Monday Sayings: HealthIER Living

( from Thea.Livewell on IG )

As you may know from a previous post, I am on this trek to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle. 

I know I've for sure gained some weight when my fiance noticed. LOL. 

He did not notice when my hair went from this dark to...

...this light

In early October, a few friends and I drove up to Ventura to visit and surprise a friend who was just rediagnosed with ovarian cancer (a major f*ck you to cancer!). Of  course, we took pictures. When my fiance saw them, he said, "Hey, did you gain some weight?"

That was totally a reality check for me. I knew I had been gaining weight, but once my boo notices, then dang, it has gotten out of hand. 

I started my journey of losing weight. I started watching what I ate, but often fell off the bandwagon. I take Zumba classes about 3 - 5 days week. The difficult part was controlling what I ate when I got home from Zumba. I would eat double what I usually ate. I always felt shitty about myself afterwards. 

I attended a case management conference in early October where Dr. Mark Hyman presented. He was an amazing speaker and I must shamelessly admit, my new doctor crush. LOL <3 Before I entered his workshop, I texted a friend something along the lines of "Here I go. Another boring workshop. Daydreaming time." I was proven wrong.

The lecture turned out to be phenomenal. He was inspiring, motivating and so freaking hilarious. There was never a dull moment. 

From Dr. Hyman's talk, I took on a greater lesson. It is not just about losing weight. It's about being healthy all around, about being mindful of what we put into our bodies and knowing where our food comes from. I don't just want to look "good" but I also want to feel good and be healthy. 

Dr. Hyman recommended a documentary he worked on called "Fed Up." I was really happy to find it on Netflix so definitely get on it if you can. 

The film was really inspiring. It showed me how much bad stuff I put into my body including processed foods, sugar, and fat. "Reduced fat" means nothing really. It barely makes a change. And to alter food, it has to be processed. So an already processed food has to be reprocessed to be made healthier? It just does not sound right. He also talked about solutions to living healthier lives. Just being more conscious of what we put into our body is key. 

One of the greatest takeaways is when he said, "Junk is still junk even if it is less junky."

I would be lying to myself if I were to say I am never going to eat processed foods again. Xxtra Hot Cheetos are my winter weakness but they are soooo bad for you. I eat a bag about 2x/mo. How about I just have them 1x/mo? I can deal with that. Eating less cookies, less chips, less things that were not naturally made to be such. 

There was a woman in the film who said something along the lines of  "If there is a food with an expiration date that exceeds my lifetime then I know it can't be good for me." 

AHHH I just went on a long excited rant about health. 

I am really looking forward to healthier lifestyle. Just like everyone says, it's not about deprivation but moderation. Also, getting active.

I am so happy my coworkers and I are on the same train. Six of us with Fitbits have started a challenge to get healthier and fitter!

I have the Fitbit Charge 2 which I named "Fitty Wap" after Fetty Wap. LOL. I know. I'm a goon. 

( credit : www.macys.com )

So far, I am really digging it. The app allows me to track my water as well. Since it is a competition, it has motivated me to actually drink more water. I have met my water goal once. I know that does not seem like a lot, but I am the worst water drinker. A cup of coffee in the morning and water to take my meds at night. Zumba definitely helps me drink water.

ANYWAYS! I babbled throughout this whole post only because I am so excited about my life to come. Healthy living. Healthy me. Win win.

( credit : I can't remember. Sorry. Facebook? )

Xoxoxo

Taking Back My Body: Weight Gain

Weight is such a touchy subject. It is definitely a sensitive topic and can easily offend or annoy others.

I am currently at my heaviest weight. I am 5'2.5" and I currently weigh 117 pounds. That is in normal range, but what brings me down is that I have gained 12 pounds in the last 3.5 years. In hindsight, that is not too bad. I have heard (but not verified) that as we get older, our metabolism slows down and that for women, it is much easier to gain weight than to lose weight. 

If you do the math, it looks like I gained 4 pounds each year in the last 3.5 years. Yeah, I guess that's not so bad, but as a female, it freaks me out.

I hate that my pants are tighter and my face rounder. It makes me feel insecure. 

I don't have big boobs ("Itty Bitty Titty Committee" where you at?! LOL). It's really crazy and disheartening to look at myself in the mirror and see that my belly is way bigger than my boobs. Sad and funny at the same, but dang, really sad. 

I absolutely hate shopping for clothes. It's not that fun for me. I'd rather get my hair and nails done. The majority of the pants that I have are from at least 4 years ago. My work slacks are from college. I graduated college in 2008. And these pants were always 1-2 sizes too big because I HATED shopping that much, I would try it and if it wasn't way too big or small, I just bought it. All my pants were too big and held up with a belt. Now, I don't need a belt. And now, it's quite tight.

It really annoys me when I tell friends that I've gained weight and that it bothers me and they respond with, "oh but you could use a few pounds." That's besides the point. The point is that I do not feel good about myself right now. 

I also hate when I am not validated. "Oh you're so small. Stop it."

Petite girls can feel insecure about their weight too!

Some of the things that I know that caused me gain weight:
1. This sounds awful but 3 of the last 3.5 years, I formed a strong relationship friendship with a colleague who was really heavy set. When you spend so much time with someone else, you adopt their habits. She encouraged me to eat anything for any occasion because I "deserved" it. Soon enough, I "deserved" cake in addition to my burger just because I "deserved" it with no real reason to "deserve" it
2. Stress eating when I entered my current job a year ago. A job I do not love and ended up eating my misery
3. There were times when I felt "addicted" to food. No matter how full I was or even if I wasn't hungry, I just wanted to eat. The taste of food or the mere action of chewing and swallowing was comforting
4. I stopped being active which did not help since I work 6 days a week mostly glued to a desk

My weight has been bothering me for some time and I decided to take action.

I've said this in a previous post. I am a big believer that people should not complain if there is no action taken. 

You get what you settle for and I did not want to continue feeling like a blob anymore. 

A few months ago, I joined my local YMCA. It is really expensive at $47/mo. I take the Zumba classes and use the equipment. Because membership is so expensive, I have to really maximize my use of it. Can't let my hard earned money go down the drain!

Of course, health trumps the number on the scale.

But let's be real. The number on the scale affects our self-esteem. 

My weight goal is 110 pounds. 

I'll keep you posted on how I do.

But please note, I will be doing this the healthy way with controlling my diet and exercise. I am not restricting calories but just being smarter in what I eat - instead of eating fried fish, get the broiled or baked fish. 

The little things make a big difference. 

Sorry if my post was all over the place! 

I literally just spilled my thoughts onto the keyboard and went with it. 

Please stay healthy. Be healthy. 


Xoxoxo