Check Out How I’m Getting My Grandma Booty Into Shape
It’s about the small changes that stick
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I can’t remember when I started this whole get-fit thing, because I didn’t write it down. It was about 6 weeks ago.
So, we’ll go with a date of May 1st. Next year, I want a day to celebrate my anniversary of committing to my health and fitness. Maybe I’ll create a hashtag for myself. Take those gym selfies, and stuff. Show everyone my grandma booty.
Facts: I’m 48, overweight, and I have fibromyalgia and a spine/neck thing.
Also facts: SO WHAT!
I still have a heart and muscles that need to be healthy, right? So…**points at self in mirror** get your ass off the couch and do this thing however you can.
I Decided That My Body MATTERS
I woke up one middle of the night and thought — I really have to stop drinking Cheerwine.
The SECOND time I woke up that night I thought the same thing. It’s like I made a decision that I’ve been fighting against for over a decade, and made it in my sleep.
Bizarre, right?
The next morning I woke up and gave up on a 1 LITER a day Cheerwine soda addiction.
I just STOPPED.
I added up all the money I’d be saving by switching to water and kept that number in my head as motivation. I told myself — I want to move to the beach. Am I willing to give up on drinking sodas to help me do that? YES. Absolutely, yes.
Plus, I used anger to motivate me. I thought of all the large companies selling us UNHEALTHY things and keeping us all enslaved to:
- Sugar
- Caffeine
- Preservatives
- Dyes
- CHEMICALS
- The list goes on and on.
Wonder why some of us are poorer than others? Perhaps it is because we are ensnared by these traps that eat our health AND our bank accounts?
So, moving on…
As it turns out, that one commitment to swearing off sugary soft drinks empowered me. It emboldened me to go one step further. And then another. And then another. The key is to make that very first change — and stick to it.
Make it something you can do, but also challenges you — the way that victory feels will energize your next move.
Time for the Basic Life Force — WATER
I began drinking water. Every day. All day. A funny thing happened. I started craving…FRUIT.
I bought a Water + Fruit infusion recipe book and a fruit infuser water bottle and have been using it every day. I cut the sugar from my morning coffee and have stuck to that decision as well.
Now — literally everything tastes better.
Time to GET MOVING
The next change I made was to focus on my step goal. 6K steps isn’t a lot but I struggle to meet that some days. I keep trying.
I bought 2 lb walking hand weights (which are really great for a 5-minute keep-moving commercial break).
I bought a weighted hula belt. (I saw it on TikTok.) That thing is a challenge but kinda fun. Feels like awkward dancing.
I started prioritizing — moving my body. I started heavily moderating exercises to avoid injuring or hurting the parts of my body that cannot handle impact or strain.
And, I walked. In nature, when possible.
Listen to the birds. Feel the breeze. Love your body moving in natural spaces.
Funny stories — The first time I tried to use the exercise ball, I fell off. — The first time I tried to do calisthenics on the floor, my dog thought I was in distress. She tried to “help” me…even checking my chest to see that I was ok. I laughed so hard my abs hurt the next day. Now THAT’S an ab workout anyone can do :)
Time to Stop Eating CRAPFOOD All the Time
Then, I started counting calories. 1200 calories per day.
For informational purposes: I am 5 ft tall and 147 lbs.
NOTE: I’ve tried, many times before, to lose weight. And NOTHING WORKED. Why? Because despite careful eating and doing exercises regularly — nothing can counteract pouring tons of sugary sodas into your system every day.
I got back on MyFitnessPal and started logging my meals. I’ve learned a LOT about calories and macros. I try to eat lean protein and am working on going more plant based. I am learning about things like the “dirty dozen” and how to add olive oil into your daily diet — did you know olive oil is so healthy? I had NO IDEA.
Then, I decided that once I get moved to the beach and I’m shopping-for-one for my groceries — I’m going on the Mediterranean diet.
It’s really not a diet but a healthy-eating lifestyle based on the Mediterranean cultures and how they eat. It’s about mindful eating, savoring your foods, heavily limiting unhealthy stuff (but nothing is technically OFF limits) — and it’s about enjoying good company and sharing good food with others. Some key features:
- Replacing all the bad fats and oils with olive oil. Cooking with olive oil. Using extra virgin olive oil to drizzle on food for flavor — rather than condiments and salt.
- Largely plant based. Lots of fruits and veggies — in large variety. Eating what’s in season and grown healthfully. Eating foods as fresh and unaltered as possible so you get all that yummy nutrition.
- Eating lots of whole grains (a variety of them) each day.
- Nuts and fish are the primary proteins. Occasional lean chicken. Almost never red meat or pork.
- Drink water and small amounts of red wine.
I ordered a book and I’ve been reading about this type of eating for health. It’s widely hailed as the healthiest eating diet in the world. I have a lot to learn. I grew up an an American southern diet culture and my cholesterol and weight issues are proof. It have to re-learn how to cook and eat more healthy.
So far, by calorie counting and focusing on healthful eating — I’ve lost 6 lbs.
The weight seems to be slipping off very very slowly but steady. I feel really good. FOOD TASTES BETTER. I think it’s because there’s no sodas clogging up my system and tricking my taste buds into thinking sugar = yummy.
NOW — so many things taste better! And dairy-free yogurt options are delicious! Who knew???
Yesterday — I charged up my Fitbit. Game on mother truckers.
Stick-to-it-iveness or Good ‘Ol Southern GRIT
When I make decisions, I don’t go back. I move forward. I attack my goals. I get it done.
I am tired of feeling down, weak, terrible, a slave to my body’s limitations.
It’s time to work with those limitations and improve myself in spite of them. It may be hard to find exercises I can do (with my back and neck pain, and joint pain) — but I will find them and do my best.
I hope that you can find strength and inspiration in my sharing all of this with you. I just want to encourage you today that any decision you make to love your body and feed it healthfully is a good thing. It isn’t about what you can’t do — it’s about WHAT YOU CAN DO.
And if you took one look at my pictures and though — she is NOT FAT — you’re right. I am not fat. But I am fluffier than I used to be. My muscle tone is hidden under some fatty tissue. I feel weaker. I want to lean up, tone up — and live a more active life! I owe it to my heart, my lungs, my whole self!
And I think, no matter where your fitness and health is right now, that you can do it too. Start with one small thing…and then another, and then another. It all adds up!
Thanks for reading and take care of yourself. If my grandma booty can do it — so can you.
#NEVERGIVEUP #lovelife #loveyourbody #nosoda
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