I also really understand what I did differently this time around.  Unlike previous semesters, when I often found grading to be completely arbitrary, I know what I did differently to get the As, and I understand what kept me from the A in the class I got an A- in.  While I’ve learned what study techniques and test-taking skills work for me, I also think that my attitude has evolved.  Similarly, I had a huge attitude shift in my mind when weight loss “clicked” as well.  Once upon a time, I didn’t know how to lose weight unless I followed a really rigorous diet and workout regime that I was never able to maintain.  Then, overnight it seemed, I figured it out.  Here were the keys.

Find something you enjoy. Studying is much more bearable when you enjoy the topic.  It’s hard, but I can usually find some concept that’s interesting in the material to keep me engaged.  Likewise, if I’m scheduled to do a workout I hate (Spinning is currently that workout for me, although BodyPump is becoming that way, too), I’m much more likely to half-ass it, cut it short, or skip it all together.  On the other hand, I usually make it to my Friday morning BodyCombat class regardless of how much sleep I got the night before.  Find something you enjoy, and try to do that as much as possible.

Push yourself… no, really, PUSH yourself. I spent a year doing a comfortable amount of work.  I did what was necessary to get by, and saw results that were only slightly above mediocre.  This year I began going beyond what was just necessary.  It’s easy in law school to feel like you understand the “take away points” from each case and stop there.  That’s enough to pass, but not enough to get an A.  To get an A, you need to really challenge yourself to analyze and have a thorough comprehension of all the important points.  Likewise, it’s easy to do just what you have to do to stay healthy.  In order to really see results, though, you have to push yourself outside your comfort zone.  You have to do truly challenging workouts and try new things if what you’re doing isn’t working.

Your excuses don’t matter. I spent a lot of time complaining about how unfair it was that the full time students had so much more time to study than I did.  It made me feel better about the lack of work I was putting in.  At the end of the day, though, we were all graded exactly the same.  I had to stop whining and do the work, no matter how unfair it seemed to me.  Likewise, your body will reflect the choices you make, regardless of how little time you had to workout, how “expensive” healthy food is, or the lack of healthy options in your work cafeteria.  Look at your situation and accept the things you can’t change.  Then, do your best to work within your confines. Be reasonable, of course, but do your best within your own limitations.

What about all of you?  Had that moment when it all sort of came together for you?  What lessons did you learn?

After trying nearly every diet under the sun, I’ve learned that eating a vegan diet keeps me feeling energized and is really the only way I’ve been able to maintain my weight without feeling deprived.  I still love brisket and cheese, don’t get me wrong, but I keep my cheat meals to about once a week.  Yet, while I haven’t been feeling deprived, per se, I have been a little bored with my food lately.  Breakfast and lunch have been fine.  I like my morning smoothie and afternoon salad mess.  Dinners have been rough.  I really want something warm for dinner, but also need to eat things I can pack and bring to class.  I have a microwave at school, so reheating is fine.  I’ve been combining brown rice with steamed veggies and beans, but that’s getting a little blah.  Even with tons of hot sauce.  I made this from the Whole Foods website this week.  It’s alright, although I thought that since it combined some of my favorite flavors it would be a little better.

So, here’s a call to arms.  Does anyone have some great vegan recipes for me to try?  Preferably something without tofu that can be made in bulk.  If it looks yummy I’ll give it a try and post the results here!

21.  Beauty comes in many forms. That sounds so corny, but it’s true.  Society’s perception of what is beautiful is constantly changing.  Once upon a time, curvy ladies like Marilyn Monroe were considered the ideal, but they’d be considered overweight by today’s standards.  Likewise, Kate Moss’s waif-like frame isn’t in style anymore.  I appreciate the fact that a little bit of muscle is considered sexy now, but who knows what we’ll be trying to attain in five years.  My point here is that you shouldn’t judge yourself based on what the women in the magazines look like.  Sure, they can be great motivation to get your butt off the couch, but that look isn’t attainable to most women.  It’s barely attainable to those women.  The amount of photo-shopping done to models these days is ridiculous.  Stop holding yourselves to those standards.  Even if we all had access to the same resources those celebrities have (personal trainers, private chefs, basically a whole team of people whose job it is to make them look amazing), genetics would keep most of us from looking exactly that way.  Our bodies are all proportioned differently, and getting down to supermodel weight would be really unhealthy for most people.  You need to look at yourself as individual.  Don’t strive to look like anyone.  Aim to be a healthier you.

