What’s your why?
If you haven’t notice, I’ve lost some weight. I like to focus on the fact that I began implementing healthier habits in my life by exercising and making better food selections. And while I’ve heard this my entire life, this actually works. Surprise!
I’ve learned a lot since starting my weight loss journey a year ago. The most important thing being that before a person begins any health and wellness journey, it will be important for them to clearly define their “why?” You know – the reason why you’re even starting the journey. Your why is the driving force that keeps you going beyond the point of quitting. When I began my weight loss journey, I was just doing way too much. I found myself in a really bad place last year. I was showing up for everyone EXCEPT MYSELF. And, if you’re anything like me, I have a hunch it’s true for many of you too.
Furthermore, I was unsatisfied with my appearance, my weight, my marriage and my job. Listen honey! I was exhausted mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I was on route to either taking antidepressants or being admitted to a mental institution – this is not an exaggeration. That’s when I said enough is enough. This was not a path I wanted to go down. Being born to a drug addicted mother, genetically I was predisposed to becoming addicted to any pills prescribed. So, I opted for a more natural way of handling my mental distress. This was my why – to gain control of my spiraling life. I needed to keep my mental health together. So commenced my health & wellness journey.
The first thing I did was take note of the kinds of foods I was consuming. Have you ever heard of the saying, “you are what you eat?” It’s not just a cute quote. There is a lot of truth and science to this statement. Consuming a lot of refined carbs and processed sugars is not good for one’s health; most especially if that person is suffering from a mental illness. Eating lots of sugar disrupts the glucose levels in your blood. When this takes place, a person can experience a variety of symptoms such as fatigue, irritability, dizziness, poor concentration and forgetfulness. If you haven’t made the correlation yet, let me spell it out for you: these are the same characteristics of someone experiencing depression. It is my belief (I am not a license mental health professional – yet) that a lot of people have been misdiagnosed as suffering from depression, when in reality all they need to do is control the amount of sugar and carbs they’re consuming. But I digress. So, I heavily limited these foods within my diet.
Around the same time that I made this discovery, someone at my office noticed my weight loss and suggested I watch the Netflix documentaries titled “What the Health” and “Forks Over Knives.” Long story short, I wasn’t planning on giving up meat and dairy, but here I am now giving up meat and dairy. I actually noticed all sorts of positive effects taking place in and outside my body that couldn’t be ignored. Now listen honey, I will tell you now, quitting meat was hard! If you haven’t looked at all the awesome pictures on this site, I am a black woman. I love me some fried chicken, pulled pork, and macaroni and cheese. I understand for health reasons everyone cannot make the change to a plant-based lifestyle; trust me there’s no judgement. Heck, I’m actually quite jealous now because no matter how much I try using fried cauliflower as a substitute for fried chicken – IT IS NOT THE SAME! And so, you have to make the food choices that are best for you.
Next, I started moving. Exercise is the single greatest miracle drug on the market! It’s a biological “pick-me-up” due to the releasing of the natural mood boosting chemicals, such as serotonin and endorphins. Serotonin is a chemical in the body sometimes called the happy chemical, because it contributes to well-being and happiness. Endorphins are chemicals produced by the body to relieve stress and pain. Together they both work to reduce our Cortisol, the body’s stress producing chemical. This is critical! Cortisol has a complex relationship on the insulin hormone, which controls our blood sugar. When cortisol levels increase, the cells in our body become resistant to insulin. In turn, this may lead to an increase in blood sugar, weight gain and potentially Type 2 Diabetes! So, the more stress a person encounters, the more cortisol is produced, and the harder it becomes to lose weight. Hence, the more we move the better we feel. Once I learned this, I couldn’t sit still. I started doing CrossFit three times a week and walking around my neighborhood 3.5-5.5 miles a day.
Next, I joined Weight Watchers. Having group motivation helps keep me accountable as I navigate my health and wellness journey. They also help take the guess work out of tracking my food. And, I bought a Fitbit to track my steps on the days I was unable to make the gym.
Finally, I started seeing a therapist. Yes hunty! Say it with me “Mental Health Matters.” I began discussing my issues. As you read earlier, having suffered a near mental breakdown, truly battling through depression and anxiety, I needed help. So, I started doing the work and I am still doing the work.
Therapy has taught me how to unapologetically say the word “NO!” If you haven’t learned this word, let me offer a bit of advice by your reading of this post; “No” is one word AND a complete sentence. Learn it. Use it. Mean it. But, most importantly, understand you’re not required to offer an excuse for doing so.
The pictures you see are exactly a year and two days apart. The one on the left was taken July 31, 2020 and the one on the right was taken August 2, 2019. If you’re looking to lose weight, use my experience as a guide to help you find your path. Just know that whatever your path is, it most certainly will look different than mine. And that’s fine, so long as you show up for yourself.