By Robyn Davis Sekula
It’s a tough thing when you look at the number on the scale and realize it is more than you’ve ever weighed in your life.
But at that moment I knew it was my rock bottom – and I would use that to push off, go to the top and make better decisions and start taking care of myself. I used this month as a reset button for my life.
I started with the basics of the challenge:
- Get to the gym 15 times
- Eat by “hand” guidelines
- No sugar
- No alcohol
- No soda
- No cheat days
- 100 oz of water each day
I would accomplish this with better, more attentive and timely grocery shopping and food prep. I would actually take the time to fix meals, which I was rarely, if ever, doing unless it involved my entire family.
I thought if I could just stick to this for a month, I would get addicted, if you will, to feeling better. I wouldn’t crave sugar. I would want to drink enough water. And all of that was correct!
I added one more thing on top of that: 10,000 steps each day. I accomplished that except for one day, and it happened to be the day that my eating bottomed out entirely. I didn’t have the energy to do the 10,000 steps, and it was amazing the very quick link I saw between the two. On that day, I didn’t once eat a meal. I snacked, and that was terrible. By the end of the day, I was completely drained.
There were some differences to me this go-round from other challenges, and some lessons I learned that I believe will stick with me this time.
Eating a good, healthy breakfast is everything
Last Sunday, I got up later than I should have and didn’t stop to eat breakfast. My breakfast has consisted of sauteed bell peppers (red, orange, yellow) and mushrooms, two scrambled eggs and a piece of Ezekiel bread, toasted. I have tea each morning, but I also get started on my water, as I usually wake up thirsty.
It takes time to do, verses what I’ve done for years, which is eat a Lara Bar and head out the door. A breakfast with adequate protein, veggies and carbs will keep me satisfied all the way through lunch.
When you’re hungry, you make bad decisions
When I am hungry, and I see a cookie, I want to eat it in the worst way. If I’m at home, I take this as a signal to stop and eat something good for me. That’s sometimes an apple, an orange, hummus and veggies, something along those lines, or a meal if it’s time to eat a full meal. I also keep a baggie of raw almonds on me at almost all times so I have a quick snack. Once I eat something healthy, I don’t even think about eating any junk food. I’m satiated.
Drinking enough water means I don’t want anything else
I do love my tea, but I don’t even want soda if I’m thirsty. I want water.
I deserve to feel good
Feeling good takes time, and energy. I deserve this. I need to take as good of care of myself as I do everyone else in my house.
If I eat the way I should, I’ll lose the weight
I don’t need to starve. I just need to eat better foods in the right amounts.
*Robyn was the winner of our 2018 New Year Challenge – She followed all of our nutrition guidelines, made it to class over 15x during the month, kept up with all of the educational material, stayed consistent with her challenge checklist, and implemented some important daily behavior changes to help her and her family stay healthy beyond the challenge. Her results showed as well! According to her InBody scans, Robyn lost several pounds of body fat while keeping excellent lean tissue levels. Great work Robyn! Proud to have you as a part of the 4B Family!
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