Wellness Works! March 23, 2011

I’ve shared that I started my weight loss “journey” in January 2010. At the same time a group of co-workers and I started up a wellness program, “Wellness Works”, at our office. We applied for and received some grant money through our health insurance company to help support our program.

Through the program we started a walking group (walking each day at lunch outside of the office), a yoga class, a weight watchers group, “snack attacks” (bringing healthy foods in for employees to show them how to snack healthy), lunch and learn programs which bring in speakers to discuss health-related topics, and an annual health fair. The program was a great success last year. I think it put a lot of people in a healthier mind-set and I know that it helped me kick-start my efforts. This year I am the chair of the wellness committee.

Unfortunately this year we lost our grant money due to the fact that our health insurance company is going out of business, so we are struggling a little to keep the program going. Our executive director has offered to give us funds, but not until the new budget starts in July. So we are trying to do a few things with a little money left over from last year.

In January we started our first annual Weight Loss Challenge at the office. Twelve of us have weighed in weekly for 9 weeks and today was our last weigh-in. I am so incredibly proud of this small group! It’s inspiring to see others support and encourage each other to reach their goals.

I’m proud to say that I have lost 6 pounds in the challenge and have lost an inch around my bust, hips, and waist! Overall our group has lost 48.6 pounds!! I’m so proud of my co-workers and am happy to be a part of such a healthy initiative like this program.

As chair of our wellness program, I have organized a group to participate in a local 5K in May. Twenty people in our office have signed up to be a part of the race…so awesome! I love seeing people get excited about being healthy, as nerdy as that sounds!

It really helps me to have people around me working towards the same goals as I am. I couldn’t do it without the support of my family, friends and now co-workers! I hope that I have been as much as an encouragement to them, as they have been to me.

What can you do to encourage a healthy lifestyle in others around you?

Motivation Vs. Inspiration February 22, 2011

Motivation. Inspiration.

Both are things that urge people towards completing goals in their lives.

I started this weight loss process for real back in January 2010. I started looking at pictures of myself and realized how heavy I’d gotten. I had gained weight in college, but once I graduated and moved back home I was able to get the weight off. For my older sister’s wedding in 2006 I was down to 126 pounds…my lowest weight since high school.

Almost 4 years later (January 2010) I was weighing in at almost 160 pounds. At 5’2″. Yikes. Literally the most I’d ever weighed in my life. Weight gain of 34 pounds in almost 4 years. I can’t believe I’m even typing these numbers out for all eternity on the Internet. But like I said, this blog is to track my journey and those numbers are a part of it!!

I helped start up a wellness program at my office and got on the weight loss train. Since last January I have lost a total of 16 pounds. Photos of your fat ass can really motivate you…but I’m not done yet!

So what about inspiration? I truly believe that motivation does not last unless you have been inspired to do something. Think about it…I have used the picture of myself in a bikini from my sister’s wedding as my “motivation” to lose weight before. And while it may have worked for awhile, I always eventually found excuses to quit and lost my motivation. This time, instead of just using pictures for motivation, I’ve actually got inspiration as well.

I’m inspired by my friends and family that are trying to change their lifestyle too. Since I’ve begun my journey this time around, more and more people are telling me about the things they are doing to try and change their lives. Having this support system inspires me to do my best. Seeing other people make the changes and stick to them inspires me to do it as well.

I’m also inspired by the thought of starting a family. I want to be at my healthiest weight whenever I decide to get pregnant and the thought of being healthy for my future children inspires me to really work on this lifestyle change.

And last but not least, I am inspired by the thought of how healthy my body is starting to not only look, but feel. It’s easy to get inspired when you are all of a sudden starting to be able to do things that you couldn’t before. This is coming from a person who was easily winded by walking up a flight of stairs and now takes a spin class at least once a week and can bike 13 miles. How’s that for inspiration?! And I know that I can continue to push my body to even greater successes!

Inspiration is more enduring than motivation…but I think you need both to make a change. I think the key to motivating yourself is to find what inspires you. So, what inspires you???

“Instead of motivation look for inspiration. Inspiration comes from the same word as spirit. When you are inspired, the spirit moves you.”
-Deepak Chopra

“Lifestyle change”…really?! January 27, 2011

So like I said previously, I’m trying to make a “lifestyle change.”

Yeah, I know, this phrase probably makes you nauseous. It’s everywhere these days! All the health and fitness experts are throwing this expression out there to get people to see that it can’t just be about losing weight so you can fit into your skinny girl jeans anymore.

This issue is especially huge (no pun intended) in our country, which is why we are seeing this “lifestyle change” trend. A 2009 study by the World Health Organization shows that 74.1% of America’s population is overweight or obese.  It’s not about quick-fix diets that don’t maintain our health long-term.  Our perspective has got to change.

For me it started out the same way as it does most people.  I used to be skinny.  Then I got fat.  Then I got a little skinnier again (but I still thought I was fat).  Then I got fat again.  You see a pattern here?

I thought it was just about trying to get back into my size 6 pants.  But I work closely with the health-care field and I slowly began to realize that I actually want to live a longer life and live it without the health complications that so many of the people we serve deal with.

I know now that it is not all about my weight (although in order to be the healthiest me, I do indeed need to lose weight) but it is about being healthier inside and out…mind, body and spirit.  And maintaining that change!

Things that my lifestyle change will entail:

• Learning to choose healthier foods and recipes
• Exercising 5-6 days a week for at least 30 minutes
• Getting more sleep
• Reducing my stress/anxiety
• Limiting negativity around me and increasing the positivity (this includes working on my body image!)
• Reading more
• Keeping a stricter budget (thus reducing stress level…both mine and my husband’s!)
• Finding a passion/hobby that will help fulfill me (blogging? haha)

I’ve been working on most of these for a year now, but I still have a way to go. I think it’s best to pick one or two things to work on at a time so you’re not so overwhelmed.  All of these are ideas I want to explore in this blog.

So, what kind of lifestyle changes do YOU want to make??

Joining the blogging world… January 27, 2011

Everyone has one, so I figure why not me?  I actually thought about the concept for this blog almost two years ago and even joined wordpress.com back then.  I wanted to blog my “journey to a better me” (lame), but I didn’t have an established weight loss routine back then so it never took off.

So here I am today. I have actually been working on my lifestyle change since January 2010. I just didn’t want to blog about it until I was sure that I was really making the commitment and sticking with it.

I’m doing this blog so that I can track my progress and so that I can discuss topics that help and/or hinder me along the way! (Maybe someday someone will even read this so I won’t have to discuss these things with myself…)

Many people I know personally are struggling with trying to lose weight and changing to a healthier lifestyle, so I know that I’m not alone.  Maybe something I write will inspire someone…you never know!  For now I’m just trying to inspire myself…