Well I have some deep thoughts to share with y’all today!
First off, I want to say that living a healthy lifestyle is so rewarding and I think it enhances and improves every other aspect of my life. When I consciously make an effort to eat well, exercise regularly, get adequate sleep, control my stress and just be mindful of my overall health….I am much happier, I have more energy, I’m more patient with my kids, I’m more loving to my husband, stressors in life don’t seem to have as much of an impact on me, I get a lot more done…my entire life is just elevated and more full of meaning.
When I make healthy living a priority, my physical health obviously improves, but my emotional and mental health does as well! I believe that physical health and mental health really go hand in hand; if you take care of one, the other will always improve along with it. I also have to say that my spiritual life improves when I take care of my body as well!
I KNOW that whatever efforts I put into living a healthy lifestyle, I get back tenfold! It truly blesses my life and that is why I’m so passionate about it.
Now, I also have to say that even though I know how much better I feel and how much better my life is when I make healthy living a priority….I still struggle sometimes. It is not always easy for me. In fact, it’s never easy for me, but sometimes it’s just really hard. It definitely takes daily commitment and there are certainly days when I’m just not feelin’ it.
However, I try not to get discouraged. I know that healthy living is a lifelong process! I know the key is to just keep on trying and never give up.
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When I first started this blog back in the summer of 2011, my main purpose was to use it to keep myself motivated and accountable to “someone.” I was ready to take my healthy living up a notch and really get in good shape and this little blog was a huge motivator to me…it still is!
I know that whether I’m feelin’ fit and healthy or fluffy and frumpy….I have to own it and show up on this blog either way!
In fact it’s actually been really helpful for me to go back over the years and see the times when I was feeling fit, thin and healthy and read about what I was doing and how I was getting those results.
It’s also been helpful and educational for me to identify the times when I haven’t been as committed and have been feeling unmotivated, chubby or just blah. It’s been interesting for me to see those highs and lows in my healthy journey and see the effects of my choices and lifestyle.
So, I thought I would share some of the insights I’ve gained over the years and the things I’ve learned with y’all today in hopes that it may help someone else out there!
With that being said, I think the healthiest and most fit I’ve ever been was in 2012-2013. Here are some pictures I scrounged up from that time…
I remember at this time I just felt good. I had a ton of energy, my workouts felt awesome and I rarely, if ever got sick. The funny thing is that I don’t remember thinking I was particularly thin at the time. I considered myself just “normal” and I think I was even trying to lose 5 or so pounds.
I’ve since learned to appreciate whatever stage I’m in (as far as health, fitness and weight loss goes!) I think a lot of times we don’t realize how fit and healthy we are/were until we look back at pictures and then wish we were back in that spot! Ha ha. I’m now probably sitting about 15 pounds heavier than those pictures, but I’d like to get back there!
There have been a few times in the past 2-3 years when I’ve felt like I’ve been in a good spot too. Here are some more recent pics from those times (2016-2017)…
I gotta say, that I’m not a fan of taking cheesy flexing pics, but they really are so helpful! It’s motivational and nice to see and compare progress over the months and years. Sadly, that pic of me in the blue shorts was a “before pic.” I wanted to lose a little weight and tone up a bit, BUT hey, I’d be happy to look like that right now!
Again, it’s all about perspective.
I’ve learned to STOP and appreciate each stage that I’m in on my fitness journey. I don’t want to be constantly looking for more, wanting to lose more weight, to never be satisfied…I instead want to be 100% honest with myself at all times; to acknowledge my positive progress and accept myself at all stages along my journey, but also kick myself in the butt if needed.
I’ve definitely had times in my life when I’ve needed a reality check; when I’ve needed to realize and accept that changes need to be made, to kick myself in the butt and then get to work!
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I’ve also told you guys before that pregnancy was not pretty on me! Ha ha! I’m so grateful for each of my kiddos, but pregnancy was definitely a labor of love for me! I felt very sick for the first half of each pregnancy, I seemed to bloat and balloon right up the minute I saw a positive pregnancy test, I gained 40-55 pounds with each one…but I worked my butt off to lose the weight each time!
This pic was taken a couple weeks before I was due (my last pregnancy in 2014.) I remember feeling so darn huge! My maternity jeans barely fit and I felt like they were painted on! It was sad.
Here are some more pics of me when I was 38 weeks pregnant….
Those pics don’t look too bad, but I assure you, my legs felt just like tree trunks, my body felt so poofy and my face felt so round! I exercised throughout most of my pregnancy and I tried so hard to eat well and not gain a ton of weight. I gained right around 40 pounds with this pregnancy, aaaand the weight DID NOT just fall off me after I gave birth.
It took at least 8 months to a year before I felt sort of like my normal self. In fact, I don’t think I’ve yet gotten back to quite as thin as I was before I was pregnant. FYI, I was actually 9 weeks pregnant in that pic of me above in the purple “square bar” t-shirt.
I’ve gotten close to getting back to where I was pre baby #6 pregnancy, but I really think my body composition is quite different now. I know I have a lot more muscle on my body and I’m happy ’bout that.
Anyway, I tell you these deets about my pregnancy to help paint a picture of my health journey and how it has been vastly different over the years! I want to illustrate that I’ve had some success, but I’ve also had some huge challenges along the way! I never quit though! I actually enjoy all of the stages of the journey!
