I want to forget the old me. I'm my new project and a healthy lifestyle is my goal!Will you join me?

Hello, everyone! I'm from Romania and I'm looking for people who want to change their life by living healthy and eating healthy.

I’ll tell you my story (sorry for the long post)… I'm still at the beginning (it's been only 2 months).
I could never really understand how I should feel good after exercising, let alone energized (at the beginning, I could go straight to the morgue after a 20 minutes session of home exercising). I read about the chemical reactions but that’s not very helpful. Anyways. Now, after 2 months, I get it. I lost weight, I'm more toned, I've gained strength, I look better, feel better and confident but the first month was pure hell.
All my life I made an art of being sedentary - brought it to perfection. And I hate sports. Above this, I LOVE good food, all my family cooks great (including me, so moving out didn't help) and let's say that my food portions were over sized in comparison with how I should have eat. Thankfully, I realized a bit late that my cooking skills could be used to cook very healthy and tasty dishes. I’m not lazy at all but when it comes to sports, I can’t say the same… I’m 32, 1.68 cm and I was 67.8 kg. And I always disliked sports. My problem was that I was so sedentary that my ankles started to hurt for months and I also had some terrible back pains (sitting 10h a day at work..). The worst thing? I got saggy... saggy butt, saggy arms and big, ugly, belly. I felt so bad of how I looked, that I started to avoid seeing myself in the mirror. I just decided that this is not okay, is not normal and is not who I want to be. I can be better. I WILL be better.
Unlike most people, my target until June 1st 2019 is not necessarily to lose weight (I already got to a healthy weight) but to become very toned and to have effortlessly a healthy lifestyle and good eating habits. And I’ll do this no matter what, until it becomes routine.

I started by reading a book I kept postponing for more than a year: Eat that frog! by Brian Tracy. This is a good book but I've read better. Still, at 120 pages, is so small, it's worth the 2h of reading, to memorize some very useful tips.
You can really apply his tips at work and in your personal life. Luckily, it's in my nature to be organized and meticulous, so it wasn’t very hard to make lists, schedules and so on. My biggest 'frog' (the thing I hated to do most) was exercising, so I took action and made the To do list requested in the book. I started on May 7th and at this moment (02.07) I have 57 consecutive days of exercising and 3.3 kg less (I take full rest days only when the month ends). It was very hard at the beginning. I do the exercises at 6:15PM (after work) so I was already pretty tired and dreading this part of the day. But even when I felt like crying, I did my session. I had my 'to do' list with what I want to accomplish in a year’s time, I had my monthly schedule for exercising (I chose 5 monthly challenges for beginners and stuck to them). In June I used some very cool apps that I found. They really work for me! Diversity is also important when exercising.

You must get out of your comfort zone if you want to have a toned body.
I know myself and how I find excuses… so that’s why I decided to do my exercises at home. This way, I can’t say that I don’t have time to go to the gym, or that I won’t go to a run because it’s raining, or that it’s too snowy to get to the gym. The season won’t matter. If it can’t go out running, I can skip rope or do cardio in my bedroom. Instead of losing 2h on my way to and from the gym, I use them at home to do my exercises.
Don’t forget to take some 'before' pictures, so that you can make a comparison for 1/3/6/12 months. That was what motivated me best. After a month, I took the 'after' photos and I saw that my butt was rounder, firmer and nicer, my legs firmer (although my thighs look bigger), even my bat wings got better (they were still saggy but I saw improvement). After 2 months, I saw a big improvement in granny arms. It felt amazing! These visual changes along with the strength I've gained, did it for me!


To get an idea of the state I was in, I’ll tell you that for me, one push-up meant laying on my belly and only pushing myself up with the arms (cobra push-up). It was impossible to do at least a knee push-up. After 50 squats I felt exhausted. My muscles were so atrophied that I had cramps even when I was doing the moves without weights. I was a mess with no strength at all. I gradually increased the time of the sessions, the difficulty of the exercises and the weights. As I did this daily, it was important to alternate the muscles groups so that I’ll have time to recover. A mix of strength and cardio exercises would be perfect. And don’t forget to do at least 30 mins of stretching/yoga a week.
Now I can do 3x15 knee push-ups, 5x50 squats, I use 5 kg weights for inside curls/shoulder press and 2 kg for bent over reverse flys, Havyk raises…), 1 kg weights for my ankles etc. The sessions got from 20 minutes to 90. Meanwhile I started to think about these sessions like something that I must do, routine (like eating or a shower) and didn’t perceive them as awful anymore. When I’m not very tired, I even enjoy them. It might not seem much to other people, put in the last two months I exercised more than in the last 20 years so for me… that’s amazing.
My point is… it doesn’t matter how bad is the state you are in NOW. It matters to do something about it and make a habit of it. A good habit. No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everybody in the couch. Also, don’t focus on losing weight. If you clean up your diet and exercise regularly, your weight will take care of itself. And as the time passes, try to modify how you perceive these things that you didn’t use to like. I made of habit of thinking that after exercising and shower I will be rewarded with a great dinner and a move that I’ll watch with my husband (rewards are important). :-) Put motivational messages where you can see them. Set a goal and a due date. Mark in a calendar the days you exercised, to see what you’ve accomplished.
My rules for a day are: cut down on the portions and have a calorie deficit, eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, healthy food, keep the sugars and carbs to a decent level, a cup of unsweetened green tea and coffee & 3 L of still water, fresh fruits and vegetables, at least 2 of the meals must have proteins (important for muscle growth and better to feel satiated for a longer time), no more than 1–2 slices of whole grain bread, good fats (like avocado, coconut oil, raw nuts etc), diversity (because if I eat the same things over and over I’ll go crazy).
I still eat some sweets if I feel that I can’t do without it but I find healthier alternatives: walnuts with honey, 75% dark chocolate, fruits (take into consideration the ones that don’t cause acidity and contain more fiber!), smoothies.



