It’s About To Get Real Ya’ll – My Health Journey

As I’m sitting here popping fresh mini mozzarella balls into my mouth, I’m telling myself something’s gotta finally change. I’m fed up. Simply fed up. Which now, I simply find so ironic that I chose to use that phrase “fed up” because that’s exactly what I’ve been doing – feeding myself too much and that’s exactly what I’m “fed up” with for my health.

I’ve struggled with the way I look, my health, my sleep, and my weight my whole entire life. All 29 freakin years of my life! Okay, okay, so maybe not all 29 because God knows I didn’t have any idea what was going on when I came screaming out of my mama at birth back in 1989. But all of that to say, I’ve struggled with it a loooooooooong time. And quite frankly, longer than I would like to admit.

Here’s the truth: Me, as I am today, am soooo not healthy. Parts of me are healthy, like for instance I got my flu shot yesterday, and parts of me aren’t healthy like the fact that I ate 6 oatmeal cookies after dinner last night. Like really? Why did I do that? Uffda.

But here’s the deal. As I think about my health, I think about it so differently than I have before. Maybe that’s because I’m 29 now and surround myself with 89 year olds on a regular basis (Yes, it’s true, I love the senior home I get to hang out in with the best people, all the “Barbs & Bobs”, I’ve ever met!) Or maybe it’s because I’m the heaviest weight I have ever been in my entire life. Or maybe it’s because I surround myself with some amazing health coaches and trainers in my community who made me finally see the “gym” differently.

I’d like to think it’s a combo of all of those things that got me to write this today and to think about my health and my goals differently today.

I’m the classic, today’s a new day, a fresh start to stick to my meal plan and then 9 o’clock rolls around and you will find me with an apple bar or a double chocolate fudge protein bar in my hand with my coffee all while justifying it in my head as apples are fruit and fruit is healthy or that protein bars have protein and protein is good for me as I avoid looking at the sugar content and all the words in the ingredients of that protein bar that I can’t even pronounce if my life depended on it.

So today, I knew I had to start something different than my go to of “today’s a new day” mantra because that hasn’t been working for me the past 6 months. Today, I had to connect to something that matters to me to get me to follow through. And I needed some accountability because if I know one thing after being a life coach for years and learning more about myself each day, accountability is the #1 key to success in most cases.

That brings me to my “why”. Have you ever heard someone tell you this when you want to do something hard? You know, “connect to your why” or “who are you doing this for?” and yes I think those are so important, but it can’t just be a simple “why” of something like “because I want to be confident again or because I want to feel good in my clothes or because I don’t want to go up a size in the clothes I wear”. There are so many “whys” out there, but you have to dig deeper than what is on the surface of those examples I just shared. I’ll share my own “why” with you for this new found health journey that I am embarking on.

My “why” is because as I’m sitting here, my bra is way too tight and totally uncomfortable (Sorry, probably too much info for you dad if you are reading this…whoops!), I don’t feel good in what I wear anymore, my face has hit a record high of break outs of zits, pimples, & blemishes this month, and if I reach for another one of those fresh mozz balls my bloated tummy may last until next year. (Okay, exaggeration, but you get my point.)

That’s also my surface level “Why”. 

My real why is because I realized that this weight gain I’ve had is due to hidden stress. I’m a feelings gal, like I feel all the feels and I take on the feelings that everyone else around me is feeling too. (Any other empaths out there?!) So that means when I watch an emotional story in the news – then I eat for comfort. When I feel cold – then I eat to warm me up. When I feel tired – then I eat something with sugar to give me a spike of energy and the list goes on and on. You pickin up what I’m droppin down?

My real “Why” is to stop hiding behind stress and face the hard stuff. My real why is to live to be 100 years old and feel GOOD at 100. My real why is to be the real me. (And yes, I did just burst into tears as I realized the depth of that last statement I just wrote.) These habits I’ve adopted this year & avoiding the hard stuff in certain areas of my life – it’s not the real me. And man, that kills me as I think about that right now. (Side note, one sign you know you’ve hit your real “why” below the surface is when your tears are triggered and your eyeballs start welling up with tears like mine just did.)

So my “Why” and having accountability is the base to my new health plan which means, I’m going to be blogging out this journey and sharing it with you every single week. All my honest thoughts, maybe some pictures too & some weigh ins, but to be honest, I’m still way too self-conscious about that so I’m not sure if I have the courage to share that yet. Stay tuned though because there may be some before shots coming and me sharing my actual weight on here.

I’ve got my “Purpose” for doing this and my way of staying accountable by sharing this journey of the ups & downs with you each week, but you are probably wondering, “But how are you going to get your health back on track, Manda, and what specifically do you want to work on?” Yes, getting specific is the key to success. I agree, sister!  I harp on that all day long with my coaching clients and I hold myself to those same standards as well.

So here’s my ultra specific plan that starts, well, tomorrow. Because you don’t have to wait for a Monday or a new month to work towards your goals. You can start whenever you want and I choose tomorrow.

My goal for the next 8 weeks is to get back on track. And for me that means focusing on a few different things.

1. I want to walk 6 out of 7 days of the week because I love walking and it helps reduce my stress. Yes, I’m about to go mall walking as soon as I finish writing this because it’s cold outside in Minnesota & it was snowing today AND I happen to have an old soul as well as the habits of an 89 year old at times. We all know 89 year olds love to get their mall walking in.  🙂
2. I am going to track everything I eat in MyFitnessPal each day for the next 8 weeks and stick to my nutrition goals that I already have set up in there.
3. I am going to get 8 hours of sleep 5 nights a week and never less than 6.5 hours a night. Sleep is so important for my health & your health.
4. I am going to start working out again – in my living room or at the gym. I’m not sure yet. I still have an overwhelming fear of working out at the gym with other people #reallife anxiety probs. Maybe I will get up at 4am and go workout at the gym before anyone else gets there? Stay tuned and see what happens. Either way, I’m going to do workouts 3x per week which includes my ab routine. 
5. I’m going to start doing some yoga videos 2x per week to help with my anxiety as well.
6. Meditation has taken a backseat the last couple months so I want to do that at least 5x per week again. (If you are a newbie to meditating check out my guide here.)
7. Lastly, I’m going to do daily weigh ins because I know some people say the scale doesn’t matter and others say if you don’t measure it you will never know your progress, but I know what works for me and the scale is like just like my accountability partner so I’m going to use it and I’m going to use it every single day because accountability is one of my biggest keys to success.

Am I cringing as I typed all the things I’m going to continue or start doing? YES. Oh yeah a big HECK yes. But and a big BIG BUT, these things will make me feel less stressed, they will make me feel good, they will make me feel like I’m making strides in my health, and most of all, they will make me feel like I’m getting back to the real me which is my #1.

Okay, your turn. Do you want to join me with this? Do you need someone to keep you accountable? Is there a health goal you have? Maybe losing weight, building muscle, or getting more sleep? If so, I’m here for you. I’ll help you find your real “why” & I’ll be there to hold you accountable. Just send me a note and let’s chat friend! We’re all in this together! Drop in the comments below one thing that you want to commit to improving with your health.

Now, it’s time to hit the mall and walk it out! Talk to you soon!

Big hugs & love,

Amanda

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About Amanda

Hi Darlings! I'm Amanda! I'm all about intentionally creating a life worth falling in love with. I am a life design coach based in the heart of Minnesota embracing life with my mini doxie named Boots.

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