I’ve learned that I do not make changes well if they are huge changes– I may do it for a really short period of time, but for a lasting change I have to make small but impactful changes.
Kind of like me with housekeeping: I was a total slob before getting married to a neat-n-tidy man, and all of my efforts (and there were many) to “do it all, once and for all” failed miserably. I only suceeded over a long period of time, making changes here and there; flylady.net was a giant influence for me in this. Flylady calls it ‘taking baby steps’ and I realized –not too long ago– that my home has slowly become what I’ve always wanted it to be (though still not perfect!)
It didn’t start when I sent the kids and hubby to the in-laws for a day so I could clean for 12 hours straight, nor when I stuffed all the things laying around into boxes and bins in the garage. It began with cleaning my sink really well, and keeping it clean; with putting my dirty clothes in the laundry basket every day; with going through one small drawer and throwing out things I didn’t use.
I think that in taking care of my body I’m having to do the same thing: take baby steps. I’ve tried jumping in full force with getting a gym membership and starting an amazing and healthy diet, I’ve tried a full-fledged ‘lifestyle change’… and made it less than 2 weeks. I’m simply not wired for the all-or-nothing changes, because I always end up with the ‘nothing.’
So, I’m going to take some baby steps toward better health. I’ll post updates on this page about the changes I make to take better care of my body; no radical diets, no super-charged workouts… just the small but important changes I make for my health’s sake. Because this is a journey and not an ad for a fad diet, you’ll have to scroll down to the latest day I post an update; that way if you’re reading this 3 months after I start, you can follow along from the beginning.
I would love to hear about any changes you’re making for your health!
FEBRUARY 11, 2009
Today is Day 10 of my commitment to walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes– I made it!! It was easy to go to our basement to exercise each morning, but I was very, very bored on the treadmill. To make the time go faster I watched movies we had recorded from t.v. These past 10 days I watched Citizen Kane, Mail Order Bride, and Pirates of the Carribean.
Watching movies helped, but not enough to do it long-term. I’m making a new 10-Day Commitment for exercise, but mixing it up a little: I commit to exercising every morning for the next 10 days, either walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes OR exercising with a pilates dvd that I bought several years ago. I’m hoping that alternating the treadmill with pilates will liven up my routine as well as work some different muscles. Here’s to another 10 days!!
February 12, 2009
WOW– This morning I switched to a pilates routine, and I can’t believe how great I feel! I’ve enjoyed walking on the treadmill the past 10 days, but today’s workout was so much stretching! I didn’t realize how tight my muscles had gotten by doing the same thing every day. I feel better all over, almost like I’d gotten a massage. I think this is definitely going to be a better 10 days.
The pilates dvd I use is Windsor Pilates. I bought it a few years ago and could barely do any of the exercises back then and quickly gave up. This morning I still couldn’t do all of the exercises completely (it didn’t help that Josiah watched me and laughed out loud when I couldn’t do some kind of roll-up move) but I did pretty well. It didn’t feel like a workout, but I know I’ll feel it tomorrow!
February 21, 2009
I feel so great! I’ve completed the 2nd round of exercising daily– it’s already a morning habit– and tomorrow will begin the last official 10-day commitment. I’m keeping up with rotating the exercise (treadmill/pilates/even some weights!) since it really helped with the boredom factor, and it also works different muscles in different ways.
I must divulge that this week I began another 10-day commitment: a very different way of eating. I researched ADF (Alternate Day Fasting) and JUDDDD (Johnson’s Up-Day, Down-Day Diet) and have been doing my own version of the basic principle: eat much less than normal or completely fast one day, then eat healthy foods in normal amounts the next. After looking up many sites on the research as well as related forums and blogs, I was impressed with the sense of it… and decided to give it 10 days.
I’m on Day 6 and feel great; I’ve got lots of energy (I still exercise every day) and at the moment feel like I could do this the rest of my life. But again, I’m on Day 6 and we’ll just have to wait and see. :)
March 1, 2009
Ok, it’s been 2 weeks that I’ve been on ADD (Alternate Day Dieting) and so far… I’m absolutely loving it! I like that I get to eat whatever I want every other day, and I’ve noticed that I eat less than I used to on those days. I suppose my stomach shrinks from the days I don’t eat much; and those days (I call them my ‘down’ days) I really don’t feel deprived. I look forward to both types of days: up days it’s ‘hooray, I get to eat whatever, whenever’ and on down days it’s ‘oh, good, I get to empty out my belly and lose some weight!’
