Lifestyle changes...

One of the many things I ♥ about Spring... rainbows!  And not just ONE rainbow, but a DOUBLE rainbow last night! 

Bob asked Bryn if she could see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, so then she kept asking me, "Mommy... did you see the pot of gold?!"  Oddly enough, at the end of the rainbow, there was a very bright golden glow above those houses.  I'm just sure her imagination was running wild the rest of the evening over that.   

I had some questions last week after my post where I listed 5 pieces of trivia about me.  One of the questions was WHAT IS ZUMBA?  Zumba is basically a Latin dance/fitness class.  Their slogan is "Join the party!" because it really is like being at a party, having fun, only you're getting a work out at the same time.  I swear I smile for the entire hour I'm there & I've said before, "A week without Zumba is like a week without sunshine."  Tomorrow I'm participating in a Zumba demonstration at a local mall as part of the Healthy Kids weekend sponsored by the YMCA.  IF, and that's a big IF, I can figure out how to upload video to You Tube, I'll post video of the demo on my blog because Bob's going to tape it for me.  Just so you know, though, my instructor has a more flavorful mix of dance in her classes...  involving Latin stuff, Hip Hop & Indian/belly dancing.  Google it though.  There's tons of You Tube videos out there showing examples of Zumba.  You HAVE to try it!   

The other question I was asked was about what I've done with regard to "lifestyle change."  First of all you have to think of your health & the way you eat as lifestyle changes & NOT a diet.  Diets are temporary.  You want this to become a new way of life for you.  I've been as big as 4 sizes larger in my pants than I am now... and I'm not including the time when I was pregnant either.  You have to put yourself as the first thing on your daily TO-DO list though.  Let's face it... this hobby is a very sedentary activity.  If all you do is sit all day long, you're going to feel like crap.  Period.  You have to get your body moving.  No one is too busy that they can't find 30 minutes a day to devote to their health, sanity & happiness.  If it means you have to wake up 30 minutes earlier every day, then that's what you have to do.  Here's the changes I've made over the past 10 years.  I did NOT wake up 1 day 10 years ago & make all these changes at once.  It just won't work if you try to do everything at once.  Give yourself time... be patient... you are worth it!

1. Stop drinking soda.  There's ZERO things good about it.  I had to give up my BIG GULP's of Diet Coke because I had to stop with the caffeine for my heart.  So, if it's caffeine you need, try Green Tea or even coffee.  And I don't mean the foofoo drinks from Starbucks.  That's not coffee... that's dessert.  Anyway, you'll have headaches for a couple days after quitting, but you'll feel so much better once you give it up. 
2. Water, water & more water.  When you're eating lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains (which I'll get to next) you have to have something to push it through.  Milk, soda, etc... won't do it.  Just water. 
3. Eat every 3-4 hours (5 small meals a day).  This keeps your blood sugar in check & believe it or not increases your metabolism.  NO skipping meals... especially breakfast... that's your most important meal of the day!   
4. Physical activity every day.  For the first year after giving birth, all I did was walk on the treadmill every day.  I'd put Bryn in her baby carrier & bring her downstairs with me so I could see her while I was on it.  After she was about 18 mos. old I added doing a class at the Y twice a week when Bob was home from work.  It was my 1 hour of "me" time to escape from all my to-do's, listen to music & have fun.  Find something you enjoy doing & it will seem like less of burden.  Dr. Oz tells people almost every episode to get a cheap little pedometer & walk no less than 10,000 steps per day.  I guarantee if that is the only change you make today... you will see results.   
5. No salt shakers.  There's more than enough flavor in food that you do NOT need to salt it again... especially in a restaurant.  Sheesh... they way over-salt as it is.  All you're going to do is add bloat... and who wants that?  Please don't all shout at once. 
6. No red meat.  I gave it up about 20 years ago.  I have since heard that it's very difficult for your body to digest red meat.  It literally has to rot in your body over the course of 2-3 days.  Gross.  I still eat chicken, turkey & fish.  I make sure to have protein at every meal & snack.  It's also what helps to build lean muscle in your body. 
7. I eat TONS of veggies, fruit, whole grains.  They say that 80% of your plate should be colorful veggies, the rest protein & whole grains.  I've stopped eating all the "white" stuff.... bread, pasta, rice, pizza.  The white stuff turns to sugar immediately.  If I'm going to eat sugar... it darn well better be chocolate!  I do eat brown rice.  I thought I'd miss pizza & pasta because it was once a main staple in my diet.  I don't miss it at all.
8. No more dairy (other than the occasional ice cream...;-).  Bryn is allergic to cow's milk, so about 5 years ago Bob & I decided, "Why are we buying 2 kinds of milk when soy is supposed to be good for you anyway?"  So, it's soy milk on my cereal now.  I don't eat cheese anymore.  I have less headaches than I once had.  I swear it's due to the dairy. 
9. Weights.  I didn't really notice a huge change in my body until I started doing classes at the Y that involved cardio + weights (interval training).  Typically it's 5 lbs or less, with a lot of reps.  Low weights + a lot of repetitions = long, lean muscles.  You're NOT going to look like a body builder.  You WANT to have muscle though because muscle burns fat.  And muscle keeps working for you even when you're at rest.  This is a good thing!
10. With regard to exercise, I do something different every day of the week.  This keeps your body guessing & keeps it from having muscle memory.  My weekly routine is this... Monday: Zumba; Tuesday: run 3-4 miles; Wednesday: Spin class;  Thursday:  run 3-4 miles;  Friday:  cardio/interval class;  Saturday: Zumba + run 2miles;  Sunday:  run 3-4 miles.  My running, up until a couple years ago, was strictly WALKING (fast walking!).  Walking is one of the BEST things for you.  It's less impact on your knees & every bit as good for you as running, if not better.  I'm still running on the off chance that I do my 3rd half-marathon.  I don't want to have to start from scratch, so I've just kept it up since my last one. 
11. Everything in moderation.  I have a little dessert once a day... usually dark chocolate.  I have wine sometimes.  My favorite snack is popcorn.  Buy a popcorn popper!  It's a great low-fat snack that's high in fiber.  The point is, if you tell yourself you have to give up everything you think you LOVE, you're just going to crave it that much more & then give up & over-eat.  Moderation is key.  Just because you're having some ice cream doesn't mean you have to eat the whole gallon.  
12. When ordering at a restaurant, make changes to the way they prepare your order.  For example, if a salad has cheese on it... I tell them no cheese.  I've also become accustomed to vinegar & oil.  Give up the creamy stuff.  Ranch is the worst.  Might as well order a burger & fries... seriously, you'll end up with less calories than a salad coated with Ranch dressing. 
13. Daily vitamins.  I take a multi-vitamin, vitamin D, vitamin E & potassium.

