Changed forever

Since I've been getting a lot of compliments on my slimmer self lately, which is very very nice, by the way, from all of you awesome friends and family out there, I thought a post is in order to summarize and document if you will, my "how I got here" journey... I'm still very much engaged in this whole thing as I'm not at the end but rather in the middle of my journey. In fact, I don't think there is an end to getting and staying fit and healthy. So here is how I did/am doing it...

It started back in August of last year... I was feeling tired, no energy, and no desire to exercise and get my act straight about eating healthier and less. At the last physical I had, the doctor said my cholesterol was borderline, blood pressure a little high for my age, not very good signs. I wasn't really happy with myself because of all this. I had some desire but not enough to take the plunge and really commit to starting a new chapter that would change my lifestyle forever. It's probably because I knew it would and change is not easy, it's scary even ... how about my late night snacks (crumbled fetta cheese, kalamata olives and cucumbers with yummy white fluffy bread-that's what I would usually have after putting Ella to sleep and sitting down to watch some TV), how about my OREO cakesters, biscotti, and pastries? How about my fettucine alfredo pasta? And the list could on and on and on. I had a gym membership at Lifetime Fitness and at one point when we were living in Omaha I got a bit serious about going and accomplished a 11 lbs weight loss, not too much but still something. We kept our membership when we moved to TX and started going again but only once in a while. I could always find excuses (wiped out after a long work day, cooking, cleaning, getting Ella ready for the next day, etc.) but I knew deep inside that it can be done and it needs to be done but just didn't feel up to it.

Back to last August now...I took the free FIT test at Lifetime and the data was not looking good: my body age was well beyond my years, and my fitness level, well it was basically non-existent. So I decided something had to be done. I signed up for personal training, twice a week. I was working out hard with the trainer but not doing too well on my diet. I didn't have the accountability nor a strong committment to do my best. After two months of training I was only 3 lbs lighter with hardly any improvement in the fitness area and I was starting to wonder how could I ever lose the weight and get fitter.... Finally after not seeing the expected and promised results of personal training and after my trainer blew off a couple of appointments, I decided it was time for a change. I requested a new trainer. Meeting and working with John Lee (read one of his interviews here, very insightful http://www.muscleprodigy.com/john-lee-interview-arcl-1698.html) was probably one of the best things that happen to me. After my first meeting with John, I knew I could do it! I knew it was possible; it was possible for me to lose the weight and most importantly to get fit! This guy had a great track record and he himself was/is a great athlete and amateur body builder. When he asked me what my goals were, aside from losing the weight, I told him that I wanted to become an athlete, be able to do hard things, learn to love to exercise. It was basically something like: "I want to be a new person, all around. And I need you to help me to do that."  I was on fire: lost 8 lbs in 4 weeks. I was tracking my food intake religiously (I still do), I was eating only the right foods, in the right quantities and dilligently working out three more times a week outside of my personal training sessions (which were twice a week.) My personal training workouts were very hard, very advanced, they were burning me 650-750 cals/hr and I was loving it. Still do. During the first two, three months of our training he was checking regularly on my diet/which I was tracking online at http://www.livestrong.com/ and continuosly making suggestions on improvement with specific foods/brand names, ingredients, substitutes, etc. And I was buildling muscle like crazy :-) I'm still working hard, still tracking my food and although the weight loss has slowed down, I know I'm still improving fitness-wise.

(This is the guy who helped change my life and I am forever grateful for that.)

Today, Hrishi who is darn good athlete, is amazed at my physial strength and agility. I was never the athletic type so for me this is a huge accomplishment.... I would rank it somewhere close to getting my Master's degree with a young child and a full-time job, but in a sense it's probably an even bigger accomplishment than that, at least for me.  I've learned things about my body  (physically and mentally) that I never knew possible and I've gained knowledge and confidence that will be with me through the years, allowing me to live a healthy and hopefully long life with my sweet family, God permitting. Now I'm happy that I can actually say "no" to foods that I know are not healthy or do not support my weight loss goal, that I can make conscious food choices that are not based on impulse or emotions, and I'm happy to talk to others about my experience. I never believed in diets, no matter how "scientific" they may be! Part of it is because I experienced with some of them myself and I found that there IS NO MAGIC BULLET. There is no magic diet other than serious personal committment to eat right (qualitatively and quantitatively, as size MATTERS!) and exercise in a way that will build muscle and burn fat. And I've learned it's always up to me, always!

A few more words on diet, I've learned that what you cook yourself at home is always the best and healthiest choice you have. It's of course much more time consuming to plan and prepare your daily meals (thank goodness for the four years of practice with making Ella's meals daily: they've really helped me get disciplined in this regard), but it's so worth it.  The other benefit of cooking my own meals is that it's so much more economical than eating out. Only once in a while I "indulge" with a Subway sandwhich, or a healthy choice at a good restaurant.

Now some personal inspiration I wrote a while back in a facebook post: "I never want to forget how good it feels to work out, to work out hard, my hardest, and push myself to the limit. It's such an amazing feeling, so rewarding and far beyond the physical realm. It's empowering on every single level: physical, mental, psychological, even spiritual." (Moi)

YESTERDAY....
-I didn't want to get off the couch.
-I didn't want to go exercise although I was paying gym membership fees
-I didn't want to give up my guilty pleasures (sweet and salty snacks)
-I was frustrated and felt stuck with this "me" who was not doing what she was supposed to be doing, and was sliding further and further away from a healthy lifestyle.
-I was tired all the time
-the list could go on and on...

TODAY....
-I'm confident as never before
-I'm stronger than never before
-I'm willing to do all that I can to stay fit for good.
-I love working out and working hard (boy, you should see my complext training exercises, they kick my behind every time but they feel good!)
-I love filling my plate with fresh or freshly cooked veggies and lean meats and I DON'T THINK (GOOD)CARBS ARE BAD for ME!
-I don't live with fear or regret of what I could have done yesterday and didn't do, because I always try to do it and make time for it (talking about my workouts.)
-I have energy and I AM HAPPY with MYSELF physically.
-And most importantly, I KNOW THIS IS NOT THE END, BUT JUST THE BEGINNING.

Under no pretence of being a fitness or nutrition guru, these are thoughts/lessons learned from my own personal experience that I wanted to put down here so my family will know what it took and is taking (me) to live a happy and healthy life; who knows maybe this will come in handy, if they'd ever find themselves to be in need of a bit of fitness advice. :-)

I love this quote from an article (and I recommend reading it all by the way) published in the Experience Life magazine by Lifetime:

"When your intuition signals that you’ve found something or someone truly right for you, the choice often becomes strangely easy. “It feels healthy; it feels good; it doesn’t feel like you’re forcing it, there’s not a lot of conflict.""

[I have to confess that putting all this down on 'paper' today has served as a really nice motivation booster!]