I just finished the schedule for July and I'm excited. As my weight is pretty much fine now and I'm on a good track, but due to having a lower energy lever than I'd need, I decided to cut down the workouts to 1h x 5 days a week, so I can rest more. I think it should be enough. I'll see how it goes after a month.

I discovered MFB app just a week ago but I find it very useful to stay o track. If it happens to cheat-eat for one reason or another, I am able to track the rest of my meals and stay below the daily calories goal. By cheat-eat I mean like a slice of sponge cake, white bread or 2-3 tsp of jam. I will certainly use it daily, because I find it very useful. Self-discipline was the hardest but it's worth it.

My goal is no to diet and not to exercise but to have a healthy life style. Because the rest will take care of itself. Maybe one day I don't have time to exercise but I'll make sure to take a long walk after I eat. Maybe one day I'll eat a bit worse, because I'm at a weeding but I'll make sure to dance off those extra calories. I know how it is to start and give up after 2-3 months. I want to see what happens when I don't. I want to see how the healthy version of me looks and I want to make myself proud. Because it's nice to look better but it's even better to be very healthy and feel good inside-out.

In a week I'll go to the doctor's for some blood work, to see how what I ate the past two months influenced my body (only because he's eating lunch with me, my husband got his cholesterol as low as 173, even if he eats some occasional junk food/processed foods).

I hope my story wasn’t boring. All I want to do is give you hope, motivation and support to achieve your goals… because if I managed to get this far, you can too! And maybe we can do this together.
Will you join me? :-)
Tina.

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Replies

  • TinaZ2018
    TinaZ2018 Posts: 314 Member
    edited July 2018
    Since I wrote my initial post (July 1st/published on 3d) I've been having some stressful times in my personal life. My husband is having some health issues for a year now with on and off sick episodes and the is having them more and more often and no doctor can tell us a diagnostic so we can work on solving the issue. He was fine for a while but since Friday he's been feeling sick more often, he is very depressed an so on. Of course that I'm trying to support him and be optimistic but the fear is eating at me and I can feel a depressing frame of mind creeping in. It was great doing this healthy and active life style routine while I was joyful, happy and without fears but I'm so afraid not to fall into a depression and lose my momentum. When I'm stressed and upset, I tend to eat more and badly. So far so good but I have some terrible cravings. Still looking for a motivational buddy.
  • PKM0515
    PKM0515 Posts: 3,089 Member
    Hi, I wish you well! A couple of suggestions: :)
    1. Read the message boards and send requests to a few people you think you "connect" to who might be able to provide some support/motivation. (Don't be upset if someone doesn't accept your request; they may feel the have too many friends already. Also, some people won't accept a request unless there is a message included.)
    2. Browse the Groups and consider joining one that appeals to you and matches your interests.
    Good luck on your journey!
  • TinaZ2018
    TinaZ2018 Posts: 314 Member
    Thank you very much for the advice. I had a rough 24h and for the first time in 2 months I cheated royally with 6 slices of pizza and I feel like crap, even if I know I did that due to the depressive state I'm in (I needed comfort food). I didn't even react happily today morning when my scale showed -4 kg... :-(
  • LIBOR_cat
    LIBOR_cat Posts: 197 Member
    All the best and greetings from America!!
  • daneejela
    daneejela Posts: 461 Member
    Hey, this was very, very inspiring for me!
    I am you - two months ago. :) I can't do a push-up, on or off knees, doesn't matter. Now I am trying to slowly work up my progress, and reading this was really a kick of motivation I needed.

    I hope your husband is ok...don't fall down with the spirit. In any of the life challenges that are in front of us, we can serve our family and friends best when we are in the best possible shape.
  • TinaZ2018
    TinaZ2018 Posts: 314 Member
    Thank you so much for your kind words! *hugs* I sent you a friend request. Yesterday I felt like *kitten*. I was depressive... but managed to do my exercise session. Today I feel better. In the morning I went to the doctor's for some blood tests. I am very curious how these 2 months of healthy lifestyle will look in the results. :-)

    I am very glad I inspired you. If you need advice for exercises (there are different/easier poses for beginners so that you will be actually be able to do them and not risk hurting you), schedules, links, challenges or anything else, don't hesitate to write me.