22.  Separate your habits from how you feel about yourself. Belle explained this theory really well in a recent post, but I’d like to expand on it a bit.  Just like you should still lead a healthy lifestyle even if you love the way you look, you should maintain healthy habits even if you don’t.  Drinking juice all day is not healthy.  Think about how your doctor would tell you to eat and exercise, and do that.  No doctor would tell you that extreme diets are healthy.  Yes, if you are obese, you need to work harder.  But, there is always an extreme you should not reach.  Do the healthy thing, which isn’t always what’s going to work the quickest.  But, it will gradually work, and it will be much easier to maintain when it does.  So, while everyone should eat healthily and exercise, there is no specific formula to health.  If you hate to run, don’t do it.  You don’t have to run to be healthy.  Choosing “healthy” gives you a wide variety of choices.  Do what you like that makes you feel good.  Healthy doesn’t mean militant restriction from treats and sweets, it means having a balanced diet where splurges are minimal and controlled.  It doesn’t mean you need to beat yourself up because you caved and ate a cookie.

23.  It’s just a damn apple. Pardon my language, but it’s true.  Once, thoughts of food consumed me.  I planned out every meal a week in advance.  I counted calories religiously.  I weighed myself daily and it ruined my whole day if the number was up.  I felt like I was constantly in a state of deprivation.  I stopped keeping cereal in the house because I couldn’t “control” myself around it.  Same with peanut butter.  Those are healthy foods that I couldn’t seem to eat in moderation because I was so miserable from never letting myself eat what I wanted.  I remember one day when I had reached my calorie count for the day, but I was up late studying and got myself so stressed out because I was hungry but didn’t want to eat since I was at my limit for the day.  I couldn’t stop thinking about it.  After an hour of that nonsense, I just had to laugh at myself.  Eat the damn apple.  It’s just an apple.  You’re hungry, it’s good for you, eat it.  This stuff is not so complicated.  So began my journey of becoming more intuitive about how I eat.  I learned to pay attention to the cues my body was giving me, and started eating in a way that made me feel good.  Yes, I’ve gained a little weight since college, but I have more energy now than I ever did then.  Now, I don’t think about my day in terms of how many calories I eat, or when my next workout is going to be.  The other day I realized that I had started buying cereal again.  It wasn’t even a choice.  I just picked up the box at the store one day, and then would occasionally eat a bowl in the morning (without having to measure out a half cup serving, I might add).  It didn’t tempt me throughout the day, because I no longer lived in a state of deprivation.  I didn’t feel the need to stuff myself with unsatisfying cereal because I had learned to eat in a way that I enjoy and makes me feel good.  If you don’t feel that way, then you’re either not eating enough or you’re not eating the right things.  Find healthy foods that you like.  Eat mostly those things, only when you’re hungry and not when you’re full.  Treat yourself once or twice a week.  If you’re really craving something, eat a little bit of it.  Eventually you’ll find a rhythm that works for you.

24.  Don’t do it for anyone but you. I spent many years dieting to revenge ex-boyfriends who broke my heart.  I’ll show him, I’d think.  I’ll get so hot he’ll regret ever having left me.  I’d push myself to extremes out of jealousy.  Not only is that not an attractive personality trait, but it made for motivation that was bound to fail.  When I eventually lost the weight, I still didn’t feel good enough, and then I’d eat a pint of ice cream.  Don’t do it for anyone else but yourself.  You deserve all the  great things that come along with being healthy: a long life, energy, strength.  You are fantastic, no matter what the scale says.  You deserve it all and more, and if that asshole can’t see that, then he’s too stupid to deserve you.

25.  Appreciate all you can do. The human body is capable of incredible things.  I remember when I ran my first 5k.  I was so nervous at the start.  I didn’t think I could run the whole thing, but then I did.  I was so happy and… surprised that I could do it!  I wanted to keep going to see what else I could do.  It became an addiction of sorts.  Two years later I ran my first marathon.  What kept me going through the training and the injuries was the sheer amazement at what I had accomplished.  It was just so exciting to see how much stronger and faster I was getting every day.  It did more than help me lose weight, the physical strength translated to mental strength.  It made me feel powerful.  Five years ago I never would have dreamed in a million years that I could run a marathon, but I did.  My next goal is to finish a half-Ironman, and eventually a full.  I know I can do it.  I’m not sure when, but it will happen.

You can do amazing things if you work hard.  Watch your progress.  Appreciate the little milestones, whether you can start lifting heavier or you cut a few seconds off your average mile time.  The physical achievements will give you so much more satisfaction than your dress size will.

