My road to getting healthy
A couple of years ago when I started to lose weight I decided that I didn’t want to “diet”. I knew if I did one of those fad diets where I deprive myself of the things I love I would fall right back after it was done. So I decided to make a lifestyle change. I started counting calories and gave myself 1500 calories a day. The first 6 months or so was killer. I was used to eating pizza, chicken fried steak and burgers for lunch and that just wasn’t going to cut it. Just one of those dishes exceeded my daily amount. I ate cereal for breakfast and salads for lunch but those got old pretty quickly. Soup became my best friend. I would either eat canned soup or if I had time I would make a big pot at the beginning of the week and eat it all week. I allowed myself one snack in the afternoon so I wasn’t starving before dinner. At dinner I went ahead and ate what I wanted just small portions and lots of veggies. I found by not depriving myself I didn’t binge when I actually did get to eat it.
It took about a year but I lost 12 lbs and now the 1500 calorie limit isn’t a problem anymore. I see foods in calories now. That juicy burger looks like 600 calories to me. That venti mocha frappuccino that I would get every day after lunch now looks like 500 calories. I was super organized back then but I kind of slacked off in the last 6 months. So I decided in order to lose that last 5 pounds I needed to get organized again. Now, at the beginning of we week I make, package and label all of my daily food except for dinner. I put everything in Tupperware or baggies and label the front of them with the calories, meal, day and time that I need to eat them. I give myself a little wiggle room if I go out to lunch with friends but otherwise I don’t eat anything that is not labeled for that time.
I have also started running. I am doing the Couch to 5k app on my iPhone. Hopefully at the end of this I can accomplish one of my goals and run a 5K. I have never been a runner so It’s a slow process for me but I’m doing well and between the organized food and running I have already lost 3 pounds.
My goal is to be healthy and fit. I only have this one body that God gave me and I feel like when I fill it with bad stuff I am not respecting Him. I read something the other day that I can’t get out of my head. He said, “It was on that day that I began to understand that I am a steward of the body (temple) that God has given me…and how I take care of it tells the world what I think and feel about Christ.” Talk about a slap in the face! You can read the rest of the article here and here.
I know my methods won’t work for everyone but I feel like you may be able to take little tidbits here and there and create your own healthy lifestyle. Remember it doesn’t happen over night. It took me a full year to lose some weight and get used to the lifestyle. I promise though, it is worth it. You will feel and look so much better and you will be so proud of yourself.