Day 1

Today is the official beginning of my attempt at being a health nut. I am reluctant because I know that it’s going to take a lot of work to turn this junk-food junkie into a health-food fanatic. This girl, who has never ran a single mile in her entire life, isn’t going to be a marathon runner over night (or likely EVER). Yet, I need to find a way to treat my body like the machine it is and nourish it well to keep it working  and looking as best as possible for as long as possible. I plan on dying, at the age of 105, still alert and able to walk on my own. This brain and these bones and organs have a very long way to go before I will be done with them.

So, where do I start?

I’ve heard a lot about how and what I should be eating, how I should be exercising, what supplements I should be taking, etc. One book says eat only fruits and veggies, another says no carbohydrates. One says run an hour a day, the other says light weights 20 minutes a day. So what is really going to work for me? What is my body really going to respond to?

I’ve already learned a lot and made a lot of gradual changes over the past few years. 10 years ago, knowing nothing about nutrition, only that some things make you fat, I would have Pop Tarts and Pepsi for breakfast. Then I went several years without ever eating a breakfast at all. Now breakfast is whole grain cereal, oatmeal, or toast with almond butter or honey and I hardly touch Pepsi and wouldn’t dare put all the chemicals in Pop Tarts in my body. On a good day, I have a salad and fruit smoothie (home-made) for lunch and fish for dinner. What I am having the hardest time with is maintaining the good habits every day of the week. I think on average now, I eat right two days a week.  I might get good exercise once a week.  I still have fast food or take-out 2-3 meals a week, and eat way too many snacks and sweets. How do I eat from home 3 meals a day, exercise on a regular basis and still do the rest of my life? Most American women just can’t sustain those things with the busy schedules and life-styles we have, as well as all of the bad habits established from lack of information earlier in life, and the fast-food environment all around us. I am 31 years old, and while I plan on constantly learning about life and growing as a person, I DO NOT want to be dealing with my not-so-healthy habits into my sixties and beyond. I have got to find a way to efficiently and affordably make a healthy life-style a sustainable habit for myself. So, I have about 5 books form the library, 4 from my book shelves, and 1 borrowed from a friend. I have all of the knowledge of the internet at my finger tips. I have enrolled in and officially began a six-week co-ed weight training course at my community college today. I begin a middle-eastern dance class on Thursday. I am starting to use a new, organic, skin care line (Eminence, courtesy of Stefanie Zubia at Sheer Bliss), in hopes of clearing up and preserving my skin. Exactly what I should or shouldn’t eat, how much of it, what supplements to take, what labels to look for (ie organic, all-natural, free-range), hopefully will be somewhere in these piles of books I have in my possession.

I will soon be posting “before” photos. I’m procrastinating on that. I’m a little nervous about posting hideous photos of my face without makeup on and acne showing. I’m also nervous about posting pictures of the spot on my body that is currently covered in layers of fat, but used to be the home of my abdominal muscles. Hello, Abs? Are you still in there? Don’t worry, I’ll get you out. Hopefully in less amount of time than it’s taking BP to stop their oil leak.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the visual benefits of clear skin and the possibility of not wearing my maternity bathing suit some day sounds amazing, but I’m not in this for the superficial benefits. If I eat the correct foods in the correct amounts, exercise often and correctly and use great products on my skin,  it should indeed benefit my appearance, and these are the most measurable short-term benefits.  However, I’m in this for the long-term benefits, so you’ll just have to stick around with me to my 100th birthday to see those results.

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