A New Journey...

By Ashley I.

My health and wellness journey is just beginning. My “aha moment” came late last year.

A little look-back on the track I was on… I ate out more nights than I ate in (with no regard to what I was eating), I drank a lot of alcohol/soda/sugary drinks, the most I usually exercised in a day was my walk from my car into work in the morning, and I was very unhappy with little self-esteem. I was also extremely unmotivated, so even though I realized these things… I didn’t do anything about them. I had a mentality that “I’m young, I will worry about it later.” Plus, my friends and family always told me I was “fine the way I was” so I just kept on as I was, not realizing I was actually on a quick downhill path.

I knew that I should be making healthier choices, but I just never followed through. I went through periods of time where I would “work out” and “eat healthy,” but never for more than a few weeks (if that) at a time. Then I would be right back to where I was and would feel even worse about myself for quitting. Nothing ever stuck. A lot of months of gym memberships went to waste and a lot of healthy food sat untouched in the fridge. The cycle went on and on.

Regular life began to change as I was increasingly tormented with stomach problems, asthma, minor knee problems that became major knee problems, and a slew of other physical and mental health concerns that had also made an appearance in my life. It wasn’t until I showed up at the doctor that I realized just how out of control I had let things get. Not only did the number on the scale drop my jaw to the floor, my conversation with my doctor really opened my eyes... I realized that I had done this to myself. There is no reason my “problems” should have ever gotten to this point. That day I committed to a new lifestyle.

I wasn’t going to do it the way I tried to do things in the past. This time was different. I started with changing my diet- starting with “how much” (AKA portion control) and then moving on to focus on the “what” I was eating. I also started taking vitamins to supplement my diet. They say it takes 21 days to make a habit. I had never made it 21 days before, because you don’t see or feel big results quickly… so I always quit before I got there. This time I made it 21 days and little by little, I started to notice the way that better foods (and smaller quantities) made me feel better. My body physically felt better, and I had more energy… I finally felt like I could exercise for more than 5-10 minutes without wanting to give up!

Then, I started reading The Slight Edge and it was exactly what I needed to take the next step in my journey. Shortly after I began reading, I tried putting some Slight Edge principles in place in regard to exercise. I started walking just 20 minutes a day on the treadmill. Now everyone knows that treadmills can be BORING. So then I thought… instead of reading The Slight Edge while I sat my butt on the couch, why don’t I begin reading while walking on the treadmill? Reading on the treadmill led to walking at least 60 minutes a day (as I didn’t want to put the book down). I could go on and on about the ways this book helped my entire wellness journey, but I will save that for a “Healthy Mind” post in the near future. In about 4 months, I was down 20 pounds and already feeling SO MUCH better. Just from healthier food choices and WALKING.

I am now at the point in my journey where I feel like I have complete control on what I eat, and I’ve figured out the whole “balance” thing so I can still enjoy treats (and my Mexican food obsession) AND remain on the right track. I’m also gaining more control on regular exercise, and while it is not anything really intense yet, I hope to get to that point and work on strength training, too. I am now trying out an online program for at-home workouts to take my next step on my exercise journey (I will have another post about that) in hopes to build a good foundation to move on to more strength training by the time the brand-new gym here in my small town opens up for business. But anyways, I continue to educate myself every day on food, exercise, and personal development topics… so I know it is all GROWTH from here!

It's hard to put into words how these last few months have changed my life. I’ve began to look at life in an entirely different way than I did before- not only do I appreciate my physical health and my body, I understand the importance of a healthy mind as well. I understand that I can’t change everything at once and that results are going to take time, hard work and follow through on a plan. I set goals and recognize the small successes as I know they are all a part of the big picture. In the near future, I hope to be able to support others that are starting their journey in any way that I can while I continue on mine, too!

I hope that I can relate to some of you who are just beginning, or to those who have not begun yet and are ready to start your journey. I would love to team up so that we can support, motivate, and inspire each other to be the best versions of ourselves :)