Seriously though, for those of you that are in your mid-30's and have changed your habits... how? How'd you do it? I know I need to make some changes and I am, slowly, but it's very difficult.
In 2014, smack dab in my mid-30s, I guess I was ready to try something new. I got interested in
the paleo diet that was getting lots of press so I made a concerted effort to try it, starting (pretty boldly) by doing a
Whole30, which is a very strict 30-day eating plan that can act as a "reset" on one's prior eating habits. It was a rough first week but I completed the Whole30 and just kept going from there. Within 3 months I was at my lowest-ever adult weight, like mid-150s, and felt strangely energized by food, a totally novel feeling. (Over the next few years my slightly loosey-goosey paleo (loved my cheese!) morphed into a fairly strict
keto diet, which was also a good experience.)
Starting around then I made a similar effort with exercise. I was attending community college at the time so (for the first time ever) I dipped my toe into weight training via their small gym.
While going about campus I'd noticed people in midday badminton classes, and thought it looked interesting. So the next spring I tried badminton. Got hooked and have now been playing weekly or so for 4 years. It's a real bright spot in my life that's led to great new friends and experiences.
(video interlude: badminton is awesome and more people should try it)
After a few semesters the school gym thing faded and a bit later I decided to join the local YMCA. Classes like yoga were free w/ membership (nice!) but ultimately showing up on time to things like that was beyond me, so I ended up concentrating on resistance training again, showing up 3-4 times a week to do circuits of machines planned by their app. (I felt I wasn't flexible enough to have good form on free weights, which, when you can use them properly, are way better than machines.) Did that pretty solidly for over a year and ended up in my best shape to date.
Then I got had a surgery + got depressed and quit the YMCA. Lost all my pretty muscle gains, fell off the keto train.
Now I'm finally recovering from that downturn. I started
intermittent fasting two months ago and my waist's already gone from 32.5" to 29.5, with no sign of slowing. (I'm 6'1", started IF around ~174 lbs, this morning I'm 162 lbs, super pleased/excited by how easy and effective IF is proving.) I don't have the discipline / wherewithal to schlep to an external gym these days so I've decided to reboot my efforts with exercise I can do in my apartment, namely
kettlebell work,
resistance bands, and some
Foundation Training video workouts. I'll be getting Ring Fit Adventure soon too!
I don't know
exactly why I was able to make that change in my mid-30s. Part of it was I was just ready,
finally, to better my health and body. And I encountered diets and workouts that seemed appealing. (I will never stop singing the praises of Reddit as a tool for accessing both hobbyist and self-improvement knowledge.)
I wish I had learned all I've learned and made all these changes 10, 20 years earlier. I could have had a much healthier 20s / early 30s. But better late than never! There will always be ups and downs on my health and fitness journey, as depression, lack of emotional energy, and injuries set me back (went too hard in badminton recently so I'm waiting to start physical therapy for my right knee, in fact).
But importantly, my mindset's changed forever. I now value and respect having a healthy body, and I can never go back to the completely apathetic couch potato that I was. That said, one of my biggest problems is still sitting and slouching at my computer for days at a time. Posture and (lack of) flexibility remain two of my biggest challenges to overcome.
You may be getting the sense that this is a journey. It's not just fit or not fit, it's a continuum we travel from birth till death. While the journey toward better health is long, the rewards can be immense and deeply gratifying. I hope you can find your own inspiration to start making positive changes. Once they start stickin', like with that changed mindset I mentioned, you'll know you're well on your way.
