Healthy Lifestyle Change • Robyn's Southern Nest

This is not my usual type of blog post but a highly requested one at that. But before I get into this I want to preface this by saying I am not a health expert and you should always consult with your doctor before beginning any sort of program. Today I want to share what has been working for me personally to be the healthiest version of myself. The start of the year something changed in me. After the pandemic I was feeling terrible. I had no energy, felt so sluggish and didn’t like what I saw in the mirror. I wanted 2022 to be the year of a healthy lifestyle change for me. So here’s what I’ve been doing.

Casting my Vulernability Aside:

To know how far we’ve come we have to see where we started right? This is one of the pictures I saw of myself back in November. I didn’t even recognize this woman staring back at me. How could I let myself get there? It happens all too often. I share this as a reminder to myself that I’m on the right track. So even though it is so hard to post this picture of me back in November 2021, I’m doing it so I’m reminded of who I don’t want to be.

I have always used food as a crutch since I’ve been very young. It’s a comfort thing. I don’t drink or smoke. I just like to eat and enjoy food. I have gained and lost weight my whole life. In high school I lost over 50 lbs and I remember sitting in Sports Medicine class and my teacher called me out in front of the entire class unbeknownst to me to congratulate me on my weight loss. Needless to say I was mortified! I didn’t want attention. I never asked for it, but there I was a 17 year old girl with all her classmates’ eyes on her. I’m an introvert so as you can imagine I just wanted to run out of that room. I probably looked as red as a pickled beat.

Fast forward to college where I gained the freshman 15 and more. You get it. If you’re reading this you are more than likely in the same boat or are looking for some sort of advice. I’m 38 years old and married with no children. I have wanted to be a mom since I could remember. But to be a mom at my age comes with risks. So I want to be the healthiest version of myself to see if that will be the change my mind and body needs. I don’t have PCOS or endometriosis. You know what they say: “Don’t give advice to someone stuggling with infertility”. There are no appropriate words to say. So I’ll stop you while you’re ahead. Seems blunt right? But trust me I’ve heard it all. If you know you know.

I started my health journey on January 3, 2022 and it is now May 20, 2022 and I’ve lost 40.4lbs. Yes I like to count that .4 lbs. Every ounce counts in my book.

Body Type

We are all different. So keep in mind what works for me may be different than what works for you.

I am 5’9 and I’m an endomorph. What’s an endomorph? It’s a body type. “Endomorph is a body type that is characterized by a shorter stature with a wide frame and a higher composition of body fat. Typically, endomorphs can easily put on muscle mass, but they also have a slower metabolism, higher body fat composition, and have a little more difficulty with weight loss.”

Knowing your body type will come in to play when knowing what type of exercise to do and what foods to eat. There are caloric intake calculators online where you can plug in your height, weight, exercise level, and age and it will give you a range of how many calories you should be taking in daily in order to lose weight. It’s the most basic way of losing weight.

A Helpful Program – Learning What Motivates You

For the first 90 days of my health journey I signed up for a program called Vshred. I signed up for the Female Fat Loss Extreme. It has all of your workouts planned out for your first 90 days and examples of the types of foods and meals to eat. Along with Vshred I also used the My Fitness Pal App to track my caloric intake and to keep track of my Macros. Macros are your carbohydrates, fat and protein percentages. The app has the breakdown of Macros once you plug in all of your meals for the day. Now that I’m in month 5, I have a better understanding of how many calories and macros I consume each day making it not as necessary to track every day.

I have also been doing strength training using the program Vshred. I workout 4 times a week doing a combination of HIIT workouts and strength training with no weights. I’m the type of person who hates the gym and group workouts so I have to have someone training me and guiding me through the workout. I thought these at home workouts would be my best option. They are only 20 minutes so you really have no excuse. If you don’t want to sign up for a program you can easily find so many workouts on YouTube.

It took me 20 years to figure out that walking on the treadmill just wasn’t cutting it for me. I need varibability in my workouts. I tend to get sick of the same workouts each month. The beauty of the Vshred program is that is switches up your workouts monthly and will progress as you get stronger. You can even sign up to have your own nutrition specialist to design a meal plan for you.

