What I Do

5 years ago I moved to Chicago from South Florida, and I weighed around 135 pounds. At that time it was the heaviest I had every weighed; I used to be super skinny when I was younger, but I could also eat whatever I wanted and never gained weight. Well, with age comes a slower metabolism, and I never really got into exercise so I didn’t rely on that to keep my metabolism high. Plus, living in South Florida I had to drive everywhere, because that part of the country is not set up to easily walk anywhere.

So I moved to Chicago, and suddenly I live in an area where I have to walk everywhere. I didn’t lose pounds, but I did gain muscle. My legs are incredibly strong, and I even think I lost my cankles and grew some calves. Only problem was that when winter comes around I’m not walking as much, so I pack on weight. After 5 years I packed on 15 pounds, and finally I had enough of it.

Last fall I made the decision to get into shape, but then came the excuses. I couldn’t join the gym because my dog developed issues and I thought I should conserve money just in case. Then the holidays were here, and I didn’t want to spend the money, nor did I think I would actually go. Then the new year, and I didn’t want to be a new year statistic in the gym.

December 31st I went to the grocery store and I bought a bunch of healthy groceries. January 1st, really hungover, and January 2nd was my final holiday off. January 3rd………back to work, back to reality, and time to start my new life.

I follow that adage that it takes 21 days to develop a habit, so I started my new habits on January 3rd, 2012. Now 26 days later I have to admit that I’m liking my new habits, and I’m feeling results. I can’t see results physically, but I can feel them, and I can feel them mentally too. I want to keep going, I want to make this my way of life now. I lost 10 pounds in 26 days, and although I realize that weight is just a number and I might not lose much more…I’m more interested in how my body will eventually change, and I’m hoping that being mentally healthy will only aid and keep me going. I realize this all takes patience and time, and that is not something I’m really good at, but I feel that it’s time to also adjust that part of me.

So, with all that being said, here’s what I do, it helps me and it may help someone else out there reading this. Remember, it’s not just doing the  physical work, but also the mental. You have to want the changes, and you have to put in the hard work, and you have to be willing to change things about yourself.

1. I make my bed every morning.

2. I eat a small breakfast, I eat healthy snacks of fruit carrots or nuts, I eat a healthy lunch, and every dinner I have a salad of mixed greens and baby spinach with olive oil dressing. I eat thinly sliced chicken breasts or something mixed with ground turkey.

3. I limit how much I eat out in restaurants.

4. I drink about 2 liters of water a day.

5. I check my bank account every day.

6. I cut out a great deal of sugar from my diet.

7. I work out 10 to 20 minutes, 4 or 5 times a week.

8. I read books as much as I can.

9. When I get annoyed with someone or something, I try to take a second to look at the other perspective, or just take a second to cool down and remind myself that it is not a big deal.

10. I receive compliments.

These are only ten things, and they may not work for everyone. Everyone should have their own things. But the important thing is that you should at least try. Our nation, or world is so unhealthy both mentally and physically, and I only see things getting worse if people don’t start taking their lives into their own hands.

I’ll end this just by saying, if there is something you want to do, DO IT!