I have lost weight eating this way, plus I have a ton more energy. I think I even need less sleep, because I’ve been going to bed much later than usual, yet not feeling tired or sleepy during the day.
March 30, 2009
I decided to go with the ADF (Alternate-Day Fasting.) I started with having up to 500 calories on ‘down’ days, but found that I obsessed about food on those days (what can I eat and be within my calorie limit;) not good. So I decided to just not eat on the alternate days, and it’s much easier for me. I drink a ton of water, well over a gallon, but if my growly stomach bugs me too much, I eat a handful of nuts or something.
I’ve been doing this in one form or another for 6 weeks now, and I love it! I found that alternating days was a little tough for me and my plan-ahead scheduling, so I now stick with fasting Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday every week. That means I eat Monday, Wednesday, and then 2 days in a row on Friday and Saturday, and let me tell you, I can hardly wait to fast on Sundays. It’s like eating 2 days in a row is too much food for my body; I feel so sluggish, so sleepy, so dull-minded.
I still exercise in some form every day, though it’s not a lot. I either walk on the treadmill 10-30 minutes (I jog a little sometimes) or I do 20-30 minutes of pilates. I still like how much better I feel with daily exercise, but fitting in more than 30 minutes just isn’t doable this season of my life.
Oh, the weight loss? In the 6 weeks since I started this Journey to Health I’ve lost 17 pounds! I’m very, very happy with this rate. It’s fast enough to keep me excited, yet at a healthy pace so I know I’m not going to gain it all back 6 months from now.
April 20, 2009
ADF is now just a lifestyle for me. It’s weird that it was just 2 months ago that I started eating every other day; it seems like it’s always been this way! I’ve never, repeat, never gone this long– consistently– on any diet or lifestyle change, ever.
I fully believe that every person has to find their way to be healthy; we’re all wired differently, and what works for one person just will not click in the mind of another. If you have not found what works for you, do not give up looking!
So a typical eating day for me is this: I eat whatever I’m serving the family, whenever I’m hungry. Do I eat sometimes when I’m not hungry? Yes. Do I eat all healthy foods? No. Do I overeat and feel stuffed? Sometimes, yes.
But then a non-eating day… ahhhh. Seriously, I can’t wait for the days to not eat, especially after eating for 2 days in a row (this is usually Sunday, after eating Friday and Saturday.) The sluggishness and drowsiness I feel at the end of an eating day is not a good feeling. I find that when I eat less on my eating days, I feel even better. On my non-eating days, though, I have so much energy! It’s weird and backwards from what I’ve always believed, but there it is.
If any of this sounds like I’m not getting enough to eat or that I’m leaning toward anerexia, fear not. :) I still love to eat, and in large quantities. The difference is now I’m aware of how my body feels before, during, and after I eat. There is finally a connection between the opportunity to eat and what my body needs.
I’m drinking less soda, something I’ve tried to do many, many times. I’m not actually trying to drink it less, it’s just been happening. I feel thirsty for water, so I drink water. And I find myself wanting healthier foods, too: I find that I’m putting the chocolate-covered pretzels back in the cupboard and reaching for the almonds instead. Not that I don’t want those pretzels anymore, just not in the crazed stuff-my-face way I used to; a small amount of sweets or junk satisfies my craving.
I must say, though, that there were 2 weeks that were staggeringly stressful for me. I was going through an extremely rough time emotionally… and I’ve always been an emotional eater. Needless to say, the eating days were pret-ty ugly. And the alternate days, days when I was not eating, were rough. I have a *bad* habit of making a beeline for the pantry when I’m stressed out, and I made full use of the “no rules” on the eating days.
And the non-eating days? They were pretty difficult. My instinct is to eat to stuff away what I’m feeling, so I was forced to choose different behavior. But I did it! And although those days were very hard… they not only kept me from weight gain, but helped me begin a major change in how I view food. I’m not there yet, but I’m beginning to truly understand the place food should have in my life, and all the places it shouldn’t.
