Getting Healthy

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:33:52 -0500

Although I go up and down in my commitment to having the perfect strong and healthy body, I unequivocally know the equation. Which I will share with you today, out of the goodness of my heart. You’re welcome world.

First let me start my first advice column by telling you why you should listen to me. My health history in summation:

- Never had a problem with body weight growing up. I was athletic, not skinny, but I was strong. I wore a size 8/10 in high school and was 5.9. Just normal weight girl. No big deal. I was so unconcerned with weight that I can’t even tell you how much I weighed - I have no idea. I didn’t even pay attention when I went to doctor’s appointments. My clothes fit and I could swim a 1000. That’s all I cared about.

- I got on the depo shot for birth control after high school and gained 30 pounds. IMMEDIATELY. Like a small explosion.

- I lost 40 pounds by drinking alcohol and not eating. It was super healthy….not.

- I got pregnant when I was 20. Still skinny at this point. I ate for 5. I was espesh obsessed with cookies and ice cream. I was used to eating whatever I wanted to. I gained - WAIT FOR IT - 65 pounds with my pregnancy. Imagine my depression as only 7lbs came out. You mean I’m not having an 8 year old? You mean, I’m just…fat?

- I lost about 45 pounds and then got pregnant with Andy. At this point I was already in full swing with the health plan I will detail for you below, but I hadn’t lost it all yet. I only gained 18lbs with my 2nd pregnancy because I figured out that no one likes to be a fat pregnant person. #truth

After Andy was born, I got super serious about health and fitness and got to my high school fitness level by following the rules below.

First and foremost, I decided to start this because I wanted to be healthy and strong. I was still breastfeeding so I couldn’t lose weight per se - but I just wanted to be healthy. I think that’s the best mindset to start under because every bit of progress is…well, progress. You’re not watching the scale, or waiting for clothes to fit. When you run .5 mile more than you did the day before, you won. When you learn how to do a slow flat roll up, using just your abs…you won again. Much more relaxing, and much more gratifying. So step one - get healthy to get healthy. That way everything you do is positive and progress.

Food: What you eat is 75% of your weight loss. I used to joke that I worked out so I could eat…the truth is that I don’t have a ton of willpower when it comes to choosing foods but I do have a desire to eat what’s good for me (usually). So the first step in eating is to follow the following rules as closely as possible:

Eat things as close to their natural form as possible. An apple instead of applesauce. An egg instead of quiche. Whole wheat pasta + natural tomato sauce instead of boxed mac and cheese.
Whole wheat, fruits, vegetables, protein. That’s all you need, darling. If you order those from finish to start, that’s pretty much the order in which I ate things. I had no red meat. Ate a lot of chicken breasts and vegetables. Used whole wheat tortillas in lieu of pizza dough. Had open faced sandwiches. Only bought food that had healthy and whole ingredients - like natural peanut butter that has peanuts, oil and salt. Bam. Done. Your body knows what to do with it.
When I couldn’t do whole foods, I would do small portion sized healthy choices which were the most “healthy” frozen option at the time. Anything organic will do now too. I didn’t look for calories as much as I looked for overall health content. Low sugar, low sodium, whole ingredients, etc.
Eat 5 small meals a day. Less than 250 calories. The healthy choices fit well in here with this plan because it keeps life interesting. You find yourself eating of lot the same boring stuff. Egg and toast for breakfast. Chicken and rice for lunch. Tortilla pizza for dinner. Peanut butter + banana sandwich for snack. But the more small meals you eat, the more your metabolism keeps going. You can get a good metabolism to burn 300 cals a day - as much as a treadmill!

Workout: Do not wait for your schedule to clear up, it won’t. Plan ahead when you’ll go and make plans to meet someone there so you’re held accountable. Beyond that, here is my advice:

Classes are fun. You think you’re going to be like the lame-o in there that can’t do anything, but a) you’re probably not the worst, b) if you are no one notices, c) you can always leave. No one cares if you leave. I once hated the pilates instructor so much that I stood up in the middle of the class (from the front row) rolled up my mat, put it away and walked the fuck out. They don’t know you!
My favorite classes for maintaining a healthy body is zumba one night, pilates one night and 1 to 2 free work out nights where I run or swim and lift some weights. I only make myself do 30-45 minutes those nights. To get myself to go, I would say - “you should have to do 20 minutes on the treadmill and then you can leave.” and I would always end up staying.
Try new things. Go on hikes. Join a fitness challenge. Start a blog to track your progress. Did I ever tell you that time I tried bikram yoga? WORST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE…but that’s another story.

So that’s how I got “high school skinny”. I’m telling you that any other way is cheating you out of a truly healthy body and lifestyle. And I also don’t stress about when I gain 10lbs because I’m in general healthy with life, so it doesn’t take this like drastic change to drop some weight. I am so familiar with my body that I can feel how much I weigh - is that crazy? I can control my weight loss almost to a science just through perfect eating and exercise. It’s a simple input and output equation.

Anyway - that’s my expertise on the subject. If you have any specific questions, feel free to drop them in my ask box and I’ll hit you back.

let me tell you what it looks like from up here

Getting Healthy