How quitting has let me begin anew.

Overweight and out of shape I thought about yet another diet and decided against it. I thought about what had worked for me and what hadn’t and I thought about why. I thought about:

How many times have I gone on a diet?
On an exercise program? Too numerous to count.
How many times I’d promised myself I’d do better.
The promises failed.

Or how many Mondays have come and gone without me starting that new diet - you know the one the cabbage diet or no maybe it was the grapefruit diet. Hmm isn’t there something about a chocolate diet? I think that’s what got me in trouble to begin with - YUMMY addictive chocolate - how could you diet with that?

I’ve gone cold turkey so many times it makes my head swim and how many times did it fail? Just about as many. I promised to make a change on my next birthday, at the beginning of the year or after a flight where the seatbelt extension was not optional.

Each promise was broken by an excuse to start later or it was just too hard to stick with or I don’t like exercise except maybe to watch others.

So I was constantly swimming upstream and getting no where. Well maybe to a city named Frustration.

You may have been there as well. Gone down the road paved with Good Intentions. It took more strength and will power than I had to be able to make drastic changes and stick with it.

I admire the ‘Biggest Loser’ contestants but it certainly wasn’t the lifestyle I wanted - working out 6 hours a day. Ugh.

What changed my desire and set my new lifestyle in motion? I’m not really sure maybe just finally fed up. This particular event was no different than any other work day that I’ve endured the past 3 years but…

After a long day at work and excruciating pain in my joints I decided it was time to take some serious action but what, how and why? Well I had the why so it was the what and how that needed to be answered.

I have read many books and diet plans. Have been on numerous diet plans in my adult life. Some seemed balanced and ok with me but somehow not realistic with a fast paced life. Others seemed totally bizarre and unhealthy.

High protein makes sense in the weight loss arena but I didn’t like the idea of the low carb that goes along with a higher protein diet. Nothing really addressed the need I had. Though I’m not sure what that need really was.

Joining a diet center, going to a weight loss clinic etc were all out of the question for me and I didn’t like the idea of having to go to a meeting on a certain day (too much variation in my work schedule) to weigh in and listen to a lecture. I did join a gym for a month to jump start the exercise routine

It was time to make some serious lifestyle changes not just weight loss but lifestyle. For me personally I realized that this would need to be gradual and not a sudden and drastic maneuver. Quitting became my plan.

By quitting just one bad habit a week I knew that I could move in the direction I was desiring without the feelings of deprivation that so often has de-railed my attempts in the past.

When I decided to quit the first thing I did though I didn’t realize it until a few weeks later was to quit making excuses as to why it wasn’t going to work, why I couldn’t exercise, why I couldn’t eat oatmeal. The list goes on and on.

There are 100’s of excuses and I could find more on a daily basis if I looked hard enough.

I devised a plan for myself that would be livable, comfortable and attainable. The plan would include such things as not starting on a Monday, making no excuses, making a small change each week until I felt that most of the culprits in an unhealthy lifestyle were eliminated and still leave room for a few indulgences.

Within 3 weeks of beginning I noticed little changes within myself. I don’t think there was much notice from others until about week 6 but who’s counting. The little changes were more energy, less aches, less swelling in my ankles after a long day and even some lost inches.

At 8 weeks I had someone comment about the fact that my butt was disappearing and she asked what I’d done with it. I was elated.

I gradually incorporated more fruits and vegetables along with whole grains into my diet. As I made changes to eliminate one thing like sodas I also made the decision not to replace with unhealthy like diet sodas. This was after all a lifestyle change.

Each little step and each little revelation of my new body gave me what I needed to move forward and not look back. Oh I still want those things on occasion but it’s easier not to get started again than to go back.

Making healthier choices and changes has been a fun journey. I still have a ways to go but I’m ready for this new way of life.

Want to learn more about my journey then visit http://www.health-e-lifestyle.com

I invite you to find out how you can join me on the first 12 weeks.

Salley Dowsett

copyrighted 2008

As a registered nurse I realize the importance of a healthy lifestyle and all things in moderation but for most of my adult life I couldn’t follow those rules and yet I often found myself advising others to do so. It has taken me a long time to make the changes but I am hopeful that the approach that I have taken may help others in their quest.