My Insights:

The assessments were a little stressful for me – especially some of my screening results.  I found it interesting to work with a naturopath and hear his perspective compared to my doctor’s perspective and the knowledge I have from my own research.  I’ve also met with my primary care physician who thinks this program is great for me.  I’m taking the advice given to me with a grain of salt and figuring out what really fits me and what is best for me.

So far the program is somewhat what I thought it would be.  I didn’t think the coaching would go as deep as it has, so that has been interesting.  I also thought I’d receive more direction regarding an exercise program.  However, Rosie informed me that the structure is to help me figure out what works for me rather than just handing me a predetermined program.

The main thing this program has brought to the surface for me so far is really starting to think about my life balance and what I really want.  I feel like a door has been opened to all areas of my life to really look at where I spend my time and what I want my life to look like.

Successes So Far:

A great success for me so far has been with my eating.  I have been doing the rhythmic eating and notice that I have more energy and am simply not as hungry anymore – which leads to naturally reducing my portion sizes.  I have been buying food from Whole Foods and am being more conscious about the foods I eat.  I’m also paying attention to getting more vegetables and am actually excited about eating vegetables again!

I have also been successful at consciously getting in 30 minutes of exercise on most days.  With the changes I’ve already made to my eating and exercise, I feel better overall.  I also realized that I can be accountable for my goals, and I feel really good about it.

How I Handled Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving went okay.  I ate a few too many cheese and crackers but did well on the meal.  I simply skipped those foods that were not high on my priority list and didn’t have second helpings of anything.. 

Challenges So Far:

One of my biggest challenges so far is meal planning and cooking home-cooked meals.  I am finding some obstacles to making this happen right now that I need to work on – including some housework that is required to have space to cook in my kitchen.  I’ve pulled out some cookbooks but haven’t quite developed a plan yet.  However, I’m taking steps to work on it.

Another challenge for me is getting in my cardio exercise earlier in the evening.  I’ve started to plan and schedule my exercise, but I need to work on this more.  I also want to look into the class schedule at my gym and talk to a personal trainer to see if getting a new program might work for me.

What I’m Looking Forward to:

I’m looking forward to increasing my exercise so I’m working out for a full hour and not thinking about work during that time.  I want to have that 60 minutes of “away” time that’s just for me.