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I’ve also talked a lot lately about how this has been an interesting year for me as far as weight loss goes. At the beginning of the year, I found myself up 10-ish pounds (probably up 15 pounds from my thinnest pics) and feeling huge. I won’t go on and on, but if you’ve read my blog or followed me on Instagram Stories this year, you KNOW I’ve talked about this struggle A LOT this year.
Here’s a “beautiful” pic I took of myself early this year when I was feeling sooooo fluffy!
And here’s a pic I took a couple weeks ago…
I still feel heavier than I want to be, BUT I’m feelin’ better than I did at the beginning of the year! Aaaaand, I’m bound and determined to lose 10-ish pounds and feel great, strong, energetic, healthy and fit again!
I also want to say that I really try to be 100% real, honest and open with y’all on here. I have no ego and no agenda, other than sharing my successes, failures, tips and things I’ve learned along the way in hopes of helping someone else out there and inspiring and encouraging anyone I can!
I hope to have some awesome progress pictures for y’all in the next few months.
Soooo, for now I quickly want to share a few things that I’ve learned over the years that definitely make a HUGE difference as far as gaining weight, losing weight, feeling good and seeing results goes! Here are the things that I think make the most impact on healthy living and weight loss…
- DIET! I’m sure you’ve all heard this a zillion times, but your diet far and away makes the biggest impact on overall health and whether you gain or lose weight.
- Quality of food. You do not need to eat perfectly to lose weight, but you do need to eat real, nutrient dense food as often as possible. Your diet should revolve around whole foods, especially plenty of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains and good quality protein sources (quality protein powder, some dairy like cottage cheese and plain yogurt, lean meat, eggs, etc.)
- Amount of food. You HAVE to be in a calorie deficit in order to lose weight. I’ve learned this lesson the hard way this year and I think the main reason I’ve struggled to lose weight this year has been because I’ve been eating too much food!
- I’ve learned that whenever I want to lose weight I have to be a little bit hungry throughout the day; nothing crazy, but just a low level of hunger here and there.
- I’ve heard a lot of weight loss plans out there claim that you never need to be hungry to lose weight. Although this may be the case for some, it hasn’t been the case for me. Just keepin’ it real! I’ve noticed when I base my diet around whole, nutrient dense food, I am definitely a lot less hungry and can eat more food, but I still have to be a little bit hungry to lose weight.
- AND folks, that makes sense to me because in order to lose weight you have to eat less food that you are currently eating, SO it only makes sense that your body would be a little hungry because you’re feeding it less food than it’s used to!
- I also want to mention that if I eat high quality food (cut out the processed crap and sugar), my appetite and cravings go way down and it’s much easier to stick to my goals and lose weight!
- Cut the sugar! Oh you guys, this is sadly my #1 tip for losing weight! When I look at my posts over the years, I can see that I feel my best, look my best, lose weight and have more energy when I’m cutting out the sugar!
- I’ve experimented with having one “treat day” a week and just having a little bit of sugar here and there, but I’m so sorry to say it’s really hard for me to lose weight when I do that! I can and have lost some weight while still having a little sugar here and there, but the results are just much, much slower and I don’t have the added benefit of having my appetite and cravings chill out!
- This sad reality makes me sad because I am the biggest fan of sugar out there, BUT it is what it is….sugar is the quickest killer of healthy goals!
- Get your sleep! It is vital to get adequate sleep if you want to lose weight and feel well. If you are chronically sleep deprived, your body will cling onto weight and it will be very hard to lose any weight! You will also feel sluggish, tired and unmotivated which will make it hard to eat well and exercise too. In a nutshell, if you don’t get enough sleep it will be so hard to feel well, lose weight and reach your goals!
That really sums it up. I don’t even mention exercise because although it definitely helps us to feel good, strong, happy and can help with weight loss….diet FAR AND AWAY out weighs exercise. You can definitely lose weight while not exercising and just watching what you eat, but it’s almost impossible to lose weight with just exercise alone.
Sooo if weight loss is your goal, focus on getting your sleep, eating well, eating less and cutting the sugar! That is is. Sounds simple enough, right? Ha ha.
Actually it’s quite hard, but it does get easier! It’s also so rewarding along the way! It’s also much easier as you stick with it because habits develop and a lifestyle is created!
Well, I think I’ll end here. I’ve just had a lot of deep thoughts about weight loss and healthy living running through my head and I thought I’d share. I’m bound and determined to lose 10 pounds and feel like my old self again, so I thought I’d share what I KNOW works as far as weight loss goes!
I will share my progress with y’all along the way. I’ve already noticed some great results in how I feel, my energy level and a little bit of weight loss the past couple weeks and I’m encouraged.
I’m happy to make the necessary changes and keep at it because I know that although it definitely takes sacrifice and hard work, it blesses my life in so many ways in the process!
Have a good night! xoxo
I think you look amazing and we are always our worst critics! But honestly, the extra muscle you have put on in the past few years looks really good and healthy on you! Keep it up Mel and thanks for the inspiration 🙂
Awww, thank you SO MUCH Sarah. That really means a lot to me!