Lusty Lifestyle

No, no, no! Not THAT. Remember, my focus is on health and fitness this month.

Lusty means "full of or characterized by healthy vigor." Wow.

Healthy vigor. I'm not sure I quite qualify in the vigor category just yet. But I'm getting there. How? By making a lifestyle change. A lifestyle change that involves health and fitness.

The first time I lost weight, I made lifestyle changes. I really did. That was the time I threw out everything like sugar, white flours, rice, pasta, etc. and added whole grains to our daily diet. And more fruits and veggies. And started exercising every single day.

But it wasn't a real lifestyle change. Apparently.

Because every single one of those 83 pounds came back on. With a vengeance.

This time, it most definitely IS a lifestyle change. It's different this time in many ways- the food is different, the practices are different, the exercise is different, the motivation is different, the effort is different. EVERYTHING is different this time around.

I'm not sure what exactly it was that was missing during that first attempt at a lifestyle change. But I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the mindset being all wrong.

This time, it's spot on!

So, how does one go about making a true lifestyle change?

• Slowly. That's right. Take it slow. Don't dive in with reckless abandon and expect not to become overwhelmed followed by frustrated followed by quitting.
• Try making one change at a time. And make it something that you can live with (or without). This is going to be a lifetime change so, you have time. 
• If you fall, don't sweat it. Just get back on track. You won't be the first one to fall and you might fall more than once. So what? Just get back on track. As you begin feeling better and noticing various differences, falling will become less of a possibility.
• Journal. Every single day. Write about what you're doing- why you're doing it, how you're doing it and how you feel about it all. This helps you keep track of what's going on and where you stand. It's also good for keeping up with the differences you feel with your body, energy levels, abilities, results, etc. It can also help you recognize triggers that might cause setbacks.
• Readreadread and researchresearchresearch things you are interested in doing to make your lifestyle change. Learn all you can about what you want to do and why.  
• If you are changing the way you eat, purge everything from your kitchen that will act as an obstacle to your change. You can't eat what's not there. And don't buy it when you grocery shop either. 
• Get yourself an attitude. Mine went something like this: "I'm making changes around here for my health. I want to be around for a long, long time (since it's taking the lovelies so dang long to give me grandchildren) and you can either come along or start doing everything for yourself." Hubs jumped right on board and so did the lovelies-even though they're on their own now, they love the things I'm doing and are using some of it in their day to day lives as well.  
• Realize that your health is important. YOU are important!

These are just a few tips. I'm sure there are many more out there.

If you're looking to make a lifestyle change the number one tip, however, is this: Just do it! Just start somewhere- anywhere! That's all it takes because from that it will snowball AND, before you know it, you'll be living the lusty life!

This is the twelfth day of the A-Z April Challenge. I thought I might try a theme this year and focus on my personal journey to health and fitness, including weight loss.

Today's letter is L and my words for the day are LUSTY and LIFESTYLE.