Just a note, the program will try and sell you on ordering their supplements but I didn’t take those. It’s not necessary and it’s just an add on. Just wanted to clarify that if you see an option to order it.

Last week I was sick and didn’t get to exercise at all, and for the first time in my life I actually missed exercising. I’m not a fan of workouts, but I’m telling you once you start seeing the results of your hardwork it will be more motivating than anything else. You’ll feel stronger and more energetic throughout the day as well.

I’m not saying you have to sign up for a program, but personally I knew I needed that extra motivation to get on track again. Every week I sit down and plan meals for the week. I typically have 3 meals and 3 snacks per day. I range from 1600-1900 calories per day. I try and keep my snacks under 200 calories. I love having greek yogurt, rice cakes, vegetables, fruit, or a cheese stick. Here’s a look at my typical day.

My Typical Day:

Breakfast: Smoothie + Coffee

Snack Options: Rice Crisps, Cheese Stick, Yogurt, Veggies, Trail mix, Apple and peanut butter, granola bar

Lunch: Turkey Wrap and side salad ( I love the chopped premade salads)

Workout

High protein snack after workout: typically a chobani yogurt drink or smoothie

Dinner: Meat and 2 vegetables

Snack: Chobani Yogurt

I try and drink at least 2 quarts of water per day. I use this water bottle to get in my water each day. I love that it keeps it cold and I really enjoy having a straw. I’m not one to buy a fancy shmancy tumbler. This one was under $15 and it serves it’s purpose just fine.

Let’s Talk Snacks

Keeping all healthy snacks is key when losing weight if you work from home. I don’t have anything in the pantry or refrigerator that is unhealthy or tempting. I also like to buy pre-portioned snacks. It’s a mind game for me if I open a large bag of chips. So instead if I know that I can just eat that 100 calorie bag of chips it’s a no brainer. Portions are a big part of it. And if you can keep the counting to a minimum it will be less overwhelming.

I have also cut out a lot of foods that cause inflammation. Tomatoes were causing us both to have heart burn. So I no longer buy tomatoes or anything tomato based. We no longer eat any fried foods either. So no more fast food runs. Over time your body won’t crave these fatty foods and you’ll want something healthy.

Let’s Talk Sweets

As far as sweets go. At night we both have a berry chobani greek yogurt to calm any sweet tooth cravings. I do like the granola bars from Kind. They are only 100 calories. I have also made protein balls as well. Occasionally we will get Chocolate Halo ice cream. I’ve really tried to cut out any refined sugars from our diet.

Cheat Day

Once a week Chris and I go to Taco Bell and get a Power Menu Bowl as our “cheat meal”. It’s actually not even that bad for you, but it’s just that thing that we look forward to each week. You can’t deprive yourself completely because you will set yourself up for failure. Knowing what you can consume each day and not taking in empty calories is key. One cheat meal will not throw off your diet completely. It’s all about balance. We have also gotten the bowls at Chipotle but to be honest I just prefer Taco Bell instead. Zoe’s Kitchen is another one of our favorites if we are eating “fast food”.

Workouts

Working out 4 times a week typically Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday is what works best for my schedule. Having that Friday and Saturday off from a regimented workout is better for my mind. But typically in the warmer months I find myself more active on the weekends anyway. Wearing my apple watch helps me keep track of closing my rings and meeting my stand, move and exercise goals each day.

Each workout is broken up into essentially 3 circuits that you repeat 3 times each resting in between each repetition. It goes by very quickly and before you know it you’re done with your workout.

Early on I put up my workouts on my dry erase board in my office along with a suggested meal plan.

I am not in any rush to lose a certain amount of weight in a certain time frame. As long as the scale is going in the right direction each week I’m happy. Losing weight too fast isn’t healthy anyway. I only weigh once a week. I use a Tanita scale that shows body fat %, muscle % , water weight etc. I don’t recommend weighing more than once a week. Our bodies fluctuate so much day to day it will only set you up for failure if you obsess about it daily. Let your body do it’s thing. Don’t rush.

I hope you have found this somewhat helpful if you are looking to get heatlhier. Afterall, we only get one body so we might as well take care of it. There’s no magic pill or supplement. It’s just about putting in the hard work. If you have any questions don’t hestitate to ask. Best of luck to you!