Like many people, I have struggled with my weight for most of my life. I remember being in elementary school worrying about the size of my body. I went on my first calorie restricting diet in middle school. I’ve spent probably hundreds of dollars on various diet programs, gym memberships, and personal fitness equipment, among other things, with varying degrees of success. I’ve spent countless hours researching diets and workout programs, tracking my eating, and meal planning. I KNOW what I should be doing to live a healthier life, I simply struggle with acting on that knowledge.
What’s my why?
For me, weight loss isn’t about looking good. Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, and if that’s your why, that’s totally fine. Instead, it’s largely about improving my health and feeling good. My obesity exacerbates most of my health issues and losing some weight would take me a long way on my health journey. Being more active will help me sleep better and weight loss will improve my sleep apnea, among other things. It would also be nice to not get so easily winded and be able to keep up with my long-legged friends and my short-legged but surprisingly speedy mother.
When it comes to my diet, I eat fairly healthy most of the time. But, I do have a demanding sweet tooth I find difficult to ignore. As someone in recovery for Binge Eating Disorder, I try to focus mostly on intuitive eating and repairing my relationship with food. For that reason, I rarely practice any food restriction, with the exception of tracking and reducing my added sugar intake. I only do this to keep my love of sweets from worsening my health. And even then, I’m not strict.
There is a lot more to better health and weight loss than diet and exercise. It’s also important to effectively manage stress, get enough sleep, and spend plenty of quality time with loved ones. After all, what’s the point of becoming healthier if you’re not emotionally and socially healthy too?
What can you expect from this blog?
I’ve created this blog largely to help hold myself accountable in making lasting changes to improve my health and wellbeing, and to share things I learn along the way.
Each month, I will complete three challenges focusing on stress relief, fitness, and self-care. This will encourage me to try new things and create lasting good habits. Everyone’s journey is different, and everything I try may not be the right fit for me. But, hopefully you will find something that resonates with you.
I’ll provide an update each week regarding the challenges I’m participating in, any personal wins, what the scale says, and any favorite workouts of the week. This will provide a layer of accountability for myself. It will also serve as a reminder of which new workouts and routines I like.
Additionally, I’ll share book and documentary recommendations and creators I find relevant. I’ll also cover various topics of interest related to my journey. I’m always looking to learn new things and I can’t wait to share these discoveries with you.
Armed with a love of research and the determination to become healthier, I plan to use this experience as a tool for creating lasting lifestyle changes. Completing challenges, providing weekly updates, and sharing the things I learn along the way will provide some much needed accountability and hopefully some inspiration to others on a similar journey. <3