Words | Happy & Healthy #2

I'm super proud to be bringing this post to you guys this morning!

My last Happy & Healthy Words post was back in January, but things became so busy in the months following that I didn't get a chance to begin my health journey in January like I originally wanted. However, I'm super happy to say that I have been controlling my diet for the past THREE WEEKS and have even begun exercising again!!! Now, I'm not really following a catabolic plan where I'm shedding weight, but I have gotten my eating habits under control -- insanely much better control than where I was earlier this year, which was one of my biggest goals for this year. My diet is incredibly unhealthy and definitely needs a lot of modifications. I've let myself spiral out of control for the past six years to the point where I've gained a LOT of weight which I'm not proud of. So this year, my biggest goal is to be able to eat a normal diet and to lose some of the weight I've accumulated. I'm taking baby steps towards my weight loss goal, starting with regulating my diet.

The biggest thing I'm super proud of is the fact that I'm no longer eating out. No more getting takeout for dinner, eating at the hospital cafeteria during lunch, skipping breakfast, eating tons of salty snacks. That may sound like a fairly easy thing to do, but for someone like me whose not too savvy at cooking and so accustomed to eating take out, it was a huge feat. I'm super happy and feel so accomplished. And honestly, it's so much cheaper and more satisfying to cook meals at home and pack lunches. As a result, my sodium intake has dropped significantly. I feel like I have more energy and just happier. A lot of it has to do with the fact that the guilt of getting takeout is no longer there. Like I said, I feel very accomplished when I cook at home and it's a ton of fun trying out new recipes!

I hear that it takes 21 days to change a habit, and I completely agree with that statement. Now that I've spent 3 weeks eating at home-made meals, I no longer have huge cravings for McDonalds or fried chicken or greasy Chinese food. Of course I still want to eat these things and crave junk food from time to time, but I'm able to control myself a lot more. I allot myself one day (usually on the weekend) when I'm allowed to eat whatever I want. So if I was craving frozen pizza, I'd go ahead and eat a frozen pizza on Saturday night as a cheat meal.

I can't tell you guys how excited I am that I'm finally able to take matters into my hand and control my diet. I feel so much better already after only a few weeks of eating cleaner. I have more energy, I feel happier, I feel lighter and less bloated, and just so accomplished! The next phase of my health plan is to be able to eat a more calorie-controlled diet so I actually begin losing weight. Right now I'm eating about 1500-1800 calories a day but I want to drop it down to 1400 calories and begin exercising. It's the combination of eating fewer calories and exercising that really helps me shed weight. Right now, I'm getting around 50-60% of my calories from carbs. This week, I'm going to start eating a 40-30-30 calorie diet where I'm eating 40% carbs, 30% fat, and 30% protein.  I also have a bunch of other things I want to get improve such as dental hygiene, exercising, etc but I'm taking things slow and one thing at a time to avoid overwhelming myself with all these behavior changes. It's a slow process, but in my mind the more time you devote to changing one thing, the deeper that behavior will be engrained into your routine.

Hope to keep these posts up. I find these kinds of posts to be very positive and motivating and a good way for me to share my experiences and chalk out some plans for the future!