I'm sure there's lots of other things, but we don't need the world's longest blog post here.  I swear to you that when you start making some of these changes, you will feel better, have more energy and sleep better at night.  The bottom line is that YOU have to put YOU first in your day.  Is it easy?  No, not at first, but it gets easier as you start gaining more energy & noticing the changes in your body.  I almost never get sick anymore.  Who has time to be laying in bed wasting their day away?  Put YOU on your To-Do list every day.  You are worth it and the quality of your life is depending on it. 

Comments

[Chantal B.]

I only have one issue here. I heard from a doctor who studies cells and cancer. He said: vitamines is marketing for the pharmaceutical. It is more harmful to us, and that alot of people take them when they don't need to. Now unless it's because the minerals are less in the fruits and veggy, that could be a reason why people take supplements. Iwas told if I eat like you do, I don't need vitamines (supplements). As for the rest of you post, I agree. I think you have the right stuff girl!

[erinrwillis]

What a terrific list. You are totally right about how to go about achieving a lifestyle change. I have been saying and doing many of these same things over the last several months, and it's so much easier than I thought it would be. It really is. I've lost 40 pounds...before I really got my motivation up, I would just marvel when people told me that they'd lost x-number of pounds.... Now, though, I've had so many people ask me what I've done/am doing, and they too are like "Really?!" when I tell them about changing my eating habits and exercising.
Thanks again for the post!!

[MelanieJ]

I'm trying . . . your list is pretty much everything I'm doing. Thanks for motivating me to keep on going. I know it doesn't happen overnight. :)

[Jing-Jing]

wow, I'm am seriously impressed and intimidated by the time I got to bullet 10!! lol. I am pretty sure I am not able to give up red meat, alas... but so many good good gooooooooooood advice Deana, thank you so much for sharing!

[Chris Aiton]

Thanks for sharing your ideas about healthy living. Have a great weekend!

[julie]

Loveeeeeeeeeeeeeee the rainbow.....and U are truly inspiring! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

[jill]

wow, it's so great how healthy you have made your lifestyle, I really need to take some of your tips and start following them!!

that rainbow is beautiful, i love rainbows! :)

[Bekah]

i love this post!!!

It inspires me to hear others talking about living healthier lifestyles!

What great ways to change your life! :) I'm at Day 6 without caffeine and it feels pretty good now. My goal is to get to Day 30 where I develop the habit and then keep going and add something else. :)

[Denise Morrison]

Very inspiring Deanna! And so true about no one being too busy for 30 minutes a day. I fit that in between jobs and I always feel soo much better. thanks for sharing.

[Glenda Tkalac]

Well now I know why you look so damn fine woman!! I agree with most everything. I don't drink soda but I do love my beer!! haha And for red meat I don't think I could give it up but you can bet after I eat it I'll be thinking of it rotting away inside me now! hahaha I also have a desk job as well as a hobby that requires sitting so I HAVE to excercise at least 40 mins a day and I supplement that with 2 extra classes now, my "butt and abs" is 45 mins on Monday and my "boot camp" is an hour each Wednesday. I can't imagine what I would look like if I didn't do this. I have to do this if I want to keep drinking my beer and not blow out of my jeans! haha

[victoria]

Deana this is one of my favorite posts you have done..As someone who is still working on a lifestyle change you are truly an ispiration and I think you are so beautiful.. Thanks for the tips

[Hanneke]

I do a lot of things the way you do and you are totally right i feel so much better than a few years ago!! Until a year ago I did arobics and steps for 4 hours a week but I had to quit that cause I lost to much weight and due to that I was tired and cold all the time, so I started running, but since my little accident during our skitrip I couldn't do that either! This week I am slowly going to try again!!

Love the rainbow pics, and yes she must have dreamt about that pot of gold:)

Hugs Hanneke

[Antonia Krajicek]

Lovely rainbow!!!

Thanks for the lifestyle list!! Very inspirational and motivational. Hope are having a wonderful weekend :)

[Bekka]

Speaking of #1...I'm 12-weeks soda-free this week! So much great advice here. And now, I'm off to go for a walk with one of my friends! :)

[Suzanne]

Loving this list!!! I am in the midst of making some lifestyle changes, for me and my family! You are right, there is 30 minutes a day to exercise! got to get moving!!!!

[Michelle]

thank you for sharing this... I was on the right track before Rainee... since then I'm still working on getting back to where I was... it's an uphill climb... and you're right it is totally worth it... and it is a day to day thing... thanks for the reminder... and encouragement!!!
{{hugs}} Michelle