So, if you went to my about page, you saw a current picture of me!
You will not see some skinny woman with all the muscles. That’s not where I am right now. I will be working on me physically, but know I will also be including mental, spiritual, and emotional health elements to my journey as well. Regardless, I am not here to tell you how to be skinny and fit. I believe that as we work on our health those things will come with it.
I have tried all the different diets and exercise routines. I need you to know there are many out there that work. There are many that are not sustainable FOR ME. Please know we are all different, and something that works for you may not work for me.
I’m going to be honest with you, many things have not worked because I have not been dedicated or committed to the program for long term. That will be one of my main topics as we go along on this journey…..Commitment.
For now I want to just tell you some things I have done, some things I love to do, and some things that just are not for me. I believe we all have those as part of our health journey.
For many of us we have probably been on a let’s get skinny again journey more than once. Media wants us to believe we are not pretty or acceptable if we are not their version of skinny.
So I’m not focusing on how to get skinny, I am focusing on how to be healthy.
One program I tried was the Keto Diet/Lifestyle. That program works! It focuses on eating a high fat diet, with 50 or less carbs per day (most of those come from your vegetables). Exercise is also encouraged. I have seen many reviews where people have lost weight and their health has improved. Many doctors are not a fan of this program because of the high fat content. Doctors are reluctant to see a different way of being healthy. However, people saw overall health improvement, and weight loss was at a rate of about 3-4 pounds a week. There is a particular Keto Expert I love to follow, who explains all of the science of how this program works for you. I found that part very fascinating. He is on you tube and his name is Dr Eric Berg. However, I could not sustain this eating plan because I don’t like protein enough, and I am not a very good meal planner. You can consume all of the meats, cheese, and eggs that you want, along with your vegetables. You have to pre-plan your meals if you go out to work daily. There is a lot of variety on this plan, but I just was not consistent enough to plan out my meals. Otherwise, I have nothing negative to say about Keto Lifestyle.
Another program I tried is E2M Fitness. This is found on a facebook group, and now they have an app you can buy on your phone. It is an 8 week program and they give you a food plan to follow every week and daily exercise workouts that you are to do. They are intense, and they can be modified for beginners or people with back, knee or stomach issues. They also have a great mental coach to help shift your way of thinking. We sabotage ourselves with that y’all. It is a super large program, with thousands of followers. They do city meetups where thousands of people gather at one place and do a Circuit Workout all together, and meet the coaches. I did this program for 8 weeks and lost 20 pounds! It really does work. Again the hard part for me was it consisted mostly of proteins and vegetables. This plan also only had dry seasoning options with very minimal sauces. I believe they now have a cookbook that helps meal planning be more palatable, and they have pre-packaged meals that you can order to be delivered to your home. It is a great program that works!
Another great plan I followed is called FirstPlace4Health. This program follows the American Diabetes Association meal plan. The great thing with this program is all food is included. This program is an overall health program. Your mind, body, spirit, and emotions are improved on this plan. The hard part for me was disciplining myself to do portion control and limiting the foods that were not the best choices for me. This program helps you understand why you eat when you do. Does stress trigger your eating? I found out on this program that I eat when I am bored. I also do not need to be hungry to eat. How crazy is that? But you figure out yourself, and make it work. Exercise is also a big part of this program. They have local classes that meet, and local exercise groups you can join. I did lose 17 pounds on this plan. This program uses the My Fitness Pal app. I did do this program when I was younger, and definitely did not have the disciplines needed to follow through. I believe it is a great health program that works!
So most unappealing to me is cutting out all carbs. I grew up in the south. I love bread, pasta, and potatoes. I want to know that all of that can be included in any health program I follow.
What I found out that I do love is exercise! My bones don’t allow it, but I definitely would love to be a runner. That is not in the books. I love aerobics, Zumba, Circuits, and most recently I have added weight training to my workout agenda. Since I’m older I do have to modify many exercises that I do, but I do them. I’m a firm believer that keeping your body moving is great for your health.
Most recently I found a girl on youtube whose weight training workouts I love. I’m going to give you her name, but I have to specifically say I am not trying to be as skinny as she is. I do love the aspect of being more toned than I am. She is from Ireland and I love her accent. She explains her workout plan and shows you the moves (even modified) as she does the workout. Most of them are about 30 minutes long. Her name is Caroline Girvan. She also recently created an app for your phone. I do not use a lot of apps. That is just my personal preference. But I do want you to know they are out there for those of you who like the convenience of apps.
In reviewing my blog I think the best thing I have decided to do, since I am older and do have more self control, is to follow the First Place 4 Health plan. Portion control and a wide variety of foods sounds most like something sustainable to me.
I have a crazy hectic schedule that is not always my own in this season of life, so determining exercise timing has been a struggle. I’m going to narrow that down, and do a bit more meal planning to keep me on the right path.
I tried to tell myself that I would use the My Fitness Pal App, but I’m still a little old school and will need to track my progress on paper. But I will be tracking my progress like I hope all of you will be doing regardless of what program you plan to follow.
I hope you read the daily blogs and get yourself on a good health journey with me. You will also find me on FB and Instagram as Healthyyouover40.
Remember we are on a health journey. So try to make even one small change each week. So add exercise of some kind, drink water instead of soft drinks, try cream or milk in your coffee that is not sweetened, use a smaller plate, measure you food servings with measuring cups, set a no food after 7 pm rule, set a no sugar except on Sunday rule (you could pick any day to be your sweet day).
We are trying to be healthy and not have to deal with diseases and inflammation issues. We don’t want diabetes and heart diseases. There are some health issues we can control. Let’s work on those together.
I chose a web site phrase that I love for us all. Our health is a gift we give ourselves.
From Me To Me is our chosen phrase.