    In the next two days we should receive the results for my husband's head and heart MRI. Fingers crossed!
    And here's a photo with my latest self (until now I lost -4.1 kg). Have a great day! :*

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  • daneejela
    daneejela Posts: 461 Member
    Thanks for the friend request :)

    Wow, if you haven't written it's 4 kg difference between those two photos, I would assume it's at least double! :)
    I guess that is the importance of exercise...IMO, you look awesome already!

    I am glad you feel better today and I hope the next two days will bring you both relief!
  • TinaZ2018
    TinaZ2018 Posts: 314 Member
    edited July 2018
    Thank you so much! You are so sweet to say so.
    I used to lose weight through diets but I can tell you that when I shed 7 kg with the Dukan diet and no exercise. Trust me when I say that I didn't look half as good as I look now with -4 kg. Certainly exercising transforms your body in a wonderful way.

    I also received my blood work. The glucose and cholesterol levels got lower, which is great (83 and 212).

    I think it's just one of those periods when all the *kitten* things that can happen during a year and coming all at once in just a few months. Yesterday, after having a nice day, I get home to find out that my brother in law, with his wife and my 3 months nephew were in a car accident. As my nephew was born prematurely and with a cranium malformation, he had surgery only a month ago. The little thing wouldn't stop crying, so they went to the hospital and stayed over night. He did a head CT today and it was ok. His parents are okay, just scared as hell and the car is a wreck. It's 9AM here. I hope today's going to be better.

    I wish you a wonderful day!
  • TinaZ2018
    TinaZ2018 Posts: 314 Member
    edited August 2018
    This is my progress after 3 months of healthy eating and over 80h of home workouts. 3.3 kg of them were lost in the last 6 weeks since I've discovered MFP and controlled my daily eating in order to have a calorie deficit. The most significant changes are: weight - 5.9kg, waist and belly -7cm, hips and butt -5 cm, tighs -6 cm and I'm toned - I've never been. 2 more kg to go!

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    After 1 month and after 3:
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  • grebber1
    grebber1 Posts: 216 Member
    Looking great! Keep up the good work and be proud of yourself
  • TinaZ2018
    TinaZ2018 Posts: 314 Member
    Thank you so much for the support!
  • TinaZ2018
    TinaZ2018 Posts: 314 Member
    For this month, I bought some protein powder and bars. I'm curious if there'll be any visible changes after a month.
  • TinaZ2018
    TinaZ2018 Posts: 314 Member
    OMG OMG OMG Target achieved!!! I'm SO happy! I managed to do this in 4,1 months and 100 workouts, while eating healthy with a calorie deficit. I feel so proud and accomplished... It was hard but it was worth it!!! I almost look like when I was 18. I think I actually look better, because I'm also toned.
    Now I'm going into maintenance, so I'll lower the protein intake a bit, adjust the BMR to my actual weight and eat back the burnt calories, so that I won't have a deficit.

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  • mmnv79
    mmnv79 Posts: 538 Member
    That's some achievement in such a short space of time. You are a credit to yourself.

    Feel free to add me. I had surgery a while ago and I put a lot of weight on. I joined MFP and managed to shredded all. Then I had a second op and again gained lots of weight because I couldn't exercise and kept eating the same as when I had an active life. I have lost 11 kg. and have approx another 10-12kg. to go. I'm 165cm tall.

    I intend to join a gym as soon as I get my new work's timetable and can organise myself. At the moment I have been doing exercise at home. I got a static bike, some weights and do some home work-outs watching Youtube videos, like Blogilates and Fitness Blender. I pre-log all my food and at the moment it varies from 1100-1400 calories,as I have a desk job and I don't exercise much. Once I join the gym, I'll increase my calories intake.
  • TinaZ2018
    TinaZ2018 Posts: 314 Member
    mmnv79 wrote: »
    That's some achievement in such a short space of time. You are a credit to yourself.

    Feel free to add me. I had surgery a while ago and I put a lot of weight on. I joined MFP and managed to shredded all. Then I had a second op and again gained lots of weight because I couldn't exercise and kept eating the same as when I had an active life. I have lost 11 kg. and have approx another 10-12kg. to go. I'm 165cm tall.

    I intend to join a gym as soon as I get my new work's timetable and can organise myself. At the moment I have been doing exercise at home. I got a static bike, some weights and do some home work-outs watching Youtube videos, like Blogilates and Fitness Blender. I pre-log all my food and at the moment it varies from 1100-1400 calories,as I have a desk job and I don't exercise much. Once I join the gym, I'll increase my calories intake.

    Thank you!
    I'm sorry that you had to go through surgeries but I see that you are strong and you'll get back to your active life.
    We're pretty similar. I'm 168 cm and also have a desk job. :-)

    My basal intake is 1350 kcal and for whatever calories I burn through activity, I'll have to eat back.
    I added you!