Lifestyle Changes...
I don't know what it is about 27, but I've been there for a month and a half now and have been feeling the strongest urges to change my lifestyle. Or maybe it was that I got married in June. But it seems like just since my birthday, I realized I needed to change some things about my life.
Part of it was that I saw over 130 on the scale, after being 112 just last year, but part of it, I think, is realizing that I'm forming habits now that I will be stuck trying to change even further down the road if I don't get to it. I am officially "late 20s," and if it's this hard to change at 27, I can't imagine the time I'd have when I am more set in my ways at say, 35 or 40.
I am going through a period of great change -- marriage, grad school applications, many of my friends are all getting married or having babies. My little brother welcomed a son in August. I'm trying to get healthier, not just in body, but in spirit; I want to approach the world from a healthy perspective -- no more making excuses, being lazy and trying to get away with things. This is my "confession," as it were, to get it all out in an effort to stick to it.
The Old Me:
1. drank waaaay too much -- usually 2 or more a day.
2. ate well half the time, then binged on nachos or sweets the other half.
3. hated exercise and never did it -- got winded climbing stairs, and was a total weakling.
4. smoked the occasional cigarette (though I never had a real habit).
5. routinely slept until 11 or noon; the earliest I would get up was 10:30, and I often was sleeping for 11-13 hours a day, and wondered why I never had any time to do anything.
6. procrastinated about school work until it was late.
7. was pumped full of chemicals: antidepressants and birth control pills.
8. found myself telling lots of little fibs to hide exactly how lazy or piggy I really was.
9. could be very judgmental of other people's weaknesses when I was being "good."
10. knew I was terribly inflexible (I have never been able to touch my toes) but never stretched to do anything about it. Even in high school, I was in the 1% of flexibility on the fitness tests.
What I'm working toward:
1. Have a glass of wine with dinner a few times a week. more only at a party or special occasion.
2. Find a way of eating I can stick to for a clean-running, thin, healthy body.
3. Use my body (bicycle) as main method of transportation. Strength-train so I am not so weak.
4. Why smoke if you don't have a habit? No more "social smoking."
5. Get up when my husband does at 7:30 and have more time to study, exercise and bike to school.
6. Do my schoolwork early and well. Grad school will require this of me, so I had better start now.
7. Stay off all medications unless I am really sick.
8. Tell the truth! Everyone has weaknesses and shouldn't have to be ashamed.
9. Be forgiving of other people's faults. Again, everyone has weaknesses and shouldn't have to be ashamed.
10. Get to the point where I can place my palms on the floor. This is probably going to take YEARS of stretching.
Where I am now:
1. I have cut back on the booze considerably after my detox diet I did for 2 weeks last month. I usually have 2 drinks a few times a week and sometimes (like this past week between Halloween and Election Day) I still binge. But nothing like the old 8-9 drink binges. More like 4 drinks and I regret it from the hangover because my tolerance has gone down.
2. I am still trying to find a way of eating that I am happy with. I gained 5 lbs. in the past week, but it was probably partially water (from TOM). I managed to eat only 2 pieces of Halloween candy. Today I am at 130 even. My measurements are 36.5-29-36.5 (more boobage than usual, must be TOM-related).
3. I am going to ride my bike to class today for the first time in like a month. Also have been doing 30 day shred. Today will be day 4. I have been sore the entire time since I am such an out-of-shape wimp.
4. I took a drag off my husband's cigarette last night and didn't even like it. I have been liking it less and less over the past few months. I am pretty sure I am nearly through with experimenting with tobacco.
5. I have been getting up right before my husband leaves for work a few minutes to 8 for the past few weekdays. And for the most part, I have been staying up, minus a nap here and there. I did fall asleep in class once, but I figure my body will get used to less sleep eventually and that will stop happening.
6. Still procrastinating. As I type actually. But I know that a good way of life requires some degree of planning, so I forgive myself this time. I will work on my papers for the rest of the day.
7. Last month, when it dawned on my that it was probably the change in birth control pills that made me crazy enough for antidepressants, I weaned myself off of the AD, stopped the BCP, and got a copper IUD (no hormones). I did a two week detox diet to get all the crap out of my system, and I've already gotten my first "real" (aka non-BCP-withdrawal) period in 13 years, despite the dr. telling me it could take months to get my natural cycle back. The detox diet worked!
8. Still working on this one. Little "white fibs" are a tough habit to break when you've gotten used to telling them. I am getting better, though. This site is actually helping me, because I feel like I can tell the truth here and not be judged.
9. It's actually amazing -- when I admitted to myself that I had weaknesses that needed to be worked on, everyone else's seemed much less noticeable. Like magic!
10. Ohh the agony of stretching. I have been working on stretching for 15 or so minutes before doing the 30 day shred. I still can barely bend from the waist (only from the back, which they say is a no-no), but I can sit with my back flat against the wall and *almost* get my legs straight out in front of me. I am seriously the least flexible person IN THE WORLD.
So I'm getting there. Slowly but surely. I plan on updating this thread with my progress. Feel free to comment of you'd like.
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