Six Month Lifestyle Overhaul

I wanted to write about this lifestyle change not because I'll have amazing recipes...I won't. Well I might, I don't know yet. I wanted to write about my six month journey to hold myself accountable in adhering to a few habit changes to get me back on the straight and narrow. At 43 I'm fairly sure I'm at the start of perimenopause, besides some very minor observations I've not only had trouble losing weight (which is nothing new) but I've also been gaining it at a much faster rate. Quite a frightening concept at the best of times. Obviously my metabolism is starting to slow down at my age anyway and I'm no where near as active as I used to be, due to lifestyle changes and injury. I could make a million excuses as to why I'm 20 lbs overweight but I'd rather experiment with different things that seem to work for other people long term. I'm not looking for a quick fix but something in my lifestyle has to change if I want to remain healthy and active into my golden years. I want something that I can do long term, not a cleanse or a diet, but a lifestyle change.

Here are the principles I'm going to try to stick to from June 1st to December 1st this year;

1. Commit to 10,000 steps per day. 

I never understood the "10,000 steps a day" craze until recently when I was reading about one particular girls' weight loss journey and she said that walking 10,000 steps a day keeps you from gaining weight, so the most part, what you put into your body is obviously the biggest thing to keep that simple math equation to losing weight and sustaining that weight loss: Weight loss/gain = calories in - calories out.

I was so concerned with needing to do cardio and I would get home and get on the treadmill for 60-90 mins on the nights I felt motivated, which is great don't get me wrong, but I started feeling like I was spending all my free time doing that and not spending much time with my husband, which in a house where both us work full time and we have three children time alone is precious and seldom. Other days I would feel unmotivated and do nothing at all so I assume I barely made 3,000 steps. Basically it was inconsistent and hard on my body since I'm not that person who can run 5 miles anymore. And I think consistency is the key for long term change or "atomic habits" as James Clear would put it.

I started wearing a pedometer for a week (I hate wearing a watch but I committed to a week just to see the pattern) and to my shock (especially since I have a desk job) I was doing around 5,000 steps a day not including any extra activity. So really I only need to get on the treadmill 30 minutes a day to make up the deficit and the important thing is that I hit 10,000 everyday for six months. 

I will add that I'm walking around 4 miles/hour on the treadmill, I don't run anymore. I recognize the need, especially with age, for strength straining so I try to do an arm weight session once a week and, if I am motivated, a weekly yoga or Pilates class...on a phone app, I'm not leaving my house or anything ;)

2. Stick to an 80% whole food diet (plant based is implied since I've been vegan for 12 years).

Now I say 80%  because I think we all have days where we want comfort food or just want something convenient and easy. So if I limit myself to only whole foods for six months I'm not going to stick to it and I really want to stick to this to give it a fighting chance. Every cleanse I do is healthy and sensible, I just don't stick to it after that 4-8 week period because it's not sustainable - for me anyhow. I have 100% respect for fully raw vegans, it's just not me. I do however love vegetables and generally love whole food recipes.  I figure six months is enough time to implement a new lifestyle change :) 

I would add drink your body weight in ounces or whatever the rule is but I already drink a lot of water so why complicate everything. Besides a black coffee in the morning I drink only water during the day and then in the evening I drink soda/seltzer water which is just fizzy water, I'm not a soda drinker.

I think limiting alcohol is a given but I don't drink much anyway so I'm not concerned about occasional liquid calories. For me the worst apart about alcohol (except the hideous hangover I get these days even after one glass - what's that about?!?) is that I tend to not only want to snack and eat comfort foods while consuming the alcohol (warm GF bread with good quality olive oil and salt is my own particular vice) but the next day when I'm feeling rotten (yes, even after one glass because apparently life hates the aging) I tend want more comfort food, usually un the form of fried potato. 

Now having said all that - the main way I'm sticking to a whole food lifestyle is through the application of the Starch Solution. A WFPB way of living which excludes fat (all fat, while trying to lose weight anyway, adding it back in moderation once at goal weight) and sticking to the 50/50 plate. 50% of your plate is starchy grains/veg and 50% is non-starchy veg. The principle is that you don't need to count calories and you stop when you're full but you're supposed to always fill up on the non-starchy veg first. I've had success and then not success with it so really it's how well you stick to it and as I'm now realizing, how long you can sustain it. Doing as a cleanse or diet just drove me back to bad habits.

3. Intermittent fasting at 5 days a week.

This fasting/timed eating lets your body rest and heal for 16 hours (most of which you're asleep for). I started at 7pm and finished at 11am. This I'd already been doing, not to lose weight but to reap the benefits of fasting. It definitely aids in the weight loss though.

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OK! That's it, three rules for the next six months and I'll see you on the flip side! Of course I'll tracking monthly my progress (or counter-progress LOL, um let's hope not!). Ended up finishing a month early since we ended up having a house guest for a few weeks and I was happy to be on the right track and finding something that was working for me! 

The Stats;

	1st June	1st July	1st August	1st September	1st October	1st November
Weight	158lb	147lb	145lbs	140lbs	139lbs	139lbs
Waist	38"	35.5"	33"	33"	33”	33"
Hips	42"	40.5"	40"	39"	39”	39"
Thighs	23"	22.5"	22.5"	21"	21”	21"

	June 1st (Start)	November 1st (Finish)
Weight	158lbs	139lbs
Waist	38”	33”
Hips	42”	39”
Thighs	23”	21”

Definitely felt the weight balance out around 140lbs and found it hard to get lower than that. There were some hurdles as well of course, illness, life stresses, holidays etc but I found it easy to get back to the rules once those moments had passed and I think that perseverance was the key.

I still had the occasional wine/beer, I still had the occasional chocolate or sweets, I still had the occasional fried/comfort food. It was my lifestyle outside of those times that made the difference. If I missed a day of walking I tried to make sure I didn't miss two days in a row. If I over ate one day I tried to fast the next day. 

So far this has been one of the easiest lifestyle changes I've ever tried because it's sustainable and easy to fit in with my lifestyle. I work full time and have kids so I don't have a lot of spare time. Making sure I put the extra steps in at night or early in the morning or making sure I meal prepped my lunches for work on Sunday before the week got crazy made a big difference. Timed eating (16/8) five days a week became very normal very quickly and didn't feel like a chore at all.

Meal prep was the best way to keep me on it. Still trying to maintain that.

Protein, grain, 3-5 veggies (fresh, cooked or both) and a sauce. Cashew Cream Sauce is my go to!