Healthy Changes

So, for anyone that follows along with my posts on FB you know that I've been in the process of making some healthy changes in my life the last few months. Although I'm seeing results it's not at all at the point I want the results to be at.  I still have plenty of work to do and getting more sleep so I feel like exercising is one of them. However, there have been so pretty exciting changes that I've personally noticed but maybe I should tell you how this journey has progressed first.

Near the end of February I knew I needed to make some changes and got just the right push I needed to make an effort. (I'll probably offer more details on that push later, just not yet.) Anyway, I wanted to find out my allergies and food sensitivities since that can prevent weight loss. I had known several people that had great success giving up gluten. So, I tried that first, but I was actually reacting more. The good thing though was that it made us start eating a lot more naturally and less processed. But as time went on I started noticing I had problems with all of the soy often found in gluten free food. So, at that point I went back to eating gluten and explored my soy allergy more. Overall I just do better when I reduce or eliminate soy from my diet. Then, I was making something with corn starch and it made my lips go numb like soy did. And I'd noticed a few other things with processed corn that bothered me. So, now I've eliminated processed corn (HFCS, corn starch, etc.) and soy products as much as I am aware of. And recently after reading an article about the connection between carbs and obesity I've reduced my daily intake of carbs and especially the times of day I eat them. No simple carbs at night, especially after dinner, and not even with dinner most nights. That has really helped.

 All of this time Eric and I have been doing P90X. Well, he does it 100% and works super hard. I do it at about 70% because I hate feeling sweaty. But I'm doing it and it's not as hard as it looks. Anyone can really do it. ANYONE!!! Just modify what you need to. Anyway, so it's been consistent exercise and eating better. Just yesterday we celebrated 3 months since we last ate at McDonald's. Go us! On top of that I've started taking some digestive enzymes, especially when I eat a lot of beans, which I do now. I also have a probiotic drink I like. All of these things help me get healthier and I like it. I still indulge from time to time, but it's a lot less frequent now.

So, to the results. I haven't lost nearly as much weight as I would have liked. Actually, I feel like I've hardly lost any weight since I started making these changes, but now it's getting better. These things take time. P90X has really helped town up and firm my muscles. Even with all of the fat I still have lots of me films firmer and less flabby. That's huge. It feels incredible. Another really unexpected change has been my finger nails. I've always had weak, brittle nails that ripped off before they ever got very long. Now they are long and strong all on their own. I attribute this to the healthy things I'm putting in my body. No more of this garbage in - garbage out that I was getting before. My bosoms feel larger, which was highly unexpected while trying to lose weight. I have no idea what to attribute that to, but I don't care. As long as I keep it up then it should stay that way. My cycles are now more "normal" and much less painful to get through. They are pretty easy-peasy these days. And the best thing of all is that at the beach on Saturday I actually felt pretty confident in a bathing suit. I still have tons of work to do, but I've already made some progress. I still have huge fat, white thighs, but I feel alright about the rest. I know this body isn't going to be like this forever if I keep up the good work, but it feels good to be confident in my own skin again.

So, that's basically how things have gone for the last three months. I haven't really had to buy new clothes yet (sadly) but the day will come soon enough. I couldn't have done this without Eric or my friend Claire to work out with. Anyone can do this, but it has to be when you're ready for it. Make little changes everyday and you'll see how these changes will impact your health. Good luck!