After six-and-a-half years into this journey, if I had the chance to do it differently, there are some key points I’d surely change. I actually give thanks for exactly where I am today, but for those getting started, curious about their own efforts, or considering their {re}start for someday, I’m hopeful these tips and ideas may guide you or challenge your thinking as you make your progress.
I don’t want this post to be about me. My journey was mine and my results are only for me. However, if I can share what I did, what I know now, and how it can be applied to someone else’s journey, then mission accomplished.
As you read, see how this might apply to YOU, not in comparison to me. Deal?
Then: The scene
On October 5, 2009 I was 225 at the birth of my fourth child. I brought him home, looked 
in the mirror and realized
the time had come to put myself on the priority list. After a few years of focusing on my Real Estate ventures and starting a family, I recognized I needed to take care of myself for them. My babies needed a healthy Mama to be present in their lives, so many lifestyle changes had to evolve over the next few years.
I could not flip the switch to change overnight. It had to evolve in many different seasons when I was ready mentally to make those changes. Sure, I wanted change, but I had to be ready mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to actually do the work to MAKE those changes….not just desire them!
NUTRITION:
THEN: I went to Weight Watchers within the week my son was born. I needed accountability and wanted to get in a good rhythm with my food tracking. No need to wait. The sooner I set the pattern of eating mindfully, the better. I knew for me that I really desired normalcy after each of my children were born, so getting back on a rhythm was helpful for me in the long run.
WHAT I KNOW NOW: Yes! This is still where I’d suggest one starts. Get a baseline of what you’re actually eating, factor in your physical activity, and see what caloric intake you truly need to nourish your body, yet be in a caloric deficit. Tracking daily in any program you choose is knowledge and power to change. If you don’t track what you eat, you truly can’t know what your intake is and monitor the quality and quantity of your diet. If you don’t monitor your diet, you can’t identify your habits and see what is holding you back or helping you reach optimal. It’s not easy to stay present about it, but it is necessary.
ACTIVITY
THEN: I went to the gym at the six-week postpartum mark and eventually worked my way up to about four, maybe even five, 60-minute, cardio-only group exercise classes. I loved the community of the classes and made many friends in my gym time. The weight came off over the course of a year, but I had little muscle reveal like I wanted. I was what I would call “skinny fat”, but I was much further along from my starting point.
WHAT I KNOW NOW: If I were just starting out, I would reacquaint myself with a gym in my area and make sure
it is easy to get to so I don’t come up with excuses not to go. I would start out going to do cardio three times a week, a maximum of thirty minutes each time or be active outdoors walking, riding bikes, or running. A few weeks in after I was in a good rhythm to go to the gym, I would hire a personal trainer to teach me how to weight train. Yes, hire a trainer!
Back then I knew nothing of lifting weights and I thought it was boring. But weight training is what has truly added shape to my body, improved my metabolism, and lowered my body fat. I didn’t start that until nearly two-and-a-half years in on my journey in early 2012.
Don’t wait that long. THIS is where it’s at!
Don’t even wait two months. Show up consistently at least three times a week and lift that iron, explore, learn and let it give you the most bang for your workout buck. Don’t worry about what you think others think of you. They aren’t. Everyone has a Day 1. Just show up and learn the ropes. Your body, confidence, and mindset will be light years ahead of where you think cardio can take you. Trust me!
HYDRATION
THEN: I drank water. I have no idea how much! In time I added more ounces as I progressed. I did not start out drinking what I do now. It was a work in progress.
WHAT I KNOW NOW: I drink water daily. I start my day with water and aim to hit my water goals every day. 70% of American adults are chronically dehydrated and some report never drinking any water daily. Water drinking has been key to my weight loss, muscle growth, immunity and energy. I do not go a day without it.
I drink for my goals, so the quantity is specific to me, but we each have a need to be hydrated and that can look different for all of us. In order to increase your water intake, get a baseline of what you currently do drink. So if you’re drinking 30 ounces of water a day, for example, aim to drink 40 ounces a day for a week. Then the following week drink 50 ounces a day and so on. In time with the additional hydration, you’ll really notice a big difference across the board.
