My Journey to Optimal Health
'My journey to optimal health' ... seems like an ominous term, though it's really not too complicated. Optimal health is defined as involving an individual's mental, emotional, physical state of being. And this is defined differently for each individual, as one may choose to focus on mental health, another may choose physical health and yet another emotional health.
I have chosen to focus on the physical aspect, though I believe that mental, emotional and physical well-being is intertwined ... guess this is partly due to the fact that I recently turned 30yr old and have realized that for life to be different, to be more enjoyable and to get the most out of the years I have ahead of me, changes needed to be made ... because it has been said that if one does the same thing over and over, but expects different results, this is defined as insanity. And, I don't know about you, but insanity is NOT what I want my life characterized by!!!
So, here's where my journey begins ....
In July 2010, after several years of not having a properly working scale in our bathroom, we broke down and bought a digital scale that, not only measures weight, but also BMI. And, to me, this was the first step in the right direction to getting back to the shape I was in in college as a health/fitness major. But, as I stepped on a properly working scale for the first time in months, I was horrified to discover that I was many pounds past the 150ish my old scale had told me for so long ... in fact, I weighed a little over 160lbs and my BMI was about 29 (both unhealthy readings for my height) ... the heaviest I had ever been outside of pregnancy. YIKES!!!!!!!!!!
So, feeling that 'drastic' measures needed to be taken to get a handle on my weight, I decided to take a genetic test ... this would reveal which one of six body types I am in regards to how my body responds to diet and exercise. The test itself wasn't that big of a deal -- just a quick swab of both cheeks and off to the lab -- but, waiting for the results to arrive in the mail was a bit more challenging. While I had a 'hunch' what the results would be, based on my college training and past experience, the results FINALLY arrived and I discovered my hunch was correct -- I am catagorized as a Carb Reducer (meaning my body does not metabolize carbs very well), with High MET exercise (shorter sessions of high intensity cardio workouts) being the best for my body type.
And so began my journey to optimal health ... I started following a specialized program, based on my test results, back in September 2010 ... basically what I have had to do is cut back carbohydrates (not cutting them entirely out of my diet, however), increase my intake of 'good-for-you' fats, balance dairy, protein and veggies ... all this along with revamping my exercise approach -- instead of long cardio sessions (30-60min), I do short sessions of interval training both using the elliptical and a program called '10 Minute Total Body Breakthrough', or 4321 workout for short. In the course of 12 weeks (from Sept-Dec), I lost 14 lbs and my BMI was around 24 ... while not lightening fast, both of these are exciting numbers for me to see 
And, I'm not done yet ... I have 11 more lbs to go to reach my goal of 135lbs, which is what I weighed when my hubby and I were married in 2003 ... AND, I'm thinking I may even lose a few more pounds than that!!!!!
Thank you for joining me as I write about my journey to optimal health ... I am so excited to share this with all of you. Even though I'm starting this blog halfway through my adventure, I KNOW there others out there that are in similar shoes as I have been ... and maybe my experiences so far and yet to come will be helpful in your journey too 
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