Ah, my weight loss secrets. What all y’all been waiting for,
yes? That’s the first thing I hear about my weight loss – “What are you doing?”
There’s no magic. And for some, it’s disappointing to hear that success has
come from good, old fashioned hard work of reducing calories and exercise. Yes,
some people get disappointed. I used to be one of those people. We would all
love a quick fix. “If I could only lose x amount of pounds first, I promise
I’ll follow the rules later.” I have had this talk with myself a million times
over the past 20 years. The true motivation for me has been to improve my
overall health so I can live a longer life. The fear of dying like my father
(of a heart attack) woke me up. Most of my family dies of heart disease and
heart attacks have been known to occur in our family in the 40s.
I approached this journey like I approach a project for work
or for a client. I needed a process to follow. As I mentioned last month, I
started by drinking meal replacement shakes by Body By ViSalus. I became a
“passive” distributor of the shakes and figured that if I was actually going to
sell the shakes I should show that they work. Shakes are a great way to lose
weight because they help you manage your caloric intake, which is key. I knew
I’d lose weight this way but for the first time I accepted the fact that to
increase the speed and retention of weight loss I would have to exercise as
well. Along came Molly!
Many of us have said it before: “If I had a celebrity’s money
I could get thin too with a personal trainer.” It’s clear that people have lost
weight with the help of a trainer. Just watch The Biggest Loser. I didn’t
really pursue this route initially but Molly was a friend and a previous improv
student. She had started her weight loss journey while a student of mine. I
think I may have mentioned something about the shakes on Facebook and she
emailed me and said, “Hey, if you need a trainer …” It was a sign. In the theme
of an improv philosophy of “yes, and”, I emailed her back, “Tell me more.” I
was at my thinnest at 20 when I had a body builder/coach boyfriend and while I
hated him for it I now realized that in some sick way his toughness worked on
me being in amazing shape. And that’s what I needed now – a tough coach, but an
understanding one I could trust. I trusted my Molly enough to at least hear
what she had to say and I instantly felt comfortable with her approach and
style. I think deep down inside I felt so helpless and here was a lifeline. Literally,
a line that could actually save my life. All I had to do was commit and find
the money, both which can be difficult for most of us. I’m a true believer that
people value what they pay for. When you get something for free you don’t
really commit to or appreciate it. There was a part of me that knew I had to
pay someone to help keep me accountable. For those of you wondering how I found
the money, it was pretty easy to sit down and look at how much I had been
spending on eating out, buying wine to drink at home every night and going out
in general. So, instead of spending money on gaining weight, I shifted that
same money to losing weight. Pretty simple. Sometimes it’s even harder to face
our financial fitness plans by looking at how we’re spending our money.
And so it began. I signed up with Molly in addition to
becoming a member of the YMCA. The first thing Molly did was put me on a
three-week detox (without shakes) to eliminate toxins from my body and give my
body a foundation nutrition-wise. Molly is not a nutritionist, I should
mention. She has literally researched and tested a variety of methods and
diets. The detox was pretty simple and gave me a lot of food options. I wasn’t
starving but I was learning how to eat healthy. In three weeks I lost 14 pounds
which gave me such a boost of confidence. More importantly I was feeling
amazing from the loss of things like sugar, dairy and caffeine. In conjunction
with the detox we started an exercise plan of working with Molly three times a
week for an hour, plus two additional days of cardio on my own. The working out
is what scared me the most – would I be able to do it without dying?! The
answer is YES because Molly showed me I could do it in baby steps.
This blog was an article published in the June issue of South Carolina Woman Magazine.
This blog was an article published in the June issue of South Carolina Woman Magazine.
No comments:
Post a Comment