It's time to lose the diets. Why? Because diets don't work. Trust me, I've tried them all. Everything from Weight Watchers to Atkins to the Fruit/Vegetable diet. What happens is I'll lose the weight, and then I stray away from the diet and gain all the weight back. I'm starting to realize that the only true way to lose weight is through a lifestyle change of healthier eating and exercise. Diets end; lifestyles don't.
Over winter break, I made a promise to myself that I would make MY HEALTH my number 1 priority from now on. In the past, it's always been about everyone else. I put my friends, my social life, and my campus involvement all before my health. I now know that's the reason why I've gained 20 pounds since coming to college. I have to put exercising and eating right before everything else. And I know some things are going to suffer, but I'm tired of being passive about my weight loss. I'm ready to take action and achieve this goal.
I hate running. I hate the gym. I hate salad. I hate fish and red meat. I HATE SWEATING. I hate getting up earlier than I have to (even though I AM a morning person). I hate feeling like things will never get done. I hate worrying about the future. But most of all, I hate knowing that I could be losing weight but I'm not simply because I'm lazy.
You're probably thinking, "if you hate all of these things, how are you going to lose the weight?" Well, I hate running but I love to go on long walks. I hate the gym, so I bought weights and a balance ball so I can do exercise videos off the internet in the comfort of my own dorm. I hate salad, fish, and red meat, but I love chicken. I'll find healthy alternatives using what I love to eat instead of eating things I don't like. I hate sweating more than anything, but I really want to lose this weight and in order to do it, I'll just have to get over it. I hate getting up early, but I'm just going to force myself to do it. Plus, walking gives me so much energy and releases a lot of my stress. I hate feeling like things will never get done, but if I work out early, then I can come back, take a shower, and get started on my online classes. And for those days I am doing strength training, I can do it after my classes and meetings. I hate worrying about the future, which is why I'm going to focus on the present. And since I know I could be losing the weight but I'm not because I'm lazy...well, I'm just going to stop being lazy!!
I've already made so many changes to my lifestyle already. For one, I always have water with me, and it's the only thing that I drink. I log onto SparkPeople.com every single day (at least 3 times a day) to track what I'm eating and how much I'm exercising. I read something motivational from that website every day, and I've started writing a "weekly inspiration" on my mirror. I've been making the time to work out, and when I work out, I don't think about anything else except for how relaxing it is. I don't crave fast food as much anymore, and honestly, just smelling it makes me sick. I know eating out can be inevitable, but as long as I find healthy alternatives I'll be fine.
I want to make these lifestyles now so that it doesn't become an obsession in the future. I've seen how obsessing over your weight can make you, and I never want to be like that. I'm 20 years young, and now is the perfect time to eat right and get into shape.
One last thing, I am absolutely IN LOVE with SparkPeople.com. You can log your foods and at the end of the day, it will give you a little "progress report" and let you know if you're eating the right amount of calories, carbs, fat, and protein. I never realized that I don't get enough protein in my diet until I started doing this!! I went online and bought protein shake mix so that I can get more protein into my diet. I bought Nature's Plus Spiru-tein Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl. I bought this stuff a few years ago and loved it! It gave me tons of protein and really filled me up. I also went and bought the SparkPeople book, "The Spark." It should be arriving on Monday and I can't wait to start reading it. I've heard some amazing reviews, and I'm so excited to get my hands on it. Also, the website is full of exercise videos and it also develops a strength training workout plan for you. What happens if you can't do one of the exercises? Just click on it and swap it out (I had to do this yesterday with the one-hand side pushups. They were impossible for me!). I am so glad that I found this website. It's truly amazing and has changed how I look at my life.
Weekly Inspiration:
"Take care of the rocks in your life - things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just pebbles and sand."
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