Weight loss is a rough road, everyone wants to lose weight, but there is always a factor in it.
Weight loss is a struggle for everyone! Every New Year we sign up, shell out hundreds of dollars on gym memberships that we forget about and SAY we’re gonna start losing weight! NEW YEAR NEW ME! Sound familiar? Yea, I’ve said it probably 15 different times. There are many factors into losing weight…maybe you have health issues, a bad knee, you work an obscene amount of hours…these are ALL things that affect you and keep you from reaching the pant size you used to fit in back in High School. Trust me…I get it.
I got the ‘wake up call’ when I went to the Doctor, where she checked my blood pressure and said ‘Your blood pressure is VERY high for a 32 year old.’ If you’re curious? It was 190/89….that….is….bad…..so, something had to change.
I don’t like going to the gym, I’m not much of a weight lifter, and I hate not knowing what I should do! I would go to gym, see all the equipment and wonder if whatever it is I am doing is really doing anything. A personal trainer of course would fit the bill of course, but that just wasn’t my style. I didn’t want to depend on someone to essentially ‘fix me.’ So…no gym, no running, and no direction…how the s*** am I gonna lose weight?
I’ve always been a closet fan of professional wrestling, especially in the 90’s. On Hulu, there was a movie named ‘The Resurrection of Jake the Snake.’ I knew Jake the Snake, I’d seen him wrestle, he was a king! But…after years of alcoholism, drugs, and maybe some mental issues…Jake was nearly dead, like seriously…legally dead. Until a fellow wrestler named Diamond Dallas Page created a program named ‘DDP Yoga,’ found Jake and with hard work, focus, and many ups and down…brought Jake back. It was amazingly inspiring, and I thought you know? If a man who was walking to his death bed can make a change thanks to this program? Maybe I can.
I bought the program in early January, and started. It was hard, rough, and I had so much doubt in myself, just like Jake did…nothing had worked before so why would this? But this program laid it out for me with nutrition and workouts. I’ve NEVER liked Yoga…I think it’s boring and seemed lame…until I did DDP Yoga. He made it fun, engaging, and the people that are in the DVD’s with him aren’t all SUPER fit people…they’re like me and you. Riddled with problems, weight, and more…it makes it comfortable. You might think yoga is just stretching…but seriously? I engage so many muscles I didn’t know I had! I can feel muscle growing, getting stronger, and I’m becoming more flexible than I have ever been. When I do supported lunges during the program, I feel around my leg and I can VISUALLY and PHYSICALLY feel something happening.
I can workout ALL I WANT…but you HAVE to make a food change! I started to do ‘intermittent fasting,’ meaning I don’t eat until noon and stop eating at 8pm. While this may be a controversial way of weight loss, what it did for me is control my eating habits, and help me focus on not eating so much garbage. I’ve also discovered other ways to get food…instead of a pizza LOADED with pepperoni? Maybe just cheese with more natural ingredients not loaded with salt. Instead of meat in a baked potato? Replace with lentils! Ice cream? Blend 2 frozen bananas, tablespoon of peanut butter, and some vanilla extract, tablespoon of unsweetened chocolate….and boom…ice cream.
Because of all this? I’ve lost 25 pounds, lowered my blood pressure currently to 126/85 (with a VERY low dose medication too).
Shirts fit better, I’m on the last belt loop of my pants, I feel better, I feel more confident…I’m not where I want to be yet…but sticking with it, hitting play, and just showing up? I’ll get there. Consistency is key! Even if that means you have to wake up an hour early to fit it in? It makes all the difference. So think…instead of scrolling through Facebook for 40 mins because you know you have? Pop in a quick Yoga session! Facebook ain’t going anywhere, but you could.
By the way, I’m not endorsed or anything by DDP Yoga…but I understand the struggle of weight loss and the mental toll it can take on you. This is for those that think there are no more options and you have to stay the way you are…there is ALWAYS another option, you can ALWAYS better yourself, and there is always hope.
