Moving Toward Health...Again, With a Smile
It is good to dine well with friends.
What well means amidst our industrial-complex, food-agricultural worlds of today begs some consideration, however! I’ve just finished the 8-week Health&Habits offering through Centerville CrossFit box, with a delight to be amongst new friends and back into the direction of health and fitness, with just a little help from such friends. Learnings and a shout-out to the program here, for anyone who might consider it in the future.
Nutrition or fueling ‘re-education’ has become a long-term hobby and interest of mine, ever since I landed in an earlier Crossfit informed program called Dedication Health, offered in 2019 by my previous CF box in Vandalia (now complete, with kids into college and offerings well tended). I kept up the interest with a 2024 summertime dip into CBG (Consistency Breeds Growth), aimed at health/body composition changes without tracking macros. Recovering from a 2024 November back injury, I learned of CCF’s nutrition-re-education program Health & Habits upon joining the box, so signed up for it. I knew I would continue to learn scientific/nutritional nuances and my own body’s needs–I always do, and there’s always more to learn–but I also knew I simply wanted a ‘container’ with a bit of accountability, and opportunities for reflection & feedback. Voila!
I’m delighted to say I’m back onto the road toward health, having lost over 10 lbs fat, having gained a little over 3 lbs muscle. This post is simply to note the highpoints, the learnings this time around.
#1: I do best when I work with a coach or a community committed to clean eating and fueling for activity(ies). I began the program, knowing that the first two weeks would be mostly dominated by a Caribbean cruise (with the premium drink package already paid for), but it was really helpful to have a consciousness-coach, heightening awareness of when I was indulging and how much.
#2: I found my way into heightened cardio options, instigated by the program. Its invitation to increase cardio activity alongside the HIIT WODs or strength-programming led me to my first spin class on the cruise, which opened a whole new world of cardio options for me, my aging-jointed-body. I’ve dipped into some local spin-classes and then invested in a Peloton bike for the home. It’s revolutionized my access to intervals, higher-intensity cardio, with the fun of Peloton instructors, tunes, social-feeds, and diverse programming.
#3: I hope I am maturing now into a regular balance of macros without demonizing any particular one. It’s quite feasible to anchor my fueling in protein, lots of veggies, with a little starch, good fats, extensive attention to hydration and sleep. I have macros-goals, but I also appreciate the wider variety a higher carbohydrates’ aim offers me. I had been shaped in the age of demonizing fats. Then carbs were the enemy. But I am happiest–and seem to thrive, with good energy for intense activity–when I let a little more carbohydrate into my fueling, if earlier in the day, intentions for pre-workout energy or post-workout recoveries. I am enjoying good fats in moderation, still aware how easy it is for me to overdo that with nut butters, but also breakfast meats and the like. I don’t minimize fats, but I do pay more attention than I have done these last 4-5 years. Mostly, it feels good to enjoy a bit more, track and tend, weave each macro into its place in the fabric of fueling that serves a highly active lifestyle.
#4: It may finally be time for me to go mostly dry, regarding alcohol, as well. No proclamations nor policy statements here, given how much my husband and I enjoy a good cocktail hour together. But I am newly aware of how little alcohol offers my life, and/or how much it could come to cost me, down the road. I’m toying with saying “I drink on Caribbean cruises,” and letting it go at that. Time will tell. Everything in moderation, and even buying a drink with colleagues doesn’t require drinking all of it.
For now, I observe how good it feels to be in this body of mine, just as it is, moving toward health. I am thankful for a supportive, active health community in which I can become a bit more accountable to myself for the choices I will make in the months and years to come.
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