Searching for Better Health

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So, I haven’t blogged any on my health issues other than my anxiety and depression. But I had knee surgery a couple months ago. I had to have lateral release done. The past 8 weeks I have gone from having surgery and not being able to walk without crutches to back to walking pretty close to normally. I still have a slight limp, but I go to physical therapy twice a week to work on strengthening my knee. So, as far as that, I’m getting healthier.

Now my weight is another thing…

I gained so much weight from not being able to workout and sitting around all day. I should have been eating better because of that but of course I wasn’t. I could kind of tell my clothes were starting to fit tighter, but I just ignored it. I don’t usually keep a scale at home because I always check it like crazy. So, while at physical therapy early in this week and I was stunned!!! I couldn’t believe the number (I’m not ready to tell the world just yet) but it sure is high for me. One good thing about my body is I carry weight really well, so I never look the weight that I actually am. But it’s definitely there.

Something had to change…

I decided that day that I was going put forth effort and change. I can’t jog just yet due to my knee, but I can do a fast-paced walk and do light yoga again. So, I put together a light, but effective 50 min workout that I can do each day. I get up at 7 am and I start with a yoga video from YouTube. There’s one channel I love to watch, and they are short but good routines to get the morning started and my body stretched and loose.  Once I’m done with yoga, I head outside to do a 20 min brisk walk. I get it done and out the way before it gets too hot outside. I have hand weights, so I take either the 2 or 3-pound ones out with me to carry as I walk. I keep my arms moving so I burn as many calories as I can in 20 minutes. I also spend some of the walk doing side steps squat steps. I make sure to time the walk so I can do a full 20 minutes no matter how tired I feel. I’ve been wearing a sweat band around my stomach as well. When I get done walking, I head back in the house and spend the next 20 minutes doing sit ups and weighted squats. I try to do as much as I can in the 50 mins that I’m working out.

And now the food…

Now along with adding a workout routine to my every day, I had to change the way I was eating. I don’t typically over eat, but I just loooooove sweets. I had to set a limit to myself. I didn’t cut them out all together because that makes me go back to eating them within days and then I over indulge. So, I set up more of a reward system for myself. For every 5 days that I complete my full workout, I get to treat myself with a sweet. This keeps me motivated to keep working out and doesn’t take sweets from me all together. I have been doing great so far. I haven’t had anything sweet since I started, and I’ve completed my 4th day of workouts. One more and I can reward myself. I’m working out every morning without a break until I feel I need to give it a day rest. So far, I feel really good. I also stopped eating after 7 pm which was my prime snacking time. I cut out fried foods and I have been eating well balanced meals. My go to for dinner the past few days has been salad with salmon. I also measure out my serving sizes to keep from having huge unnecessary portions. Next week I’ll incorporate a more diverse palate, but right now the salads are hitting the spot. I’m cutting out beef and pork, hopefully for good. I’m on the fence if I want to cut out chicken as well and just become a vegetarian/pescatarian again. I tried towards the end of last year, but it didn’t last long, and I gave up super-fast. I have done it before for a few years but then I went back to eating meat. This is something I will be working on and trying to decide what I want to do.

Setting a goal…

My goal is to lose 30 pounds to start off and then decide if I’m good at that weight or if I want to lose more. So far, I have lost 1.5 pounds within a few days. To keep myself motivated I made some really cute goal and workout sheets that I added into my Happy Planner. This keeps me having to see where I’m at and where I want to be. I also I have a couple planner buddies who are on the same weight loss journey, so we motivate each other and hold each other accountable on what we shouldn’t eat. They are super dope women.

I’m really at the point where I’m not happy with my health and body, and because of it, I have really started putting in the time and effort to change it. I will be making sure to blog hopefully weekly on what I’m eating, and pounds lost. Doing this will also keep me motivated and give me yet another reason to stick to it. I’ll add pictures of before and after at a later time…. probably when I’ve reached a point of actually noticing some change. Wish me luck….

-Ashley-


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