Time for Change

At 30.5 years old, and just having a baby in 2011, it was time for a change. I run a couple restaurants in Denver and with that comes odd schedules, BAD food that is so good!!! and just a general lack of energy when I get home. It was taking it's toll on my family, on me and on my work. I knew it was time for change. For Christmas, I bought myself the Insanity workout DVD's and wanted to try the. I grew up playing soccer and can still run pretty well but I wasn't able to find the time or energy to do it. Additionally, there are some bad habits that are easily met in the restaurant industry (drinking and smoking) and I was certainly there. I am one of those weird people who loves smoking. My dad smoked when I was a kid and it's nostalgic to me. It sounds quirky but I like it. I don't ever smoke at home but at the job it's easy to fall into that. AND - I cans still run! I am built like that I guess. tangent aside, I did the fit test and realized how "out of shape" I was. I am fit cardiovascularly but I struggled with the fit test. I knew it was going to be a GOOD challenge for me and I was excited. The first 3 days of videos I was sore as hell. It sucked. But there's something about it that makes you excited for what's next. For the first month, there aren't a lot of variance in the workouts but you don't ever repeat days back to back and it moves pretty fast and it's TOUGH! The exact same kick in the ass I needed. More importantly than the videos themselves for me, was the Diet plan that comes with it. I LOVE food - trying new things, cooking, eating out, exploring and pushing my comfort zone has helped me become successful in the industry. I thought diets were stupid! This one's different. 5 meals a day, I CAN DO THAT!, and there is REAL GOOD and quality foods on the plan. It's a little limited in the recipes they offer but it also gives a "Michi's Ladder" diet plan in the booklet. WHAT A GAME CHANGER! This should be the FDA's nutritional guide for humans. It's so simple and clear and easy to understand. It doesn't pigeon-hole you into a diet with bland food, too much fat, too little carbs, too much/few of anything! It's simply a road map for things that are ideal for you, things that are great for you, things that are good for you, things that may be a little dodgy, and things you should avoid or limit as much as possible. EASY! Like I said, I like to cook to trying new things are always fun. When I have to google what 3 things are in the best 2 tiers, I knew it was going to be fun to try and stay in the top 3 tiers as much as possible. The diet does not say you can only eat those tiers but that a majority of your calories should come from them on a weekly basis. If you looked at what I've logged this week for my diet, you'll see I've done pretty freakin' good! I had a horrible day on Sunday but I am allowing myself to not care for 1 day per week but I will still log it so I can make adjustments as needed. My motivation for getting fit has nothing to do with a ripped, chiseled physique - I am trying to get fit for me, my family and my personal HEALTH! I was probably about 25 pounds OVerweight and most of it was belly fat. I love beer and I will still drink it! I can't deprive myself of those things. Lkewise, I like scotch and Wine, I will still drink those too! Just not as much as I did before. I had never logged my calories and workouts like I am now at fitclick.com. I am still trying to get the logistics down but this has been the most important thing I've found in trying to get fit. I love how simple most of the things are to find, input and ammend as needed. The build your own recipe is amazing. Writing down recipes when I am tooling around in our kitchen isn't a priority for me so this will be so helpful in the future as I continue to make better decisions and try to get fit. I must admit, in the first few days I was discouraged about how I thought these pounds would melt away overnight even though I knew better... really. I have to remind myself, you didn't get fat overnight so you're not going to get skinny overnight either. I am excited and challenged! Off to a good start and plan to keep pushing myself. Thanks fitclick.com for a good FREE product and I will be excited to report my results soon! DD