Today I’m continuing the 25 Health Lessons series with five lessons on a topic near and dear to my heart: Balance.  My schedule is very, very hectic.  I work 40 hours a week (minimum), and after my work day is done I head straight to class at night.  Every night.  My weekends are filled with homework, which always sucks, but it was particularly difficult last year when I was out of town every other weekend or so to plan my wedding.  I’ve always been busy (truthfully, I kind of like it), but the past two years since I started law school have been a challenge.  Here are a couple tricks I’ve learned to fit a healthy lifestyle into my schedule.

16.  Get into a routine. Despite the fact that I was even busier last school year, with a much worse commute than I have now, I worked out a lot more regularly than I did this past semester.  This past semester I figured that since I had one night off a week from class, plus other random pockets of time during the day to get a workout in, I could go on an alternative work schedule.  So, I worked 7:30-5, with every other Friday off, instead of my normal 8:30-5.  I couldn’t force myself to wake up early enough to work out in the mornings, but figured I had enough time to get in regular workouts still.  I did have enough time, but I rarely took advantage of it.  Since I couldn’t work out around the same time every day, I never got into a routine, and subsequently skipped my work outs way too frequently.  I learned my lesson, went back to my regular schedule, and so far have been keeping up with my workouts.

17.  Something is better than nothing. Once upon a time, I worked out at least an hour and a half a day, sometimes more.  I had a pretty relaxed work environment at the time, plus after work I didn’t really have much to do besides watch TV, so I would typically go to the gym at lunch, and often after work as well.  When I started a new job and law school, my time became much more limited.  When I could make it to the gym, I couldn’t work out for nearly as long, so I developed a very “why bother” attitude about it.  That was dumb.  Just because you can’t do as long or as intense a workout as you’re accustomed to doesn’t mean you should skip it all together.  Try to get in just 30 minutes on the elliptical, or a short weights session.  Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred is ideal for a day like this since it’s a solid work out that’s only 25 minutes long.  If nothing else, walk the long way home, or get off the train a few stops early.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator.  Small bursts of activity do accumulate.

18.  Learn to love circuit training and interval training. Circuit training is awesome because it doesn’t take much time, but gets your strength training and cardio in at the same time.  It also kicks your butt!  Interval training has a much better after-burn effect than steady-state cardio, but is done in much less time.  On any cardio machine, alternate a minute of moderate effort with thirty seconds of intense effort.  In fifteen minutes time, you’ll be dripping in sweat and have accomplished a great workout.

19.  Find portable healthy foods you like and bring them everywhere. The best way to avoid the temptation of vending machines is to never let yourself feel hungry or unsatisfied.  I always bring more food than I think I’ll need when I leave my house in the morning.  That way I don’t have to choose between being hungry and buying something that’s probably not healthy (and surely expensive) to eat.  Good snacks include: granola bars, fruit with a thick skin (not pears… I learned that the hard way when one  turned to mush in my purse), nuts, sandwiches with deli meat or peanut butter, sliced vegetables in plastic bags, sweet potatoes (prick one all over with a fork and nuke in the office microwave for four minutes), string cheese, dried fruit, individually packaged yogurts, etc.  Make sure your snacks are things you enjoy.  I used to buy individual portions of hummus from Costco.  I ate them with crackers or veggies a lot because they were so convenient.  But I soon realized that I’m not really crazy about hummus.  I like it ok as an appetizer… but mainly because I love warm flatbread.  Whenever I ate it with veggies I tended to feel really unsatisfied afterwards and I’d splurge.  Or I just wouldn’t eat it… and still splurge.  Find foods you like and bring them with you everywhere.

20.  Learn to prioritize. Face it, when you get busy, you’re going to have to cut back on time spent in all areas of your life.  But, when you have to choose between two competing activities, you need to decide which one really deserves your attention.  There’s not always going to be one priority that’s the most important.  You have to take stock in each situation.  If you’re a little behind in your reading and have a couple hours before class but also need to work out, ask yourself how important it is to do your reading in that class.  I’ve had classes where you can never predict when the teacher will call on you, and then she intensely grills you on each aspect of the case.  In those classes, I need to do the reading very thoroughly for each class.  In other classes, I would know when I would be called on, or would just need to have a basic knowledge of the case based on questions the professor asks.  If it’s the former kind of class, reading would typically have to win out.  If it’s the latter, I would decide based on how badly I need to work out.  Have I not worked out at all this week?  Do I have time for a good workout tomorrow?  Can I switch up my workout schedule to make today my rest day?  If I really do need to work out, there’s my answer.  Try to divide your time up as evenly as possible.  It’s the only way to stay sane.  As far as friends and family go, you can’t just ditch the people you love all together, but true friends will understand when you have to stay in and study and can’t make it out one night

