Making Health a Lifestyle.

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A lot of people ask me how I stay fit & healthy without the yo-yo weight.  I know what they mean…why don’t I gain weight and then drop it and then gain it and then drop it; like so many people?  What is my trick to just living a healthy life?

Well, you should know it did not happen overnight. I did do the diet train for many years when I was in graduate school. I thought the only way to lose weight was the drastic, fad diets. I jumped on all of them too. And then shortly after I would do those diets, I would gain all the weight back because I was starving. Or sometimes there were times in my life that I was just not happy and therefore food was my comfort. In those days I definitely went UP in weight and DOWN in weight quite often.

But shortly after going through a divorce (long ago), I knew I had a choice. I was raising my 2 year old son at that time, and I knew I could get FIT or I could get FAT (sorry..I hate that word but it’s truly the words I asked myself). I decided I would get super FIT because I wanted to be a role model for my son and feel my best so I could take care of him as a single mom.

I learned about nutrition, exercise and then really embraced how good I was feeling when I started eating a balanced diet. I was no longer bloated & gassy from bad foods. I had energy again. My skin looked more clear! I was shedding pounds and putting on muscle. It felt SO good to have control over my body for the first time. And then I would think back to the old days when I did the fad diets or simply didn’t dial in my nutrition, and I really never felt great.  So, it became this very conscious decision to want to feel good from now on.

I think the only way to Make Health a Lifestyle is to find a way to eat healthy & workout in a sustainable way that makes you feel amazing. For me that means I eat super healthy Monday through Friday and enjoy myself on weekends. Enjoying myself does not mean I have CHEAT days (as some people call them.) A cheat day implies you are doing something wrong and that is simply not the way I live my life. But also…a cheat day for many people is OVER indulging all day! That can seriously un-do all the hard work you did all week. No thanks. That means back to bloated, gassy and feeling awful all weekend. Instead, I eat mostly normal on weekends but eat out for dinner a couple times. I have 2-3 drinks (alcoholic) max. I have a couple sweet treats like ice cream, cookies or whatever I want. I don’t have the whole box of cookies nor the entire carton of ice cream. I have a serving and move on. I feel super satisfied this way. I don’t ever feel like I’m deprived.

I think many people struggle to make HEALTH A Lifestyle because…

1. They are looking for a quick fix. But nothing good in life comes quickly.
2. They take the quick fix and they fail miserably because it’s not sustainable; so, they are back to the drawing board. And before you know it they are looking for the next quick fix.
3. People are not understanding their body and what it truly needs. Starvation only causes weight loss in the beginning. Getting the education is key. Once you understand metabolism & nutrition, you can gain so much more control of your health.
4. People get discouraged with slow progress. But honestly, slow and steady wins the race. Change your mindset about the amount of weight you lose each week. Instead of thinking, "I only lost 1.5 pounds", think, "Wow..if I continue to lose 1.5 pounds/week for the next 3 months..where does that put me? Where will it put me in 6 months? 1 year? Wow! That would be awesome!"
5. People are too concerned with an odd number on the scale and not how they feel. They pick this “odd” number that equates to what they weighed in college, before kids or on their wedding day. And they think they should be that weight again. But the human body is always changing. We have to change our focus from a specific number on the scale to being healthy and feeling awesome.

After living the way I have been for the last 18 years…I can honestly say it’s just my lifestyle now, and I love it. I love the way I feel daily. And I know my body is healthy which means I can keep doing all the things I love to do.

If you are struggling with the diet train, the yo-yo diets or simply wondering how you can stay healthy forever…start embracing how good you feel when you eat a balanced diet and exercise. Over time, that feeling will be what you remember before you drink the bottle of wine or eat the entire cake. You can do it! Believe in yourself and the healthy life you can have ahead. And just know...there is no age limit on when you can get in the best health of your life!

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