In this post, I will be sharing my 2-year health and fitness recap and 6 tips to help you get started on your healthy lifestyle journey. I hope that in sharing my experience, you find inspiration and information that will help you start or remain committed to your health and fitness goals. However, I would like to state that I am NOT a fitness expert or nutritionist and that you should always consult with a health care professional about your health.
My Yo-yo Life Before
First and foremost, I would like to tell you a bit about my lifestyle before I got started. Differing from my fitness, and thanks to my upbringing, my eating habits have always been overall considered “healthy.” I have never been a big consumer of fast foods, sodas, or junk food. Instead, my diet consisted of lots of fresh fruits, veggies, daily morning juice, and a typical Dominican’s menu; rice, beans, meat, salad, fried plantains, and avocados.
My fitness, however, was never consistent and something I would only really resort to as a means to an end. Like to lose a few extra pounds before a vacation or when I wanted to shed weight after pregnancy. That was a mentality that I also have to thank my upbringing for because, in my family, people only worked out if they were physically overweight.
As for my physical appearance at this time, I was a mom of four with two babies under two. I’ve never been “overweight,” except in one of my pregnancies where I gained 30 pounds more than the recommended. But typically, my weight was always yo-yoing by 5 to 10 pounds.
Even though I didn’t appear out of shape, the overall tone of my body was flaccid, and I couldn’t even do a push-up. A doctor later explained to me that I was what some call “skinny fat“. This is when a person has a high percentage of body fat but still looks slim. My fat was subcutaneous, which sits below the surface of the skin. And while it isn’t thought to have the same health implications as visceral fat, it still puts you at a high risk of many health issues. That being said, this was not what motivated me to get started.
What Motivated Me To Get Started On My Health and Fitness Journey?
This brings me to over two years ago when one day, frustrated with my inability to stay consistent, I decided to give myself a six-month health and fitness challenge. At the time, my only goal was to work out for this period consistently. I had no weight goals or anything; I simply wanted to know what it feels like to commit to something and not give up. It should be noted that apart from fitness, I seem to lack the ability to be consistent in anything else. But that’s a whole other conversation for another day.
The 6 Months Challenge That Became a Lifestyle
Let me begin by telling you the story about the first time I went for a run because it is really a great example of how we can confuse our mental limits with physical ones. That day I put my sneakers on, warmed-up, and started to “run” more like a jog. At the distance of 600ft, I was dragging ass, I couldn’t even catch my breath. I felt like a fish out of water, so I stopped running, turned around and walked back home. However, there was a fire in my stomach, I knew that I could do better.
The truth is that I was all in my head from the beginning doubting how far I could make it. But, right there and then, I decided no more quitting señora Steffany! I had to make peace with the fact that working out is f***ing HARD, which is why so many people quit. Moreover, I had to learn to quiet the negative voices in my head and believe in myself, the next morning; I ran 2 miles. And 4 months later, I ran the Falmouth Road Race.
For the first three months, my only focus was to get it done. My workouts consisted of lots of cardio-focused exercises, like running and HIIT. I was starting to feel so much more energy and was starting to lose a bit of fat. However, my diet hadn’t changed much until I decided to do a 21-day-no sugar-challenge.
The 21-day challenge is what finally made the connection of how vital it was to clean up my diet if I ever wanted to notice a significant change. It also made me feel and see how harmful sugar is for our bodies. During the challenge, which ultimately ended up being 25 days, I lost over 8 pounds, and for the first time since beginning my workout, I noticed more muscle definition. In particular, I had more energy, more focus, and my skin never looked better.
Subsequently, I continued to control the amounts of sugar I consumed until one day, frustrated by my mental focus. I decided to try the Keto diet, which also started as a challenge, but I enjoyed it so much that I lived this lifestyle for five and a half months. During this time, I felt the best I’ve ever had mentally. Especially when I started to incorporate Intermittent Fasting to my routine. However, I was losing so much weight and all my muscle gains to the point that my family started to become concerned with my new lifestyle.
At this point, 9 months into my new lifestyle I decided to take what I had learned from living a Keto lifestyle and create my own eating plan. And just as the beginning, I was still working out from home using Youtube and Pinterest workouts. Now mainly focusing on HIIT and Weight training exercises.
What My Health and Fitness Journey Have Taught Me:
My lifestyle journey these past two years has completely changed my relationship with food and fitness. But, moreover, it gave me my new perspective on life.
Even though my relationship with food before was never terrible, I am now choosing foods to fuel and nourish my body but also my mind. While still enjoying the things I love (sweets) in moderation. But without a doubt challenging myself that day was the best choice I have ever made.
My biggest teacher has been the fitness portion. It taught me so much about myself and the mental limitations I often created for myself. The truth is that we are limitless, powerful human beings with the ability to achieve whatever we set out minds on.
Today I am more committed than ever to my healthy lifestyle and I could never imagine going back to my old lifestyle.
6 Tips to Help You Get Started and Committed to a Healthy Diet and Fitness Journey.
- Book a physical if you haven’t had one for over a year and get your blood work done. For instance, I found out I was severely anemic, which explained why I was out of breath and fatigued all the time. Apart from making sure that you are healthy enough to start exercising, this is a great way to monitor your progress as you continue to improve your lifestyle.
- Assess your current fitness level, be honest, and choose programs that are doable but challenging.
- Exercise and change your diet at the same time. But if you want to start with one, choose to change your diet first.
- Set realistic short term goals. I find that this helps me stay motivated and consistent.
- Keep unhealthy foods out of your home, out of sight out of mind, plain and simple.
- Don’t have an all or nothing approach, instead aim for a balanced diet. And even if you caved and overindulged, don’t judge yourself, just move on and make better choices next time.
My Workouts and Diet Today
Stay tuned for part two of my Health and Fitness post where I will share my current exercise and diet.
