A year and a half ago, Jillian Michael's, herself, could have told me that eating healthy, working out and understanding how important fitness is was right at my finger tips. Honestly, I don't know if I would have believed her At the beginning of 2014, I began to realize just how unhealthy I was. My coworkers, who were in their 50's, wanted to begin walking 1 to 2 miles on our lunch break. I remember not really being excited about it, but realizing that it would possibly be beneficial to my health, so I humored them and began walking. The first week, I regretted ever agreeing to this. I huffed and puffed as they walked and talked without any trouble. I was embarrassed, angry and envious that these much older ladies were out walking a 23 year old. I realized that I had to do something about this. As May rolled around, I weighed and had surprisingly lost ONLY 10 pounds. That month, the Health Department offered free exercise classes for women, so I decided to do each one. I participated in Zumba, Step, Yoga, Aerobics and even Tabata. I loved it and saw results throughout the month. As time went on, I continued to drop a little bit here and there, but my weight still fluctuated. After May was over and there were no more classes being offered, I realized it was all up to me to make the changes I wanted to see. I began working out with two lovely ladies (Jacqueline and Heather) at the gym, where we did CARDIO, CARDIO and MORE CARDIO. Throughout this time, I ate fairly healthy, eating low fat and counting calories. By the beginning of December I had lost around 30 pounds and had gone down a pants size. I had seen changes in myself that I never thought I would see. Not just in my size, but in how well I felt. I, actually, looked forward to going to the gym in the afternoons, which I NEVER thought would happen. I was both motivated and inspired by the results I was seeing.
*In between these pictures, I had lost about 30 pounds, but my weight continued to fluctuate.
Each year for Christmas, my coworkers and I exchange gifts. It never fails that the gifts that are exchanged are personable and pretty fantastic, which are the best kind. However, this year I opened one gift and thought, "Oh Lawd, of everything I could have received, a book about health, not even an enjoyable book. A book for Christmas, who does that....REALLY." After a few weeks of it sitting on my kitchen table, I decided to give it a try. "It Starts with Food" ended up being insightful and quite amazing. The book explains the unhealthy relationship that people have with food and explains a Whole30 lifestyle. The book intends for people to eat what nature has provided for us. For 30 days, I ate and did exactly what the book told me to. I saw changes in my mood, behavior and my body in just days. By the end of my 30 days, I had lost a total of 25 pounds.
*After my 30 days of Whole30
Basically, I want this blog to motivate and inspire women. Throughout this year, I have learned so much about my strengths, my weaknesses and the importance of health. This is something that I want to share with others because it I s not only important to be healthy, but it is important to feel confident and happy with yourself when you look in the mirror. Finding the motivation and time to exercise and eat healthy can be difficult, but I want to share how truly simple it can be!
*This is about 5 to 6 months of conforming to a Whole30/Paleo lifestyle.
"People today have a difficult time eating healthy, because food today is so processed. People sometimes oversimplify food and say things like, "I eat whole grains for fiber" or " I drink milk for calcium", but the reality is that all whole, unprocessed food is a rich, complex blend of the nutrients (that's all you need). " -Dallas and Melissa Hartwig
60% of your weight is determined by the foods you eat, 30% of you weight is determined by the amount of exercise that you do and 10% is determined by your genetic make-up. We are able to control 90% of our body image, so how will you begin?
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