A Change Is Gonna Come (Part 1)

Since you're all following me on Facebook, you are well aware that I've been on a rather important quest this year. Over the last 20 years, I've slowly gained pounds here and there. For a long time, I did little more than bitch about it. I'd toyed with the idea of doing something, but a lackadaisical commitment to walking and looking up healthy recipes on Pinterest weren't doing the trick. I felt tired all the time, constantly napping. I hated the way I looked. I was tired of having to shop for bigger sizes. My confidence was in the toilet, despite having a husband that never fails to tell me how sexy he thinks I am. And while I'd felt all of these things for years, something finally clicked for me. I turned 40. And I started to realize that if I didn't get serious now, my body would only continue to go downhill from here. If my current state was as good as it gets, that was not good enough for me. And God knows I had genetics working against me. With a history of heart disease and diabetes in my family, I needed to nip this in the bud like, yesterday. So many people have asked me what I'm doing and how I've been successful, that I thought I'd share some of the details of my journey. I also have thoughts to share about how this has affected me emotionally and physically, comments I'm getting these days, and body shaming. But that will come in another post, because y'all don't want to read a novel in one sitting, am I right?!

Exercise:

I'm a cheapskate. I figured I'd just walk around my neighborhood for free or just look up some exercises on Pinterest that I could do at home. But my husband knows me too well, maybe because he struggles with this, too. I am not self-motivated in this area. Tim had been going to a Crossfit gym for well over a year. By actually going somewhere and getting to know the people there, he is held accountable and encouraged. And having shelled out some money, meant he was likely to follow through and show up. Putting some skin in the game, if you will. (Man, I hate this analogy. Any sports related analogy, actually. It just seemed to fit, though.) He and one of my best friends who's also a Crossfitter had told me about some of the workouts, and exercising nearly to the point of vomiting. That did not at all sound enticing to me. I knew I'd need to find something effective, but that I'd like enough to keep at it. So, as one does, I polled my friends on Facebook: Where do you work out? I was given a few different suggestions, but the one that sounded the most interesting to me was a Zumba-esque class through B.Fab.Fitness. There are 2 styles of classes offered there: The .body class is more toning and sculpting, while the .funk class is all high energy hip-hop-style dancing. 

I went to my first .body class on January 6th. In a class full of toned, spandex-clad women, I was by far the frumpiest in my large t-shirt and yoga pants. But the instructors were welcoming and encouraging, telling me to take it easy as a beginner and not try too hard to keep up with everyone else's pace. I set up my mat at the back of the room. During the opening warm-up of plank exercises that lasted about 3 minutes, I could hold a plank for all of 10 seconds before dropping to my mat. Then during the cardio warm-up, I was good for about 15 seconds of jumping jacks. I was more out-of-shape than I thought! It was a tough class, but I made it through. Even though it was a bigger challenge than I anticipated, I knew it would help me achieve the results I wanted. The next day, I went to my first .funk class. Talk about a fish out of water! I went to the back of the room, almost hugging the wall, and tried to stay out of everyone's way. Growing up in a culture of "thou shalt not dance" (where my CofC girls at?!), I am FAR from a natural at this stuff. I was a total spaz, and the wall of mirrors confirmed that fact. BUT, that was the most fun workout I have EVER done! I was hooked! 

It was still winter, and I wasn't needed at the garden center yet, so I was able to attend classes 4 days a week. After 6 weeks, I could stay in a plank for about 30 seconds in .body class, before feeling the need to reset for a few seconds and go again. I could make it through all of the jumping jacks, and just about all of the exercises thrown at me (with some modifications for my stupid, old back). My arms were getting stronger and slimmer, and my gut was getting a little smaller. In .funk class, I started to get more comfortable with the routines with some repetition. I worked my way off of the back row to about the middle of the room. And while the mirrors made me uncomfortable to begin with, I began to appreciate being able to see whether or not I was correctly executing the dance moves. 

Food:

My biggest weakness is bread and sweets. I can NOT tell you how very jealous I am of people that say, "I just don't care for sweets really". Tim had been trying to eat a low or no-carb diet for months, but I'd dug in my heels, refusing to give up my beloved bread. But I realized bread and sugar were my biggest vices, so I'd have to cut back if I really wanted to shed some weight. I LOVE my coffee, but only with copious amounts of sugar ("I like my sugar with coffee and cream" -Beastie Boys). I refer to this as my "sugar-shock coffee". I used a flavored creamer AND I added in more sugar. I decided to use just my flavored creamer (baby steps, people) and cut out the extra sugar. I cut out the nighttime snacking as well, or if I really needed something, I tried low-calorie naturally sweetened popcorn, or something with protein, like a spoonful of peanut butter. Poor kids; no more Oreos in the house. And before they even went on sale, I announced that there would be NO GIRL SCOUT COOKIES this year, to much weeping and gnashing of teeth (Reagan decided to buy a box with her own money and keep them in her room). For breakfast, I ate protein bars, for lunch, humus or salads. I cut down on pasta and other starchy foods at dinner. Tim and I ate more meat and veggies. The kids refused to get on this game plan, so most nights, they had to fend for themselves. I started buying more organic, less processed foods. In April, one of the .body class instructors encouraged me to try a 24 Day Challenge through Advocare. It's 24 days of eating healthy and taking supplements. I was introduced to Spark: a drink fortified with vitamins that is sugar-free and has CAFFEINE. I have replaced my sweetened coffee with this. I now treat myself to coffee only on Saturdays. For part of the challenge, you are given breakfast shakes with lots of vitamins and protein. I really like the chocolate mocha ones! I do usually feel hungry again mid-morning, so I drink an 8oz V-8 Fusion. I have done 2 of these challenges now. I love how they get me on track when I fall back into unhealthy eating habits. I'm sure I'll need another one after all of those holiday indulgences I won't be able to resist (pumpkin spiced everything!!!). I'm not a health-food Nazi. I will occasionally buy a pack of Oreos, order pizza, drink wine, eat/drink those things that are SO not healthy. I just do it in moderation now. And I haven't totally broken my addiction to sugar, but I am more picky. I won't eat the store-bought pound cake in the break room just because. If I'm going to have something sweet, I'm going to have something I really enjoy.

I'll let you know how this all worked out in my next post.