SLEEP
THEN: I slept. Wait, no I didn’t. My kids were little! As my kids did start sleeping more through the night, I found I would put them down and stay up really late (1 or 2AM) because I liked the alone down time and the quiet, all-to-me moments. I felt like it was so nice to “get things done”, but I was really setting myself back and didn’t even know it.
WHAT I KNOW NOW: Sleep is my best friend. I used to associate sleep with being lazy or weak. If I was tired or
needed to rest, I got down on myself. Now I know the science of sleep and that it impacts so many hormones, mental clarity, energy, muscle building, fat loss and a whole-system reset. I now aim for at least seven hours a night and really want eight to nine hours, but most nights that is hard to get. (My kids’ sports can go late!)
I’m also learning the importance of “powering down” by about 7PM each night and NOT going to bed staring at my computer or phone. Hormonally this disturbs important processes with cortisol and melatonin that need to be properly established for a good, deep night’s sleep.
Additionally, as I’m aging, there are two days in my cycle that my body gets very fatigued. Instead of fighting it and adding more to my to-do list, I actually PUT rest and naps on my agenda. I’ve learned to clear off the tasks and allow time to rest, reset and most importantly get to bed early. On all fronts, I’m a much happier and healthier person for this!
SUGAR
THEN: Sugar. I love it. I was sugar addicted after having my kiddos. My diet had a ton of sugar, I drank my sugars (pop, sweet teas, sweet alcoholic beverages), I ate all kinds of desserts and breads and candy. I even ate a tub of icing a week ON MY OWN when I was pregnant. Coming out of my pregnancies, I really set myself up for hard times and it took a lot of work and reset to undo it.
WHAT I KNOW NOW: I cut pop out of my diet in 2010 and added coffee in at about that time. I also started 
watching my beverage sugar intake in teas and alcoholic drinks and this had a big impact on my system. I started looking at my total daily sugar impact from all sources like dairy, fruit, white sugars, and added sugars to grains and baked goods. I set total-daily-sugar-intake goals, which helped me increase my choices for fiber foods and pay attention to what I was actually eating.
In time, my body leaned out and my energy levels increased. I don’t crave sugar like I used to and a little bit in my diet now goes a long way. I make sure NOT to say “I can never have sugar”, as that just makes anyone just want for it even more. Life was meant to be sweetened, just not all day, every day in everything we eat! Bottom line: stay mindful, aim for balance!
MINDSET
THEN: Self talk, confidence, accountability, goals….these all evolved over time.
WHAT I KNOW NOW: It truly takes time to evolve. As I kept progressing physically, I was also progressing internally and spiritually as well. It became like a positive snow ball effect and I was able to let go of little ways and little relationships in my life that really held me back.
PERFECTION
THEN: Perfection. I battled it. I still battle it.
WHAT I KNOW NOW: Perfect is an illusion. I heard a statement recently that was to the tune of, “Perfection is the killer of progress.” We are created in His image for purpose and reason. You look the way you do, act how you do, and do what you do for purpose. You can’t be someone else and you can’t put all your energy into
disliking yourself. Nor can you set these expectations of doing everything perfectly (whatever that is) all the time.
When you have self love and learn to accept who you are with flaws, blemishes and imperfections, you seem to step into this ah-ha moment and realize, “I’ve got a really good thing going on here. So I’m going to rock out my best, most optimal me!”
And the strive for perfect just is not a priority anymore. It simply takes too much time!
THE BOTTOMLINE
I cannot urge enough that any type of change you desire is a process. It is a three-fold: First, you have to learn what you currently do and who you are, learning the habits that make you you. Second: You have to work to set up and learn new systems that will move you forward towards your goals. Finally, you have to constantly unlearn the old ways that held you back, mental and physical ways. They will reappear, but your new systems will replace them. Give it time.
Give yourself grace. Have a combo of high expectations and forgiveness. Vow to treat each day as a fresh start and aim to be consistent, NOT perfect.
I love coaching other women around the country to their best selves, inside and out. If I can come alongside you and teach you new systems about training and nutrition, I’d truly enjoy the opportunity to do so. Let’s talk!
-Mindy
