Angie Dean
June 2017
What did life look like before you focused consistently on nutrition and fitness?
I am active, social and competitive, all of these traits fit nicely into the fitness realm. Usually I have 10,000 steps before I leave work for the day, and I love my Fitbit challenges. I have belonged to many gyms and I used them, I am too cheap to pay for a membership and not use it! In addition to that I am social, and need the comradery that classes provide to keep me motivated and to push myself, so the Warehouse is a great fit for me.
Food and nutrition, on the other hand, has always been my area of struggle. I know what to do, the problem was just doing it. Michael, my husband, gave up processed sugar and lost weight quickly (and kept it off). Of course, I tried that and failed. I had to find what worked for me, not someone else.
What made you decide to make a change?
MOTIVATION! I just needed the right motivation- family photos and LOTS of them! My husband’s parents decided to celebrate their 50th anniversary on a cruise (Dec 2017) and there would be a lot of pictures (1,000+). So, I needed to buckle down. I kept planning to make this or that change, promising myself I would start tomorrow. I have a lot of lists and new years resolutions floating around – not completed.
At the beginning of the school year, I decided to make a small change and declare it on Facebook. I would stop making “fun” of all those DARK SIDE (5 am) exercisers and join them ONE day a week. Now I attend two 5 am classes and occasionally a 3rd if I am feeling feisty! This proved to have multiple benefits! The biggest benefit is being done with my workout early so that I am not too tired or that I don’t have other things pop up during my day to take away from my exercise time. Then after a 2-3 week adjustment, the second benefit appeared: having more energy in the morning.
My new motivation is trying to get my afternoon gym buddies to join me in the morning! (Right- Holly, Sheila, Trish & Jess)
What has changed (race times, blood work, attitude, etc)?
My mantra has changed: Don’t make excuses, make improvement! This is a poster that has hung in my classroom for years. I say it all the time to my children, Hannah and Jonathan, and to my students, but now I am trying to live it. I get to the gym early, exercise harder and longer, drink more water, and eat healthier snacks. All small ways to make improvements (not excuses) in my life.