How to start a healthy lifestyle

I found that when I tried to lose weight before, it was always motivation that seemed to be lacking. I was fine for a few days or even weeks and then it just slipped away. I had been on the diet myself, losing 30 pounds and then putting everything back on and more, for years!

It seemed so easy, cut calories and exercise and you will lose weight, I felt like an idiot at times! The weight loss wouldn’t start or hit a plateau and nothing I did made me lose weight at all. I’ve read so many articles and tips on how to find an exercise that you really like, so you can stick with it. Easier said than done.

So I ended up gaining pounds and although I wanted to lose and I kept telling everyone next week that I am starting my new healthy lifestyle. The weeks came and were in vain. So what was it that finally motivated me enough to do something and move on? Well I started to feel stiff and sore and when I went out into the garden it was so hard to bend over and it made me feel terrible. Then I started to feel out of breath and started to worry a lot about the possibility of having a heart attack. I’m 40 years old, but I know I wasn’t supposed to feel this way. It was time to take care of myself. My kids were older and doing their thing, so I had no excuses.

I started slowly by walking to work. Instead of dropping off my husband at work and taking the car, I decided to walk from there. It was a 4.5 km walk and it took me 50 minutes. I did this 4 times a week. Wow, it was hard, my shins hurt and you don’t realize how many hills there are when you drive! The first two weeks were difficult, but little by little it got better and I felt good once I recovered from my walks. I found that drinking small amounts of water while walking made a huge difference in my recovery in the end.

As for eating, I just cut back but nothing drastic. I just started using a smaller plate for my dinner with smaller portions and 4 oz of protein. I actually started eating more for lunch, this helped tremendously as I wasn’t that hungry when I got home. If I was hungry, I made myself a cup of herbal tea while I made dinner to take my hunger off, or I just drank more water.

At the end of the six weeks, the boost I got from exercising is incredible and I started getting compliments from people for my weight loss. In fact, now I miss not going for a walk and try to make up for it with other forms of exercise.