Early this year I set out (yet again) to lose weight, get fit, feel stronger - in hopes to be healthier and get those ‘lab numbers’ in a better place. The covid ‘comfort food years’ really took a toll on me. I also hoped that a little intervention would act as prevention to keep thing from getting worse. My knees and hips were aching every time I went up and down stairs. I was totally out of breath by the time I got upstairs. I live in a two story house, and my studio is the room over the garage. The stairs are also rather steep and my knees were really twinging each time I went up or down. It was exhausting just getting through a day of ‘being me’!

I have made many attempts at this process over the years. But I’d end up losing 3 pounds and gaining 5 pounds over and over again. Slowly but surely, it had crept up to an all time high, and according to my doctor (and I agreed), it was time to get serious.

My nephrologist told me to try smaller meals throughout the day (either 4 or 5 meals a day) and had even given me a referral to a dietician, but I still couldn’t figure out how to make changes. It was all information that I thought I ‘knew’, but I still didn’t know ‘HOW’ to integrate those changes into my life. My primary care doc recommended the ‘Noom’ app, which worked for her. I tried that, too - but it still didn’t change my behavior. I was so frustrated.

I had come across a person on Instagram late last year, @trainwithjoan - a woman in her late seventies who had made a remarkable change in her life and physique over a period of years. Her daughter is a fitness trainer and encouraged her to take this on (as she was afraid she’d lose her mom to health concerns if she did nothing to change). It really caught my attention that one “woman past menopause” could make those kinds of changes. But still, I didn’t feel like it related to me. My daughters live far away, are not trainers, and besides, at this point, Joan was lifting HUMONGOUS weights! How on earth could I possibly do that? I tried yet another plan, but the exercises were HIIT (high intensity interval training)…and I hated it. I felt like I would end up injured or have a stroke if I tried to keep up with those people!

Now here’s where the Instagram algorithm must have kicked in….(make a call to the universe and watch it answer!). Another fitness person (Julia Linn) showed up in my Instagram feed: @dolphinine in early January. I started trying the exercises she showed in each reel she posted. I read her story and saw evidence of her change over a year’s time; and over four year’s time. She is three years older than me - and started her fitness journey at age 62. From her ‘before and after’ photos, she looks like she has aged in reverse. She is also a double transplant patient/survivor of thirty years (kidney and pancreas). I knew she would be mindful of my health issues.

Julia also has not done and is not on HRT (hormone replacement therapy). I connected with that as well - as a breast cancer survivor I am not eligible to take HRT. I had been a bit discouraged when another ‘online doc’ had recommended this so strongly, I felt like, “Well I guess there’s no hope for me since I can’t be on HRT…it is what it is. I don’t have a chance of getting fit”. (Oh the lies we make ourselves believe).

Picture of my coach, Julia Linn, from her Instagram feed, @dolphinine

In a few weeks of trying out Julia’s exercises she had posted on her Instagram account, I realized, “Wow, if she ever teaches a class I’m in”. I think I can DO THIS! Luckily she had one starting soon called, “Mindset Reset”. My first thoughts were, “Okay, but show me what I’m supposed to eat, and how to exercise”. Little did I know that MINDSET is such an important part of this process - OR ANY PROCESS WHERE WE WANT TO CHANGE SOMETHING ABOUT OURSELVES/ LEARN SOMETHING NEW!

So, the three main things that I have done to build new habits to change my health is to

-focus on mindset, and share some time in a like-minded community.

-track the ‘macronutrients’ that I am eating. I had resisted tracking food for years, and finally gave in to the fact that I needed the data to understand what I was eating, and what changes I would want to make.

-an exercise routine. I also needed to track this, write these things down, so I could compare from day to day, week to week. I had previously resisted doing that, too. But by trying this out, I saw how valuable these habits were in giving me the DATA I needed to convince myself of the changes I needed to make.

The funny thing is, as we’d meet for our bi-weekly class, I’d think, “Wow, she’s telling us the same kinds of things that I tell my students…has she been listening in on my classes”?! Ha! I suddenly put it together that mindset is the first thing we need to change when we are attempting something new, whether it’s learning to make art, or rebuilding yourself into a healthy and fit person.

• “Perfection is over-rated”.

• “Change is slow…slow enough that you don’t notice it at first. Then six months go by and you are marveling at some incredible changes…yet you know there are more to come”.

• “Give yourself compassion first.” Lean into compassion. New habits/skills take time.

The first rule I ask of all my new students is that they NEVER speak ‘dismissively’ of themselves, ie “this drawing sucks, it looks like an alien life form, looks like mud” etc. First - it just doesn’t serve us to treat ourselves like that. Always - look for the ‘golden nuggets’ - those good points in your work that you are excited about - they will be there… and you will grow from those places. The other things that you’re not so in love with, you can tackle one at a time. All of our learning is cumulative. These slow changes in my art, I call brush mileage. These slow changes in my fitness I call habit stacking. Each of your efforts won’t be the last painting you paint. (Nor will that meal you just ate likely be the last one you eat).

The same habits I’m learning in my health journey, I have been teaching in my art classes:

-change your mindset - it DOES really make a difference. Community input can be a really encouraging thing when you need it the most! Our private Facebook group has been a great place to share our work in a ‘safe place’ among who understand that same learning curve!

-A sketchbook habit can be a great way to see your growth chronologically. It can be great fun to look back over the years and see what you’ve accomplished along the way!

Anyway - between the months of January and May I’ve lost 16 pounds, and feel much stronger. I see my clothes fitting differently (and some are actually too big - I’m taking those to the consignment store ASAP). My knees don’t hurt anymore when I go up and down the stairs and I don’t run out of breath after the climb! I found myself amazed just the other weekend, realizing I had been squatting down pulling weeds in the garden for a very long time - and wasn’t sore and achy or tired! I’m looking forward to my next travel opportunities and not worried about carrying what I need to bring. Changes are an incredible thing to see and feel!

I look at my students who have been with me a while. It is so exciting for me to see their confidence and skills grow as they continue to show up and master new skills in drawing and watercolor….one step at a time. Progress is slow and steady in both learning to make art, and in fitness. But that time will pass anyway. You can take those small steps to make the big changes happen.

“Everyone starts at the beginning”….one of my wise art teachers told me years ago. “Art skills are not something you’re born with, it is teachable like math or science”, from that same inspiring teacher.

Over the coming weeks in this blog, I’ll share more specifics about the correlation of mindset in these various areas of our lives - art, fitness, health, relationships, and our surroundings. It spills over into all parts of our lives. I’ll leave you with a little homework this week: if you’re not already doing this - get in a walk outside each day. Aim for 30 minutes, 5x per week. Do it as soon as you get out of bed. Pull on some clothes (shorts, sneakers) and get out the door - before breakfast - before your brain is awake and starts whining about why you don’t have time for this. You DO have time for YOU. If 30 minutes is too hard right now, just go for 15 minutes. That’s it. No counting of steps, no running, just walk. That’s your aerobic exercise. It gets you moving without stressing your body like running does. When you stress the body that much, it releases cortisol which makes your body hold on to the fat (hey, we’re wired for survival, right?!).

You can’t out-run your fork (we’ll talk more about that later) - so just walk! That’s a great start! Next week - bringing whimsy to our work, and lightening our hearts!