New Year, New You Challenge

Well, the new year is here and I have officially kicked myself in the ass! I have committed to a 30 day challenge.  My goals for this challenge are;

1. To drink at least 2 litres of water  a day.
2. To workout at least 4 days a week.
3. To greatly reduce my intake of "white" carbs.

Two out of three of my goals are keeping with  my personal mantra for 2014. I no longer make negative resolutions. I have made positive ones instead; to get together with friends and family more often to keep in touch and to find the positive in every day. This challenge is a positive for me too. I am increasing the amount of healthy  choices in my life. I am also making peace with my body the way it is today. I am no longer waiting for an improved body to love. If we don't love who we are now, how can se expect to be successful at making positive changes? As I think many of us have experienced throughout the years, we only set ourselves up for failure with this way of thinking.

Consider this quote from a recent Facebook post; "What if our only New Year's Resolution was to love ourselves more........" Be kind to yourself, focus on the positive, and when you need words of encouragement,  turn to your various support groups.....family, friends, and your online communities.

Yours in Health,

Sheri

Welcome to Forty Something and Getting Healthy Blog!

Welcome Friends!

My name is Sheri and I have fought my weight and been unhealthy for as long back into my childhood as I can remember. Just as many of you, I have tried almost every diet out there and had some success only to have all the weight and more come back on.

Last July I decided to finally start making permanent changes in my life to eliminate the unhealthy habits and replace them with healthier choices. I started following "The Vice Busting Diet" written by Julia Havey. After contacting her she also agreed to help me in my journey. IF you don't know about her; look her up on Facebook or at www.PGX.com. All of her materials are free to download and use thanks to the makers of PGX.

PGX is a fiber supplement that is used to increase your fiber, assist in your water intake, and help you feel full and not give into cravings between meals. Combining this with Julia's down to earth, small step approach to losing unwanted weight has been a combination that has allowed me to cut out my biggest vices.

I had my last piece of chocolate on July 22, 2012......yes I know how unthinkable it is for some of you to give chocolate up! For others it may be fast food, pop, ice cream or chips......but there are those things that you eat every day and can't seem to stop at one or say "no thank you" to. Those Julia would call "vices". Until I know I can control them instead of them controlling me I can't have any chocolate, pop, or ice cream.

It has been a struggle and to be honest, pop and ice cream have been harder for me than the chocolate...and I was a chocolatholic! But something I started doing was forgiving myself and having a "no blame, no guilt" attitude. Julia often reminded me that as long as there are more positive days than unhealthy days I am still moving forward on my journey!

I am glad you have decided to follow along with me on my journey....or now.....our journey! I have had the on-going support of so many family members and friends that I will never be able to thank them! You need a support system to help you. You need someone to complain to when you are impatient and don't see the number on the scale going down as much as you think it should be (I am only weighing myself once or twice a month). You must have someone who will say....."Ah...yeah...no Sheri.....you ARE going to the gym.....so get your a** off the computer and I will meet you there in 15 minutes". And....most of all.....although if you are like me you don't take compliments well but, deep down but LOVE to hear them.......you need people to recognise your efforts and applaud you on your journey.

So here I am......9 months into my journey. Two weeks ago I joined a local gym to increase my workouts ( I had been walking to work toward participating in a 5K but felt I needed more in a workout). I have begun not only doing cardio but also strength training and working on my core. I have had some amazing ladies offer encouragement and advice and am feeling even better about where I am going in this journey. I am also participating in my first 5K walk/run this coming Sunday! I can't wait to participate knowing that a year ago I would have only sponsored someone else to take part in this fundraiser!

So.....enough about me......here is my blog. I am going to be chronicling my journey in several ways. I will be adding recipes, inspirational quotes, exercise techniques that I find and like, my struggles and my accomplishments, my goals; both long-term and short-term, and anything else relating to my journey. I hope you respond with your thoughts, tips, and advice! I WON'T be sharing with you my weight or any other "numbers". This journey is not about a set size or weight for me. I will share how much I am up or down on the scale but that is it. I have over a dozen goals set out at this point and NOT ONE has a number in it! A number does not equate to how much stronger I feel, or how much more I can run and play with my children. It has nothing to do with how much less my joints are hurting and even less to do with how much better I am feeling about myself.

My first words of encouragement to you is this;

Don't focus on the numbers......doing that will only sabotage your efforts to become healthier. Healthy is not a number....it is a state of mind combined with good food choices and an active lifestyle.

So until next post, get out there....get active.....and commit to just one healthy choice at a time!

Yours in health,

Sheri