Shhhhh It's a secret. .

Yesterday while at the office a patient of mine cheerfully asked me if I noticed anything different about her. I have made it a practice to not immediately comment on a persons weight loss, because working I the field that I do, the reason for the loss could have to do with an illness. In this case I could tell immediately that she had lost a considerable amount of weight and was looking and feeling great. So I asked her what had she changed in her lifestyle that made this transformation possible. In her case it was an ease into, small change making, baby steps of continuously making minor adjustments.

Her big secret: eating better and exercising. Shhhh! Top secret stuff here. But it was the ease of transition that was the remarkable part. She is an older woman, in her late 50's, early 60's, so she wasn't hitting the gym hard every day, she just added more walking. Simple. Easy. Right?

Not always easy. The walking part I can handle. In my patients experience she just started parking further away from where she needed to, and walked where she could, when she could, but is doing so everyday. I myself have been vacation eating since August *a whole other post* and now that I have finished my Master's degree I am no longer working 60+ hours a week, I am ready to implement some lifestyle changes. Walking seems simple. It's a very do-able activity, even for people who are experiencing other physical health issues, but it takes time.

So my patient became my voice of reason. You can make changes in your life, but it really has to be a choice. In my personal life I'm always running around, always running late, and that has to be my first change. Make the time, make the change! In the case of my patient she chose to address the exercising because she knew it would be easier than addressing her diet. Once she saw the results from the addition of walking 2+ miles a day it motivated her to slowly change her diet as well.

So, the moral of the story is if you are anything like me, you need to slow down and smell the roses. Literally. While on a 2+ mile a day walk. Make time for yourself, you're important!