What the Heck is a Lifestyle Change Anyway?

I often get frustrated at how much my body has changed over the years. In high school I was too thin to give blood. The weight requirement was 110 and I was 98 pounds as a senior. I loved being skinny. I had joined a gym and stopped eating so much junk food. In three weeks I dropped 22 pounds. You can do that at the age of 18. It did not take long for me to find a boyfriend and start enjoying dinners out, parties with friends, and popcorn and M&Ms on movie night. If you want to hang with the boys, do as the boys do, right?

By the time we got married I was 108 lbs. and still happy about being skinny. Then I got pregnant and could never get under 130 unless I was seriously stressed out. Four children later and 43 years old, I am up to 145. Not all that bad but I am 5'1. I look around at Americans and the sad thing is, compared to a lot of them, I am still "skinny". I do a lot of research on diets, sugar, and processed foods and am finally embarking on what I think will be a great lifestyle change. Now, my husband says I am always changing my mind. I figured out that has a lot to do with my personality because I am always looking for ways to make things better. So, here I go.

This is my plan: I have been a week exercising at . We do Zumba, Body Combat, Yoga and Body Pump. This gets all the cardio, weight lifting and stretching for the week. I am committed to drinking  at least 64 ounces of filtered water a day. The easiest way to do that is with a Camelback.Last I figured out that my metabolism type is protein. That means I need lots of small meals throughout the day with at least 2-to-5 ounces of protein (depending on meal or snack), minimal carbs (only good carb) and a few ounces of good fat.

I started this two days ago and already feel one hundred times better. It really is true when they say stay off the inside isles of the grocery store. So, I am not going to worry about what I look like, just how I feel for the next 30 days.