My healthy/fitness journey began way back after I had gotten engaged to my now husband (4'ish years ago). I was in nursing school, had horrible eating habits, was stressed, and when I drank alcohol it wasn't in small amounts. Since then I have lost around 40lbs and have been pretty good about keeping it off. My husband is a workout/health nut so his motivation to workout forces me to follow in his footsteps. I now enjoy working out more than I did in the past. I grew up being an athlete and continued through college. I was a little burnt out on any form of exercise and was "bored".
In 2011 I developed a love for spinning class and became addicted. I went to class 4-5 times per week and was basically eating cereal for dinner (bc it was quick and convenient and I was too tired to cook after class). Plus, my husband was OK with that plan while other husbands would expect a warm cooked meal on the table at night. Attending spinning class and watching calories really helped me drop weight and tone. My husband and I ran 5k's and 10k's frequently to help keep us motivated. I was (and still am) thankful for his support. It's true when people say it's important to have a workout companion. Although there were times of tears, frustration, and tough love, I thank John for pushing me the way that he did.
So, here we are in 2014. Since those rough days of weight loss I have completed several 5k's, 10k's, a half marathon, and a sprint distance triathlon. The half marathon was a killer (not sure I'd do another one) but, I LOVED every minute of my triathlon. During that time I was getting in really good shape. Sure I still had a few problem areas that I wanted to fix, but over all I felt the best I had ever felt.
The end of 2013 brought some health challenges that included dizzy spells and a lot of head aches. My workout streak was declining, my diet became poor, I was in a car accident, and my husband and I were really getting into enjoying the taste of craft beer. All of this is no bueno when you're not burning 500-800 calories per workout 5 days/week as you were before. Gradually, my pants became tighter, tops aren't fitting as they once were, and I can feel an over all difference physically. Plus, lets not pretend the number on the scale hasn't increased a smidge. THEN, on top of all of those things, the holidays arrived. I tried and tried to resist the holiday deliciousness, but lets face it, I failed.
During all of my dizzy/headache spells I did some research on dietary approaches to helping me feel better. Doctors were trying to throw pills at me to fix my problem. Although this may be a future possibility, I wanted to explore other non-pharmacological options first. The nurse in me wanted to start with "least invasive" (plus, with being married, an "oops" could happen, if you know what I mean. You can't take most medicaitons when you're pregnant.). I searched high and low for multiple books, diet plans, and recipes. I read a little on how eating Gluten Free could help. This idea scared me bc gluten is in EVERYTHING that is good (in my opinion). Beer, desserts, breads/cereals, condiments, literally everything! My husband suggested following more of a "gluten-light" diet. So, we did our best to reduce gluten but not completely cut it out.
I stumbled across a book called the 21 Day Sugar Detox By Diane Sanfilippo, http://the21daysugardetox.com/, and decided to add it to my Christmas list. I am now the owner of the book and am now on Day 1 of the detox journey. I'll write more about this journey in a post following this one.
For now I will say here's to a new journey in 2014! My goal is to be in better health than I was in 2013.
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| Cheers to new goals in 2014! |
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