My Personal Crossroad & The 21 Day Fix

For me.


I was TIRED.


Of


ALWAYS


being


tired.




I was tired of:

- feeling physically weak.

- my clothes fitting too snugly.

- getting out of breath when I climbed the stairs at work.

- not sleeping well at night.

- eating out once.....even twice a day.

- turning to food for comfort.....or when I felt stress.

- feeling out of balance.

- feeling out of control.



At 56.

I'm standing at my own crossroads.

I can find the discipline to get healthier.

Or I can continue on my current path.

I was at the point.

Where my current path was no longer an option.

I was about to rebel!




I wanted to feel better.

I wanted to be MY best.

Not skinny.

Not like someone else.

I just wanted to be the best I can be.

For me.

Not being satisfied with my physical self.

Took a lot of my energy.

And consumed my thoughts.

It created distraction.

From what's really important to me.

Getting healthy for me.

Meant getting serious about exercise & nutrition.

And that.....may be simple.

But, it's never easy.



And just like matters of faith.

When I see someone else really live the thing out.

And do it.

I can see what it looks like.

And.

I know that I can do it too.



Several friends around me were doing The 21 Day Fix.

(As in......21 days to make a new habit.)

And I witnessed their amazing results.

Real women.

That I personally know.

Who probably started out as weak and out of shape as me.

Who bought into the program.

And transformed their physical lives.

So we ordered the program online.

Just under sixty bucks.

And.

We thought about it.

And talked about it.

And amazingly.

Did nothing!

It sat on the shelf.

For weeks.



I was too intimated to begin.

Honestly.

Intimated mostly by the change that would have to come.

In my eating.

I told myself I didn't have time.

For meal planning and preparation.

A foreign concept.

I'd fallen into a pattern of grabbing food on the go.

I don't like to cook.

The extent of my meal planning and preparation.

Was having pancakes and bacon on a weekend morning.

Otherwise.

It was eating out.

All the time.




But.

21 days ago.

Scott & I finally mustered to "gumption" (as we say where I grew up) to get started.

Thank you, Jesus, for giving me the discipline I didn't have on my own.

And........... we finished our 21 day fix yesterday!

Eating healthy, well-portioned foods.

Bought just like you do.

Right out of the grocery store.

We went from NEVER cooking in our kitchen.

To cooking three meals a day!

We laughed some days.

We felt like we were running a short order grill.

Food flying in the mornings.

And in the evenings.

To my surprise.

It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

The food was delicious.

And healthy & filling.

And satisfying.

And I felt good eating this way.


I kept my camera in the kitchen I was so impressed with our meals.

I photographed some of my favorite dishes along the way.


(Haha!  this is where my children say.......who are you and where is my mother?!?!)

Veggie Burgers with baked asparagus & brussel sprouts & fresh sliced tomatoes. 

Stir fried chicken with onions & yellow peppers with whole grain barley.

One of my favorite breakfast dishes - a two egg omelette with grilled mushrooms, tomatoes, green peppers & onions with a half slice of whole wheat thin bagel. 

A fresh salad with fresh greens, cucumbers, tomatoes & sprinkle of walnuts.    I add sliced chicken or veggie burger for the added protein.

Whole wheat spaghetti with ground chicken & onions, peppers & snow peas.

Steel cut oatmeal, topped with a spoon full of low fat greek yogurt & blue berries & four slices of turkey bacon.

A whole wheat waffle topped with low fat greek yogurt & blue berries & a side of two scrambled eggs.

A veggie burger with fresh asparagus & sliced, baked sweet potatoes (sprinkled with coconut oil & nutmeg)

A fresh salad with a lean sirloin pattie & few whole grain crackers. 

Fresh salad with grilled chicken & few whole wheat crackers.

Fresh salmon with hot peaches over whole grain brown rice.

Along with better eating.

Came daily exercise.

Every day.

I won't lie.

It was hard.

Especially that first week.

This program comes with (30 minute) DVD workouts.

Using hand weights and 60 second exercises.

One after another.

They kicked my tail!

But.

I had the option in every workout.

To modify to my current ability.

It was not pretty those first few days.

I was weak.

But I had to start where I was.

So I stuck with it.

30 minutes.

Every single day.

No excuses.

Never missing.

The yoga mat and my hand weights became my daily companion.

Scott & I learned new skills.

Yoga.

Pilates.

Stretching.

Planks.

Cardio.

Every day for 21 days.

I didn't take a "before" picture.

I probably should have.

I have enjoyed seeing the results.

 On the scale.

And in my clothes.



My total weight loss in the last 21 days was 9 pounds.

Scott lost 10.

We finished the 21 days.

But we're only getting started.



I feel the best I have in years.

I'm physically stronger.

I have more energy.

I'm not constantly tired anymore.

When I go to bed at the end of the day, I'm sleeping soundly through the night.

My clothes are feeling looser.

I feel a sense of accomplishment.

I feel like I did something really good for myself.

I feel like I've started something good for myself.



So.

Am I done?

Nope.

I have a goal.

I'm keeping on.

At least through the end of August.

Once my goal is met.

I'll focus on maintaining it.



Looking at my crossroads.

And taking a better direction.

For me.