Making Changes
Have you ever wanted to change your life? Have you wanted to get fit, lose weight, or change a habit? What’s held you back? Did it seem too difficult? Maybe you couldn’t figure out where to start. Here’s Kristi Heyd’s story – a personal testimony that all is possible – even when living right here in the south west of South Korea.
Five years ago, I started a journey. I lived the life of a ‘typical American’ even though I was living in Korea. I was lazy, ate much junk food, was more than 50kg (115lbs) overweight, and my emotions were up and down like a rollercoaster.
Then I went swimming one day with a friend for fun. My life has never been the same since, and I haven’t looked back. Slowly but surely, I created a healthier life for myself. My exercise morphed from swimming to walking to running to doing triathlons.
I never forced myself to do activities that weren’t fun for me. They were never workouts; they were ‘funouts’.
In the first year of my lifestyle change, I wasn’t concerned about my diet, but slowly that changed, too. I went from eating pizza every week, chips, cookies, and ice cream to drinking fresh green juices and smoothies on a regular basis.
At one point I had it in mind to eat only raw food, but am now working out a balance in my life. I do eat many uncooked foods, but don’t let food run my life.
I recently had a friend visit my house. He looked in my refrigerator and exclaimed, “That’s the healthiest fridge I’ve ever seen!” I don’t keep junk food in my house any longer and have very little processed foods, either. I keep an abundance of fruits and veggies instead.
I don’t feel like I’m keeping anything from myself. If you are trying to change your eating habits, you need to start by changing your thinking. Think of how crispy/juicy/tasty the apple is instead of the cookie. In this way, you trick yourself into wanting the apple.
I’m so happy with my life. I’m much closer to a healthy weight, I can do nearly any activity I choose, and my emotions are much more stable.
This journey is not complete, nor has it been a straight line, but I’m very happy to be on it. I’m now studying nutrition so that I can help others be healthier and happier, too.
Following are my top five tips to feeling healthier and losing weight. They are not ground-breaking, but they are powerful.
- Drink more water. When you start to get the munchies, drink a glass of water. Then, wait ten minutes to see if you still feel hungry.
- Add more fruit and vegetables to your daily life. Start thinking about how sweet and juicy an orange is and how crunchy a cucumber is. Before long you will start to want more of them.
- Get moving. Find an activity that you like. There are many classes you can explore and have fun with in Korea. Try a few things and see which you like the most.
- Be mindful when you’re eating. It’s too easy to not realize you are full when you are eating while watching TV. Turn it off for the 30 minutes while you eat. You will naturally eat less. Also realize how good it feels to eat a piece of fruit for example. That will make it that much easier to desire fruit in the future.
- Add the good stuff. Don’t think about what you can’t eat or do, because that actually makes you want to eat it or do it more. Instead think about the good things and you will want them that much more.
By Kristi Heyd
A version of this article appeared
in the Gwangju News print edition, November 2011.