So, it’s the beginning of the month, and I’ve been working on some changes in my life for 28 days now.  I was hoping to be all woohoo, I lost lots of weigh, yipee!  But alas, I have to keep reminding myself the purpose of this journey was to feel better, and weight loss would be nice, but not the main goal.

So… let’s take a look at my month, shall we?

My goals were as follows:

1. Look and feel better by my 45th birthday.
   • Get better sleep
   • Eat leafy greens daily
   • Cut back on sweets
   • Eat smaller meals
2. Drink more water.
3. Exercise 6 days a week (alternating yoga and walk/jogs).
4. Slow down, breathe (I added this one later).

I looked at my life and how I was feeling and I didn’t like it.  I wanted to make changes.  It took work and I wasn’t always successful with everything every day, but I’m really proud of myself for sticking with it and making improvements.

Look and feel better by my 45th birthday.

I feel so much better in my skin.  My heartburn (esophagus burn) went away almost immediately once I changed my habits.  I gained energy and a lust for life.  I’m a happier person in general.  Even my hairstylist (after only two weeks) said that she could see a change in my face, that it looked thinner.  I told her it was probably because I was smiling more.

Get better sleep

My poor sleep is most likely due to the hormonal changes I’m experiencing, so the first two weeks of this journey were still a struggle in this area.  I continued to push myself to go to bed earlier and wake up early to exercise and eventually by the third week I was having restful sleep again.  Although in the last few days, I can feel my body struggling again with face flush and night sweats… It’s my new normal and I’ll just have to figure out how to cope.

Eat leafy greens daily

Woohoo!  I have done this every day except one.  I’m so proud of myself.  Midday I can feel my energy draining, and I know that having a salad will give me the energy and vitality I need to get through the rest of the day.  This one has been fairly easy to accomplish.

Cut back on sweets

I’ve found that fruit in the morning, and banana ice cream (frozen bananas, soy milk, cacao powder, and powdered peanut butter PB2) for second breakfast has really helped me stave off those cravings.  I have had two evenings where I caved in and shared a candy bar with my husband… that said, the candy bars were purchased as gifts for me from my husband before he knew I was planning to make these changes.  Future candy bars will not be purchased to entice me in the night. 🙂

Eat smaller meals

I eat four small meals and try to eat the last meal by 3 pm… this has by far been the most important thing I’ve done to feel better.  No more bloated feeling only to suddenly crave ALL. THE. SUGAR. in the house.  No more esophagus burn when I go to bed after having eaten not that long ago.  This one is so important that I have to make sure I do it, because I can definitely feel the difference if I veer off course with this one.

Drink more water.

At first I was doing so well on this one that I was spending all my time having to go to the bathroom to pee, like every half hour it seemed.  So I backed off a bit and then the tea took over again, especially on days I don’t do much exercise.  This one is a work in progress for sure, trying to find the right balance.

Exercise 6 days a week (alternating yoga and walk/jogs).

Week 1 and 2 I did great.  Week 3,  I started to slow down a bit… Week 4, um well, I kind of let life get in the way.  When I don’t get up early, I find it hard to exercise (because I prefer to exercise before I’ve eaten).  I need to work harder on this one.  I did manage to get in a jog this week, and I did a little sprint that apparently was 12 miles an hour which seems crazy to me.  But my legs were sore the next day, and I some how talked myself out of yoga … I steam cleaned the house on Tuesday!  I counted that as aerobic activity…. Ok… yea, I need to be more diligent with this one.

Slow down, breathe (I added this one later).

I had to add this one because during weeks 1 & 2, I would find myself trying to do everything and forgetting what I was doing while I was doing it.  I was sooooo ADD!  I needed to put in my list of things to slow down and meditate for a while because my short term memory was just utter crap.  Slowing down really helped, but as you can see from the exercise section, I might have slowed down a bit too much.  It’s all a work in progress. 🙂

 

I’m giving myself a great big pat on the back.  For the most part, I really did well this month.  I feel good, I’m more creative, and I’m eating well and getting out to exercise.  I’ve lost some weight and inches and I’ve got a smile on my face… I call that a win. 🙂

Check out my week 2 and week 3 check-ins if you missed them.  And if you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out the first post where I decided to make these changes.  Click here, for all reboot related posts. 🙂

Until next time…
~nic