I think there is something about taking control of your finances that inspires you to control other parts of your life. I have seen numerous blogs like mine that began as a personal finance site and turned into one about being fit and healthy.
And apparently, I am no different.
I started my journey towards debt freedom over three years ago. Mine has been a long, hard battle. Due to unemployment and a less-than-ideal living situation, I have had to fight for every dollar reduction in my credit card debt while adding to my student loan debt in the process.
About a year ago, I started seeing some momentum towards my debt reduction. I paid off a credit card and settled two other debts. And in the next three months, I’ll have another credit card paid off. This momentum inspired me to attempt to repair another part of my life: my health.
About a year and a half ago, I watched the documentary Forks Over Knives and was inspired to start eating vegan. I began the next day and, for the next four months, lost 40 pounds. I did so well eating this way that I returned from a cruise weighing less than I did when I went on the cruise.
Unfortunately, I slacked off a bit in the fall, and due to the holidays with my mom, I ate what was offered. I started working outside the home for the first time in years while also going to school and being a single mom. I wasn’t using great willpower, and so I resorted to eating out too much. I also renewed an old addiction to caffeine. I regained about 10 pounds, but since mid-January, I have been working on this more diligently. In March, I improved my diet by eating Plant-Strong. I no longer eat refined sugars, excessive salt, oils, caffeine and only eat minimally processed foods (and very few of them). Since that time, I have lost 10 pounds plus ten more.
However, for the past two months, I have been the same weight. I haven’t seen weight loss but have felt like my stomach was getting bigger. Strange, I know. So very frustrating.
Along the way, I have been wanting to exercise but hadn’t added it in because, well, to be honest, I’m lazy. I recently set a goal to run a 5K before I turn 40 but haven’t been doing anything about it until a month ago. Last month I started the Couch to 5K (C25K) running program. It is a nine-week running program that helps you go from sitting on the couch to running a 5K.
I can’t say that I’m ever going to love running. My knees hurt from time to time. I don’t enjoy it, but I run because I set a goal a year ago to get healthier.
I run because I want to be a good role model for my children.
I run because I know I am strong enough to not quite something, even if it’s hard.
I run because I want my 40s to be healthier and happier than my 30s.
I’ve decided to dedicate a portion of this blog to my journey. I don’t know how many people care, there are certainly better blogs about diet and fitness than this one, but I have something to say about going from fat and lazy to fit and healthy.
And so The Fit and Healthy are born.
I am feeling better than I have ever felt in my life! So motivated to keep moving forward!
I hope you’ll follow along as I go through this.
I’m going to do the same thing I did when I began my first blog. I’m going to own up to every single number on that scale. (I don’t have any other stats, but I can say my BP was high. It’s not as high as it was before going vegan, but it’s still high.)
My plan with this section is to cover health, fitness, and the most frugal ways to improve both.
Part of living a royal life is taking care of every aspect of your life, including your health. Everyone deserves a royal life; we don’t have to be financially wealthy to achieve that.
