3 and 4 years...and going strong

This month marks a few anniversaries for me in my health and fitness challenge. This lifestyle change came with many adjustments in my life. Once I gave up prescription medications, meat, and adopted a regular fitness routine with progressive loading, much changed. Did my colitis and C.O.P.D. magically go away? No. As auto-immune disorders go, they have a resting/dormant or remission. Just when you think "I've got it" the bell is rung and you're symptomatic all over again.

I am grateful however, that although I still have flair-ups, acceptance was the biggest obstacle. Once I declared this battle I would fight for life, the moment came when any think non-traditional was open for inspection. A large part of this change was adopting a physical exercise program that help maintain healthy fat/muscle percentages. I am stronger, more flexible, and run with greater endurance than ever. Considering that we age in time, I think that is a good place to be.

Regular exercise is only about 30% of the battle. The other 70% of maintaining a healthy body composition is eating a nutritious diet. I started with a transition to Pescatarianism then to a full vegetarian. I increased my vegetable, fruits, and legumes. Whole grain breads, rices, and pastas ensure an optimum fiber content.

Many skeptics believed that I would fall. There was no way I could survive on this plan, because after all one needs meat to live. Really? Ask the gorilla. In short, it's 3 years as a non-meat eater and 4 years of physical exercise planning. Life could not be better. It certainly is better now than ever before.

I still see re-starters. I still get asked the same questions by the same people who have watched my physical transformation. I hate to say it but I hide from now...literally. It is not rocket science. I am living proof that change works. My diet is not so strict that it does not allow for cookies, cakes, and pies.

I follow the 80/20 rule. At least 80% of the time I am flying at regulation altitude. My diet and exercise is on point. The other 20% of the time, I am coasting, maintaining, and simply enjoying the foods that I have grown to love over this lifetime. Once I gave up dieting, everything else fell into place.

I encounter many arrogant first-timers who read a few magazine articles, leap on the bandwagon of the latest diet craze, and puff their chests out like they are pros. Until you have practiced it for a few years, then you cannot know what a veteran knows. There is nothing wrong with embracing a lifestyle change, but you cannot live your life on a diet, punishing and berating your entire plan because you ate four cookies, polished off a pizza, or ate cheesecake for lunch.

A lifestyle change means that you have found a way to make allowances for the comforts and rewards in the work and grind. For anyone who has trekked through a year and has come out on the other side, I salute you!

Here's to you as well...

march madness

I can hardly contain my excitement. The daylight is stretching, the weather is warming, the snow is melting...and my workouts are about to get an overhaul. Yep! I've decided to get off of the machines and kick it into high gear. I've decided to push more weight and use the 'assists' aka Smith Machine.

I also noticed that I managed to do quite well on the budget front. I have no idea how. Sometimes I think "put it back, you're over the limit" and then magically the accounting fairy does her thing. I do believe it is a testament to shopping with a list, purchasing sales, and buying in bulk/bag instead of singles, especially with fruit/veggies. I find that if I hit the market too frequently in between major trips, I am more prone to picking up useless or unnecessary items. This does not mean I am free from making interval visits to grab items that 'were not on sale but now are and much needed'.

I am reaching that epic time for replacing my oils and possibly my butters. And there is nothing like sales to push me to the press the button...click! I found a wonderful site "Bulk Apothecary" that has a great price on Avocado Oil and my trusty Castor Oil. I promise the next time I make the BlackTeaOil I will certainly photo op it and post. The oil is amazing! I do plan to bring back the Olive and Coconut Oil. And, yes...my hair is doing amazingly well with the new treatments and Co-Washes! I am in the process of putting together a protein treatment that is scheduled for application on/about the 17th of this month: egg, coconut yogurt, honey, avocado oil...into a nice whipped mask!

Bulk Apothecary Avocado Oil

 

College Basketball brackets, pizza, and the onslaught of rain...

Yes...it's officially March Madness and all that it entails. I recently had an inbox from Cottage Inn promising a year of free pizza for scoring wins on the bracket. Huh? Yes!