#BEDM: Fit and Healthy

Today's topic for BEDM is what I do to stay fit and healthy.  As long-time readers know, I'm on a health kick this year: I've hired a personal trainer, cleaned up my diet, and have committed to running a couple of races (a 5K in April, a 10K in a week).

Fitness has always been a huge challenge for me.  For about the first 27 years of my life I did not enjoy exercise very much.  I think that being the last kid picked in gym class probably contributed a lot to this.  I was good at every thing else in school, so why worry about the one thing that I wasn't good at?  After taking the last compulsory gym course of my life in grade 9, I figured that I was done with sports and exercise for good.

But then there were the societal pressures to look good, and like most teenage girls (unfortunately), I wasn't happy with how I looked.  I remember that three of my friends and I once joined a gym for three months in high school.  However, I didn't use my membership very much because that was the gym that all of the hockey players used, and I was too intimated to go.

Years went by with little physical activity and eating lots of crap food.  I didn't worry so much about my lifestyle.  In fact, since I was a city dweller who got around a lot on foot, I actually considered myself active, so I didn't worry whatsoever about my diet.

However, something clicked when I was 27.  I was tired of feeling badly about my body.  I have a degree in biology: I understood that what I was doing to my body was extremely unhealthy and that I needed to change.

I cleaned up my diet.  I started to exercise slowly but surely.  I'd go for one hour walks five times a week.  So those walks turned into jogs with walking interspersed.  I even joined a dragon boat team.  That's a sport; my goodness!  Weight started come off of me.  November rolled around and it was getting too cold for outdoor exercise.  I decided to join a gym and have been a member ever since.

Since then, my battle with fitness has had its ups and downs.  I've gone through periods where I've slacked off at the gym.  My diet last year was especially horrible.  However, at least now I have the tools to get back on track, and I've found something surprising: I don't hate exercise anymore.  If you'd told high school me that I'd be exercising five times a week and running long distance races in my 30s, she wouldn't believe it.

I feel that 2013 has been a banner year for me with health and fitness.  Here's a summary of the guidelines I've been following and having some success at.  Heck, there is about 18 lbs less of me now than at the beginning of the year.

1) Clean Diet

I eat very little white sugar.  I gave it up cold turkey in January but I'm a bit more lenient now.  I had some frozen yogurt today at lunch.  However, I try to avoid it as much as possible and feel best on a day with no sugar.

I don't eat grains.  It's an easy way to cut down on carbohydrates.  The only carbs I eat come from veggies and fruit, and I do allow myself starchy tubers in moderation.  I've read about the havoc that today's wheat can have on your system, and I feel fine without it.

I eat things mainly with one ingredient.  That means unlimited fruit, veggies, nuts, eggs, meat, fish, dairy, etc. 

I don't eat processed foods.  I cook from scratch way more than I used to.

As a result, I feel so much better than when I was eating all of the food all of the time.  I haven't had fast food since January and I don't miss it.

Also, I am enjoying keeping to this diet.  Just eating whole foods and eating when I feel hungry is so much better for me than a program where I have to journal everything I eat and count calories and points.  Easy-peasy.

2) Build Strength

Last year all of the exercise I did revolved around running.  I did build up some endurance and get faster, but lost no weight when I was training because of my crap diet.

I began thinking about how I'd really like to start lifting weights, but had no idea how to do it.  That's when I sort of fell into hiring a personal trainer.  When I first signed over a good deal of money, I wondered if I'd been swindled.

However, as soon as I started training in January, I realized that it was a great investment.  After only one month I could see changes in my body.  I felt stronger.  My clothes were getting looser.  It was great.

At this point I'm getting addicted to how much stronger I am, and how much endurance that I have.  It used to kill me to hold one plank for a minute, but now I can easily do so after a circuit of some intense exercises.  Then I can do it two more times.  I love it!

I see my trainer two times a week.  On top of that, I try to get two cardio days in.  I usually run to train for my races.  I also try to do a weightlifting class once a week for a total of five days in the gym.  That's my optimal week, and I don't always make all of the sessions every week, but I do make it more often than not.

3) Rest

I've been trying to sleep more.  It's hard, since I'm naturally a night owl, and often there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done.  I also listen to my body when it's tired.  For example, I was really tired this weekend, so I took Friday and Saturday off of exercise.  The result?  I was super rested this morning and ran a personal best 10K!  Rest pays off.

4) Indulge a bit
My trainer suggested that I add one cheat meal a week to my diet.  Thank goodness.  I think without that weekly carte blanche indulgence, I would have fallen off the wagon a long time ago.  I really look forward to those meals, and I definitely enjoy them more than I did back when I was eating all of the food all of the time.

In addition, I'll let myself have a bit of dark chocolate or red wine.  Both are heart healthy, and after a day where I've worked hard, and eaten clean, I deserve a bit.

So that's what I'm doing this year to stay fit and healthy.  It's working and has been worth the hard work and the extra financial investment.  I can't wait to see where I'll be at the end of 2013!