All Things Gwen

Day 33 on Four Hour Body. I feel sick since it’s my Cheat Day and my body can’t deal with junk food.

I’m that type of person who’s all or nothing. Until about 33 days ago, I approached diet and exercise just leisurely. In the rest of my life, however, I was intense. If I was going to be a kickboxing instructor, I had to be the best ever — motivating, creative, dynamic, fresh, new, challenging. If I was a dancer or cheerleader (hs and college), you better bet I was front and center and earned my spot there. When I started writing, I had no idea. So, I volunteered for things, took harsh criticism and made my best effort to just keep learning and growing with it. I wrote freelance stuff — sometimes for free — so I could get as much experience as possible. People took me under their wing and I’m happily still working in marketing communications for a hospital.

Learning more about myself and using it to my advantage
Now, I’m all about diet and exercise. I’m reading as much as I can. Talking to people, learning about their experiences and what works. In that, I’ve figured out what works for me. I’ve let go of the mindless, emotional or inconsistent eating. I’ve tried to eliminate foods that aren’t nutritious, and I love it! People say I’m really disciplined and determined, but it’s just my personality. I’m all in. 100 percent.

Determining a goal
My initial goal wasn’t to lose weight. It was just to change my lifestyle. I still don’t know what my goal weight is. All I know is that life was stressful, and I was overcommitted to things — as so many of us are. And, the things I talked about above, being the best EVERYTHING — wife, daughter, cousin, friend, sister, aunt, teacher, writer, blogger — is a lot. I think I was trying so hard to be good for everyone else — to be thoughtful, motivational, someone people count depend on — and it was too much, especially since there were many real-life stresses going on.
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