I sacrificed certain things so that I COULD afford to shop a few times a month at Whole Foods because my health and vitality became a priority.
I made sure to keep up with the health journal every single day!!! I started FEELING results almost off the bat.
I started SEEING results after a month or so. And then as the inches came off & my energy increased, I knew what I was doing was working. Patience is key. For LONG TERM success as well. I am too smart to fall into the trap of a crash diet where you lose 40 pounds in 3 months. NO thank you. I got down to size 8 jeans on Sept. 14. This blew my mind. I know that girls want to be size 0 and 2. If you've seen my ass, you know that aint in the cards for me. Nor do I want that.
I wanted to get HEALTHY... I wanted to feel vibrant, be able to move with ease, be strong, be sexy and drop some pounds. I think for THE OVERALL PICTURE, I've had exceptional success. No nutritionist, no trainer.
Just me!!!
I haven't been living up to the best of my abilities in the last 3 months BUT.... today marks my ONE YEAR anniversary- so there is no better time to begin STRICT again than the present. I'd like to go down 1.5 sizes more. I am not interested in what the scale says, only what the TAG on the jeans say. My biggest competition is MYSELF. I could give 2 shits about other females bodies/sizes. I am almost A 50 YEAR OLD WOMAN who has the potential to look 15 years younger if I keep up this program.
I've learned so much about myself and discovered more than just the obvious. I see now that YOU CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING you set your mind to. That even when the worst obstacles get in your path, you can kick 'em aside & proceed. I constantly wrote in my journal the following things:
FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION
FEAR: F.ocus E.nergy A.nd R.egroup
and
YOU CAN DO IT.
AND...
YOU CAN DO IT,TOO!! Not only with weight loss or exercise, but with any demon you want to conquer. It will NOT BE EASY OR SIMPLE OR FAST. But let me tell you how rewarding it is!! It's a powerful feeling to know that you CAN do something you never thought you could do. I have a ways to go...but isn't that LIFE IN GENERAL? It's the journey, not the destination. Maybe in 364 more days, I'll write another blog with pics of me in a skimpy bikini at age 50? Who the hell knows?
What I do know is that FOOD MATTERS.... we have the CHOICE to put a Big Mac down our gullet while watching The Bachelor laying down...... or to eat a spinach salad with grilled salmon after doing P90X. It's YOUR choice.
So, I embark on another year of continued health & inner growth. I will have set backs, but I know I can overcome them, and move forward. No one is PERFECT.
You know if your weight is bringing you down. You can't pretend anymore.
I know I couldn't.
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