An introduction

Well, here is the introduction to what may be the hardest change I've made in my life. I am 25 years old. I am a night shift 7p-7a postpartum and nursery nurse. I am also finishing my contract as a medic in the military. My biggest challenges I face are stressful, so stressful in fact that I jump off the healthy bandwagon into the depths of junk food darkness. I hate most fruits and vegetables. I love fast food. I love junk food. I do enjoy exercising but not when I'm tired--which these days, is an every day occurrence. I am on a quest to change these unhealthy habits. Night nurses face the biggest challenge of being healthy, and for me, I am unhealthy to a degree and it is only worsening. So let's lay out my typical world of unhealthiness:

Favorite Foods:
Pizza
Cheeseburgers, french fries, and chocolate milkshakes (Yes, all at once!)
Cookies
Chocolate
Bacon
And more cookies and chocolate.

Exercise Routine:
On a good day I'll bike ride the dogs
On a better day I'll head to the gym
Reality? I'm more likely to bike ride with the dogs than go to the gym. The real reality, I'm more likely to sleep every day away that I can and not get in exercise. 

So what's the problem? I work nights, I have become accustomed to eating at terrible times for your body. I am also depriving my body of sleep of the normal sleep time. I do not sleep well during the day and am interrupted quite often. I may sleep 6-8 hours but end up still tired. I will lay in bed until the last possible minute that I have to get up. I prefer when I'm by myself (when my loving boyfriend is out of town) or super tired to go out and get food than to make a home cooked meal. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE cooking--but under the right conditions. When a stressful situation pops up (Aka my most recent: Army drama, busy busy work and lots of overtime, medical problems, family problems, financial woes) I stress eat. I say, "I'm over this. I need something comforting" and refer to my favorite foods listed above.

How do I fix all this? One step at a time. With all my life woes, which I thought would be over when I graduated college, this has to be in baby steps. It is 00:07 right now and I'm wide awake thanks to night shift and being a couch potato with my dogs all day. I've spent endless hours on the internet for no reason today after Colin left for 2 weeks. A lot of doing nothing. But, it has all brought me to self pity and an insane desire for change. This won't be easy. My days are full of restless sleep and my nights are full of busy work. Mind over matter? Maybe. My body has to agree with my mental state and vice versa. 

Here is my challenge:
I have purchased the Insanity 60 Day Total Body Conditioning Program. I think the last time I stuck to a fitness plan it was when I was studying for the NCLEX at the start of 2013 and I did 2 a days (1 hour each) at the gym. I was insane, but the NCLEX made me insane. It wasn't a desire to be healthier or more in shape, it was a stress outlet. Several years ago I had a fitness trainer at Idaho Athletic Club--that was off and on and off and on again. I worked nights then as well as a nurse's assistant and it was too easy for me to pass the gym up for extra zzzs. So with that, my commitment to something such as this has been for a lack of better word, shit. What has been even more shit, it my commitment to healthy eating. That's probably the worst of my worries. I can stick with the gym more than I can stick with a diet. Not a diet to lose weight, a diet in reference to healthy eating. A diet filled with protein, fruits, and vegetables. Healthy eating is my least favorite thing...ever.

I have put myself on the day shift waiting list at work. Who knows how long that will be other than a while. So for now, I can only control what is in my control--exercise, sleep, and eating. With the 60 Day Total Body Conditioning Program, I will incorporate as much sleep as I can (doing an at home work out program cuts out driving time to and from the gym) and incorporating a healthy diet within my craving limits. I will no matter what anyone tells me, give myself a guilt free eat what I want day on Sundays with the stipulation that I spend manual hours scrub cleaning my house and walking the dogs. 60 days of insanity and 60 days of healthy eating with 1 cheat day a week. Sounds reasonable but it's not going to be easy.


I want to take this opportunity to break my bad habbits and make good ones. I watched a movie called The Secret, then my mom gave me the book. While it has been on my to read list, I just came across a quote during some research. I googled how long does it take to make a habit. From what I remember it's 21 days. Surprise, HowStuffWorks quoted the book on my list. "In this statement made by the writers of the self-help book "The Secret," referring to a variation of the habit rule that says it takes 30 days:

[…] changing the habit will take 30 days, re-affirming it further for another 30 days will definitely fix it and you'll have no problem to continue from there on. [source: Secret]"

60 days for a full habit changing effect, 60 days for the insanity program, 60 days to get my tastebuds excited about healthy foods. It won't be easy, but it's a must. So the quest will begin on July 1st, 2013. I have purchased insanity and this week I will do a run through of some tasty foods and recipes. This week I have a series of doctor appointments as well and I'm hoping that will relieve some anxiety and stress than prompts me to stress eat. We'll see. 


I will use this blog to vent my challenges and boast my successes. I will use this outlet for others enlightenment and as a venue of information and personal experiences for those who wish to follow. There may be some extras in here other than my progress, maybe something awesome happened, or a much needed bitch fest, or some tips and tricks surviving the night shift madness... whatever goes here, but it's mostly for my quest to being healthier. 

I will put updated pictures periodically on the Picture Perfect page to the right under my pages to keep track of pics and measurements. I've also linked my motivations on my pinterest pages. That's it for now. My long winded (I can't help but to be long winded so expect that in all my posts unless I'm dead tired) introduction is complete. Bring on the questions or encouragement, I like both. I'll be posted my updates, pictures, and recipes I find. Here we go! Let the pre-week begin. Thanks for reading.

-Nic

PS: For my ps section, it will be an update from the kids, which I will refer to a lot. Sadie and Ted my dogs. And Cleo the old housecoat. Ted is asleep on a fleece blanket on the couch because he knows what's best. Sadie is as usual finding something to chew on because I'm not paying attention to her. Cleo is sleep in her kitchen window nook. Yes I love my pets.

I will always end my posts with a motivational picture. Good night.