It's been an interesting few years in the health and wellness space. If you've noticed I haven't been posting, it's because I decided to take a step back to avoid being part of the grumbling noise. Unfortunately nutrition and health has become very political lately and there's no reason it should be that way. Who can really argue that real, whole food is not better than chemical-laden, ultra-processed "food"? And if that's our core belief, then shouldn't we be doing everything we can to promote and produce the cleanest, healthiest, and most affordable versions of whole food that we can? Oh, and that everyone should have access to affordable healthcare? Enough said...
Anyway, here's what I've been up to.
Almost two years ago now, I took a library position at the middle school that my youngest daughter attended. I really love young adult literature, I was tired of all the elementary school duties I was being asked to do, and call me crazy, but I really enjoy middle school students. I have done a huge overhaul of the library collection, implemented lots of fun activities to bring students in, and even painted the walls to make it more inviting. I always have at least one audiobook in my ear, in addition to another book that I'm reading, trying to keep up with all the new books that I can recommend to my library besties. It's been really enjoyable and all-encompassing, which doesn't leave much time for blogging and trying to market myself as a health coach.
Earlier this year, our youngest daughter went off to college, leaving us with the proverbial "empty nest." It's been a bit of a transition. The time we spent on band and other kid activities has not magically been filled by other productive projects. Ok, so maybe I've been playing the piano more, and reading more, but there's a big quiet hole in our lives that we're still getting used to.
Health and wellness wise, here's what's been working for me. I hit the dreaded menopausal years, but I've found that now that I'm past the constant hormonal changes, my body is much happier about dropping excess weight and hanging out at a new normal. I dropped about ten pounds over the last two years, and I think there are a lot of factors that went into that. First of all, I'm not feeling the stress in my job that I used to. I am definitely an emotional eater, and though I've come a long way in dealing with that, less stress means fewer instances of gorging myself on cookies and ice cream. The other thing is that there is hardly any food in our teacher's lounge at my new school, and with my daughters gone, there's not much junk in my house either. I know, I shouldn't blame the lovely treats in the lounge for my weight issues, but it does make it a thousand times easier when the snacks are not readily available. And finally, there is a predictable schedule to my day that makes it easy to stick to a daily fasting window.
I've dabbled with intermittent fasting for a while now, but it's not until the last couple of years that I've dialed it in and stuck to a regular schedule. As long as I stick to a daily eating window of four to five hours, I'm able to maintain my weight loss and continue to lose little by little. What does that look like? I drink black coffee in the morning and water or plain sparkling water throughout the day. I don't usually eat anything or take a lunch break while I'm at work. When I get home around 2:00 I will eat lunch--usually leftovers from the night before, or a big bowl of Greek yogurt mixed with protein powder. Then sometime between five and six we eat dinner, usually consisting of some sort of protein and veggies. I have found that fasting gives me a little bit of wiggle room when it comes to treats. (I know--I'm the anti-sugar queen, but I'm finding that moderating instead of abstaining is working a little bit better for me these days.) As long as I keep my occasional treats within my eating window, and after I've eaten my protein, I can continue to keep my weight where I want it.
Everyone has to find what works for them, but this is where it's at for me right now. If you're interested in learning more, I have several links on this page.
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