In a previous post I talked about my journey to be fit. Over the years I'll try to eat healthy, but I never do it when I'm working out and it never lasts very long. Then I'll try to get in shape by exercising, but I never eat right while I do it. And while the working out routine has lasted a while, I eventually stop that too. For some reason though, this time around was different. I started at Mixfit Phoenix in January. The office was getting into a health kick, trying to provide healthier snacks and encouraging the employees to attend the gym. In March the gym decided to do a 21 day health challenge, they were only accepting 10 clients so they only wanted those who would take it seriously. That meant no pasta, no breads, no to many of the things I normally ate. I stood at the counter and was about to turn it down because I didn't think, like in the past, that I could give up those things. Especially the sweets and pasta. However, I was thinking that if I did this challenge and they were being so exclusive I might feel more accountable about staying on track. I also thought about how I felt about myself. I've been wanting to get healthy for a long time, I've been wanting to lose weight and feel good about myself for a long time. I wanted to stop looking at other girls and seeing how fit they were, and seeing how they little fat they had on their bodies. And it was then and there that I decided I was going to accept the challenge and put my best efforts into healthy eating.
From past experience, I was dreading the constant cravings for sweets and pasta. However, for some reason this time around was different. The first couple of days I did have cravings for sweets so I bought flavored gum and used Mio Water to satisfy those cravings. I started buying fruits and fresh veggies to snack on and eat with my meals. I used recipes but left the potatoes out. On the occasions that there were sweets around or carbs as a part of the meal I was able to limit myself to a very small portion. After just the first two or three days I really didn't have a problem with craving sweets. I still had pasta sitting in my pantry that I hadn't touched for three weeks. As a result I've lost about 6 pounds of fat, I've slimmed down, and you can see the physical changes that have happened so far.
The three weeks are now up but I still feel a desire to continue with the healthy eating. I am planning to add things like cheese and pasta back into my diet, but as more of an occasional side dish thing rather than always eating it or having it as my main meal. I'm going to combine the habits I've formed with the 21 day challenge with the portion control practiced by the 21 Day Fit diet. I was never one to go for fad diets, most of those end up not being so healthy for you in the end or they are not something that people could realistically do for the rest of their lives. However, changing your diet and eating habits can be realistic. During the 21 day challenge I followed the healthy eating about 90% of the time. My roommates had a party that was going to have lots of goodies. I knew that it would be unrealistic to attend and not touch any of the goodies. So I planned ahead, I said I will have one cake pop and one cookie (which I made), and that's all I had. When I was on vacation in New York, Sarah had gotten a lava cake to share with mom and me, I had two bites of it and was done. This surprised her because I really love lava cake, and this one was very yummy. But I knew if I didn't stop myself then I would go overboard.
So here are my tips for changing your eating habits. When you have sugar cravings find something to take the place of that, crystal light, Mio water (or something similar), fruit or candy flavored gum can all help you to satisfy your sweet tooth. Planning ahead will help as well. If you know you're going to be in a setting that will have goodies you shouldn't eat, or if you know you're going out to eat plan it all ahead of time. Set a limit, like "I'm only going to have one small piece of cake at the party," or look up a restaurant menu before and and decide what you are going to eat. Have someone who will help you stay on track and celebrate your successes, no matter how small they are. For me this was my roommate Shayna. Whenever I came home and told her how I resisted eating something and made a better choice she was really excited for me. When I lost weight and was able to fit into something I hadn't for a while she was really excited for me. Although I do have others in my life who helped in this manner, having this kind of support directly in my home was the most encouraging. Make a plan. The hardest thing for me in the past is not having any kind of meals planned. I don't necessarily have a weekly or monthly menu planned out I am thinking ahead. I try to make recipes that will last me a few meals. If I don't have something planned then I've made my backup plan scrambled eggs instead of pasta. But I plan to have that as my backup. And finally, even though I was not doing this eating plan with anyone in particular, it can be most helpful to have a "diet buddy." When you have someone doing the diet plan with you it makes it easier to have someone who is struggling right along side you. It's easier to have someone help you make the better meal choices and keep you in check when you don't. Even though Shayna was not doing this challenge with me she was able to provide new snack ideas for me to try, and she was provided the encouragement at home that I needed in order to stay on track.
Since January I've lost about 12 lbs of fat total. I'm feeling better about myself and more confident in my body. Because I've seen these changes in myself I'm even more motivated to continue working out and eating healthy. I'm so excited to see how different I will be by the end of the year.
