Prioritizing Health Update

Friday I had my numbers re-checked at work.  I am happy to report that I had lost 6 pounds and my blood pressure numbers had gone down.  It's amazing what can happen in less than 3 weeks when one really focuses.  Was I perfect with eating and exercising these past weeks?  No. Did I do vastly better than usual though?  Absolutely.

I did what I said I would do in my original blog post.  I made healthier eating choices and skipped fast food eateries.  In the few times where it was extremely hard to skip a fast food place, I tried to get a single entree with NO FRIES and NO SOFT DRINK (not even diet).



I drank a LOT OF water.  Water will keep you hydrated, eliminate those sweet drink cravings, and it's calorie free.  If you are having problems with soft drink consumption, you don't need the government to protect you from yourself.  Try this simple trick when you are heading to the fridge.  Get just a tiny cup of water and drink it.  It doesn't have to be much, maybe 2-4 oz.  What you will find is that with that little bit of water your craving for the sweet drink will go down dramatically (possibly completely).  As time goes on, you will find that water does as advertised and really quenches your thirst in ways sugary drinks cannot and your water consumption will increase while your soda consumption and gut will decrease.

I also made a conscious effort to get more rest and worked out at least 3 times a week.  I was honest with myself with the workouts I had and I realized that I am not a kid in college anymore.  I, personally, do not have hours to spend in the gym and I can't nap throughout the day to recover from spending hours in the gym (or doing P90X).  Most of my workouts were only 20 minutes on average but they were workouts designed to do a lot in a little time.  Only once did I do a workout that exceeded 30 minutes.  I'm not endorsing them or anything but if you have Xfinity (formerly Comcast) On Demand , you have a whole collection of short workout videos at your disposal that really do work.

Now, it is important that you don't hold yourself on a super tight leash and find some fun.  I did make sure that I had an occasional meal where I indulged a bit.  And I also made sure that I enjoyed the workouts that I did whether it was the movements themselves or finding joy in knowing that I was going to be looking and feeling better afterward.

I hope to report back with more good news in the coming weeks and I hope any struggling with health issues can start to clear out a good path as well.

Image:  via lifefitness.com
Image:  via cdn.ientry.com