In the fall of 2011 my husband Doug and I began on a new journey toward healthy.
If you have read our profiles, you have seen that it has been quite a journey. We made a commitment to doing whatever it took to get our health back. Although I was in good health, according to my doctor, I was officially obese. Yup, I was officially obese and yet, each time I had visited the doc, it was not recommended that I lose weight to better my health. Doug,by the way, was also officially obese. Check out this page if you want to secretly look at your own range. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseasesonditions/obesity/indepth/bmi-calculator/itt20084938
According to Wikipedia;
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have a negative effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems.[1][2] In Western countries, people are considered obese when their body mass index (BMI),[3] a measurement obtained by dividing a person's weight by the square of the person's height, exceeds 30 kg/m2, with the range 25-30 kg/m2 defined as overweight.
We set out to find a trainer. We simply put out a request on Facebook to our friends. So right from the start our journey to get healthy was a public one. Accountability is a funny thing. We received a couple of recommendations and did some interviews. Yes, we interviewed them as they were interviewing us. Dean and Leigh Brandt at Body by Brandt http://www.bodybybrandt.com/ was who we chose to turn to for our transformation.
We told Dean and Leigh right up front that we would do whatever it took to get us back into a weight zone that we really belonged in. We were given a meal plan, and a workout schedule. Three days a week in the gym and a brand new way to eat. You would think after eating for over 40 years, we would know how to feed ourselves. Well, like most North Americans, we knew how to eat A LOT, but not properly.
Today, nearly 4 years later, there are aspects of our ‘new’ lives that I love and some aspects that I still struggle with. Some I don’t mind dealing with, some I would love to get rid of, but won’t.
Love it, not so much
1. OATMEAL : I have never loved oatmeal, still don’t, but I eat it before the gym on gym days.
2. WEIGHT and MEASURE DAY : This is still a bitter pill to swallow. The results are never what I want them to be.
3. 6 AM ALARM : I don’t do mornings. Still don’t do mornings. Three days a week, we are in the gym by 7am.
4. BREAD : I do miss the ease of just slapping a sandwich together because I can’t think of what else to eat.
5. MEAL PLANNING : Planning meals ahead of time so that they are not just a feast of starch is real work some days.
6. STINKY GYM SHOES : With several days in the gym each week and outside activities too, our shoe cupboard is full and smelly.
Love the new
1. REWARD MEALS : Some of these are epic, some are comfort food, but I love them all.
2. NORMAL SIZE CLOTHING STORES : There were a lot of years that I couldn’t shop in regular shops. Now, I can. Sometimes, it still makes me teary in the change room. I hope it always does. I don’t want to ever go backward.
3. WINE : we still love wine. Now, we have it as a reward and it tastes so much better.
4. GYM CLOTHES : Thanks to Lululemon, gym gear has become comfort wear everywhere. It really is comfortable when you get stuff that finally fits right.
5. GROCERY SHOPPING : When you eat mostly in the outer aisles, you spend less time label reading. You buy whole, real food, with very few ingredients.
6. ENERGY : Although I fall into bed exhausted each night, I have so much more energy during the day.
7. FEEL BETTER : I just feel better generally. Better moods, rarely sick, skin and hair are healthy.
8. MUSCLE ACHE : In the beginning, I really didn’t like this, but now I wait for it because I know I earned it.
9. PRIVATE TIME : Not something I talk about normally, but when you are stronger, more flexible, not out of breathe, somethings are WAY better! wink wink nudge nudge
Embrace the changes, learn to adapt to the new and different things. Don’t settle for just ok when great is what you were meant for.
Just when the caterpillar thought the world was ending, he turned into a butterfly. — Proverb