11.  Save your favorite entertainment for the gym. I started listening to audiobooks over the summer when I had just finished the first Hunger Games book, and didn’t want to run, just start reading Mockingjay.  I compromised with myself and bought the audiobook off iTunes (for way too much money, I’ll add), and told myself if I wanted to listen to it, I had to be doing something productive.  If you’re a Hunger Games fan, you’ll understand why I logged a lot more miles than normal that month.  I save a good audiobook for the gym, cleaning, and commuting, and it really makes me look forward to those dreaded activities.  I also like to save magazines I like for the elliptical or treadmill for inclined walking (I’m not quite talented enough to run while reading).  To save money on audiobooks, I got an account at audible.com, so I can get a book a month for about $8.00.  You can also get books on CD at your library, but the selection at mine tends to be pretty picked over.

12.  Invest a little money. Buy a package at a yoga studio.  Get a cute workout top.  Invest in a good pair of running shoes.  I’m not saying become Lululemon’s best customer.  Your professional wardrobe is where the bulk of those funds should go, trust me.  But, if you spend a little hard-earned dough on your goal, you won’t want to waste it.  Plus, whenever I have a cute new workout outfit I really want to show it off.  For this to really work, buy something that will expire, like a month’s worth of classes at the gym.  Not only will you need to get your butt in gear quickly, but the more often you go, the more bang for your buck you’ll get.  LivingSocial and Groupon are great for stuff like this, since they always have expiration dates.

13.  Use non-food rewards. Rewards can be pretty powerful.  However, rewarding yourself with an unhealthy food is a slippery slope, for a number of reasons.  First, one key to learning to diet successfully is to separate your emotional ties to food.  You need to learn to learn to view food as it is: nourishment.  It is definitely okay to indulge sometimes, but treating food as a reward only fuels disordered eating, just as using food as therapy does.  Secondly, I’ve learned that the longer I go without junk food, the less I crave it.  However, I’m not very good at the moderation thing, so if I let myself have a little bit, I’ll go overboard.  And then I ruin a week’s worth of hard work.  There are plenty of other, healthier ways to reward yourself.  Buy yourself a present.  Go see a movie.  Read some sappy, indulgent book.  I’m a beauty product junkie, so I like to buy myself a new bottle of nail polish or some other product that I’ve heard works wonders when I’ve reached a week’s or month’s goals.

14.  Surround yourself with support. Unfortunately, we all have people in our lives who don’t want us to succeed, for whatever reason.  Whether it’s the coworker who pressures you to eat a cookie or the friend who tries to convince you to skip the gym, we all have one of these toxic people in our lives.  They aren’t malicious; they do what they do because they want to feel better about their own unhealthy habits.  As best you can, try to cut these people out of your life.  If that’s not possible, learn to recognize their sabotage.  Know that they’re just jealous of your will power.  Don’t fall for their tricks.  A true friend will support you on your journey to get healthy.  They’ll tell you they’re proud of you for rocking that race, instead of rolling their eyes at you when you say you have to go to bed early so you can run in the morning.

There is a caveat to this.  If a good friend approaches you with concern that you’re not eating enough, or may be working out to the point that it’s unhealthy, don’t write her off as a hater right away.  True, she might be uninformed about what good habits look like, or she doesn’t see what you’re eating when you’re not around, but at least listen to what she has to say.  It takes guts to tell someone that you think their behavior is destructive.  You don’t do that unless you really love someone.

15.  Make plans. Schedule your workouts in your planner, along with your other meetings and appointments.  This will not only help you figure out how to work them into your busy schedule, but it helps you to take it all more seriously.  One of the reasons I like classes is that they’re nonnegotiable.  When I plan to go for a run I can put it off until it never happens, but when I plan to take a class I have to get out the door by a certain time or I won’t make it.  Plus, if you start going to certain classes regularly you’ll say that it’s often the same group of people taking the class.  Even if you never get to know anyone, knowing that you might be noticed as missing one day is good motivation.  It feels like you have someone to be accountable to.  I used to go to the same 6 AM kickboxing class on Friday mornings for a while, but I had to change my work schedule and couldn’t make it anymore.  When I ran into my instructor at the gym one day, she asked me where I had been.  It was nice to be able to say that I had been going to a different class because of work, and not that I had just gotten lazy!

We’re off to Atlanta to see UVA play in the Peach Bowl tonight and won’t be returning until Monday, so this series will be taking a break for the holiday weekend.  I’ll be back next week with some more important lessons!  Anyone out there have a health-related resolution to share with the class?