My first week is complete, and I’ve made it through the Foundations part of the YouAnew Program! I am alive, well and feeling so much better already. I must say, it took work, discipline, drive, and good choices but overall none of it was really as difficult as I had imagined. Let’s take a look at what I conquered.
The week began with the dreaded measurements: height, weight, muscle mass, body fat, BMI– you know all that good stuff that leaves you feeling like….its time for a new you (YouAnew, Baby)! Then it was on to metabolic testing! This part was fun. All I had to do was sit back in a recliner (seriously, this chair is sent from heaven above) relax, and breathe into a tube for about 10 minutes. From the oxygen that you breathe into the tube, the machine is able to calculate the rate at which your body burns calories and amazingly, can tell you the exact ranges for your body to gain weight, lose weight, or maintain weight. The calculations also tell you about the danger zone–the zone where you don’t eat enough calories so your body thinks it’s starving and stores EVERYTHING as fat. No starving allowed on the YouAnew Program.
After the testing, I scheduled my first meeting with Dr. Kristen. Even though I live in New Jersey, I decided to travel to the Bethlehem office for my appointments (I may decide to skype a few of the future sessions-depending on my schedule). I really do love the city of Bethlehem, and it’s worth the drive to get the one-on-one time with Dr. Kristen. I was so ready for my first visit and the experience met my expectation. Even though it was a short one-hour session, I felt like I left so much more educated on my body, health, and nutrition than when I came! And this is just the beginning of my journey. Dr. Kristen is a great motivator. She went over all my test results and helped me to set goals. She taught me all about metabolism and how to eat to my metabolism. I got a sneak peak at the YouAnew online tool and learned how to log my meals and exercise. She then went over my first meal plan and grocery list. This entire process and first meeting got me extremely motivated and excited for the week ahead.
I was a little nervous about how I was going to adjust to cooking, the time it takes to cook, the extra exercise, and the meals in general but I must say all of my fears were quickly laid to rest. I was shocked at how quickly I adjusted to cooking and actually really enjoy it! I have never in my life cooked a meal, but it definitely is becoming a new hobby. I also love learning how to cook the meals in the way that I enjoy them the most! There is not just one way to make food, it’s very easy to come up with different techniques in order to adjust the flavors and textures to better fit your own palate! Also cooking all three meals and packing snacks while working does sound overwhelming, but I just set it as one of my priorities; it didn’t take up as much time as I had thought it would. It’s definitely manageable and is an awesome learning experience.
Something that was extremely overwhelming to me the first time around was the grocery shopping. Once you see the grocery list you will understand exactly where I am coming from! At first, I felt a bit like fish out of water, but I can see how it does become easier as time goes on because you will already have ingredients that you need and also will have a better knowledge of where things are. But just fair warning: give yourself 2-3 hours for your first grocery shopping excursion!
Now that we’ve gone through the first meeting, feelings and fears, and grocery shopping lets talk about the meal plan and the food! It was delicious! Like I said there is a lot you can do when preparing the food to make it your own and make it tasty to your taste buds! Dr. Kristen encouraged me to spice things up with lots of spices and herbs–let me tell you I like to spice things up!! I was shocked at how much you eat. You eat about every 2 to 3 hours and the portions are also a lot bigger than I thought! I was worried about being hungry but quickly realized that would never again be the case! There is such a great variety of foods, colors, textures, and flavors, and I’ve really enjoyed broadening my horizons! Overall after the first week, I would have to say that I had a lot of fun! It’s been fun learning how to cook, learning what is good for my body and what my body needs and following the meal and exercise plans that Dr. Kristen gave me! I don’t see much change in my body, but I get that it’s going to be a slow process because it is a healthy process! I remember Dr. Kristen saying that I should expect to lose ½ to 2 pounds each week. The weight that will eventually come off is weight that is going to stay off, and I am confident in that! As far as my energy level goes, I do feel energized and very healthy! I love following the meal plans, and it feels good to be making a good healthy choices. I am so ready to make great choices long term and move forward toward my goals. Stay tuned, next week is the YouAnew Core Principles-can’t wait! Onward…
