Start small

Health -- the one thing I've always avoided being conscientious about and simply even thinking about. I am the type of person who has had little to no concern for my diet, my exercise or anything else health related. Until now...

Let's start at the beginning -- where the problem began...
I have to first look at where my lack of "health" concern started. Growing up, I was part of a family that had their own club, the "clean your plate" club! In this club you ate what mom cooked and if you took it and put it on your plate, you BETTER finish it because to not do so is wasteful and would incur the scorn of Dad! Now, although that theory and way of thinking is sound for people of my parents' generation -- you know, the ones who grew up during the depression where food was scarce at times and you didn't waste anything! -- it isn't a sound theory for my generation. It is because of this mentality that I never gave a second thought to portion control and definitely went back for seconds but just made sure to eat it ALL...I simply ate because food was there! 

I also never really have had the "willpower" to exercise. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE playing sports and swimming and riding bike and doing exercise type things for leisure or fun. But these events are few and far between, therefore, I really have no exercise life. I just never have been able to motivate myself to stop reading that book or doing that puzzle or watching another rerun of whatever show may be on the TV at that moment so I can go exercise. 

This brings us to NOW...
Since getting engaged, I started to think about how I was feeling and what I want my future to look like with my husband. I want a long, healthy and happy life with him. But the way I feel now doesn't bode well for that to play out! Hence the reevaluating and my decision to change things about my health. 

I haven't exactly done anything drastic, but that's okay. Because in order for this to be permanent and actually succeed, it needs to be slow and steady. I can't set a deadline (such as 'By My Wedding') for achieving this goal...it's more like I have to set what I want to call a 'Never Ending' goal -- as in I will never stop trying to achieve it or let go of it. I may revamp my goal from time to time, but I'm always going to be working on it. 

So enough babbling, here's the goal: To fall in love with myself and my body a little more each day and to feel good and energized. 

That gets us to the question of HOW?...
It's actually quite simple. I am taking really tiny steps every day to achieve this. 
#1 - It started with buying a juicer and using this for my breakfast each morning. I have been able to increase the amounts of fruit and vegetables I'm consuming daily by juicing in the morning. This also gives my metabolism a nice little jumpstart in the morning in a HEALTHY and NATURAL way. NOTE: this has also been a healthy and significant change for me as I NEVER ate breakfast before. 
#2 - Personal Hygiene -- I know that at the age of 28 this should be a no brainer. But I'm not talking about taking a shower and using deodorant...I'm talking about feeling like I'm glowing and looking good. I'm taking it a step further. I am simply finding little things that I want to feel better, such as My skin. By using a sea salt scrub when I shower my skin feels refreshed OR using a foot warming ointment on my dry and cracked heels leaves them smooth, soft and on their way to being crack free OR finding a hand cream that I'm in love with (smell and feel) makes me feel beautiful. These are simple things (and cheap products -- Perfectly Posh) that have made me feel better!
#3 - Random moments of exercise. I know that I will never be the type to intentionally get out and exercise consistently. But I'm finding moments throughout the day to do small exercises at home. For instance, I have some 5 lb. weights that I set right by the couch to remind me they are there. Then for 5 minutes every hour or every other hour or at least once a day (this varies from day to day) I choose an exercise to do with them. This can be from holding the weights and power-walking around my apartment for 5-10 minutes to doing speed bag boxing with them (30 seconds nice and easy AND 30 seconds of intense, give-it-all-you've-got...repeat -- only stopping once I feel the burn in my muscles). I also randomly plop down on the floor and stretch to help with my mobility OR do some sort of abdominal exercise (like the Superman or banana or sit-ups). I realize this isn't a lot each day, but it's more than I've been doing and toning my body or simply getting my heart rate up are enough to make me say "Go you!" each time I walk by a mirror. 
#4 - WATER! I bought the Pampered Chef infusion water bottle and I love it. I am able to put fruits (mostly use lemon and strawberry) in the bottom of it and fill it with water and I sip on that all day. I probably drink and refill this 24 oz. bottle about 4-5 times daily. This has caused me to unintentionally cut out the MASSIVE amounts of pop and caffeine drinking I used to do. I now drink a healthy amount of water each day, which aids in my digestion and helps keep me from feeling bloated, and have cut out the unhealthy sugars I was consuming via energy drinks and Mt. Dew. In fact, I now typically go about a week in between having a pop and when I finally do have a pop, I can't even drink half of it anymore before I'm sick of it. Might just be time to completely cut it out of my life and once for all end our relationship :)

The results thus far...
I have noticed a few things that have been positive and make me hopeful. First off, I am losing weight at a healthy rate. It's not dropping off me like crazy and each day it teeters back and forth between a pound, but it is slowly but surely DECREASING, which is the ultimate goal right? Currently, I'm have lost a total of 5 lbs. and kept it off.

Second, I feel more comfortable in my clothes and the extreme bloated feelings are gone! Hallelulijiah -- you have no idea how good it feels not to have stomach pain constantly due to bloating!

Third, I have more energy and it is coming from MY BODY, not from caffeine or any other kind of 'fake' energy supplement/product. 

Fourth, I have more positive thoughts and feelings about myself. Each time I walk by a mirror, I can hold my head up high and say, "Not much has changed yet but you are working towards it Cortney! You look healthy and happy...keep it up!" Yes, I often do give myself cheesy pep talks and words of encouragement, but it works for me :)

Finally, through the simple exercises for 5 minutes at a time each day, I'm working on rebuilding the muscle and strength I have spent 28 years destroying. It feels good not to have such bad knee pain that it wakes me up in the middle of the night OR knee pain that makes it suck to climb up and down stairs. For real! The joint pain has gone away simply through these small steps. 

Wrapping it up...
So that's my plan and where I'm at right now. I have been at this for 3 weeks (started on June 6) and this already is better than any diet or exercise thing I've tried in the past (most of those I give up on after 2 weeks). I think most of that is because I'm setting the goal and the terms of this process -- no one else is telling me what I 'HAVE' to do! 

I'm also hoping that by writing about the process and how it's going I will: have a record to look back on and be proud of, be more likely to stick to it, and will enjoy the process more! Plus, as an English teacher, I love any excuse to PUBLICLY declare my feelings and experiences through words! 

The end!