Karen Hughes approached her 50th birthday with more than your typical dose of health worry, and with good reason.
“My father passed away of a heart attack at the age of 51. So when I turned 50, I was kind of freaking out.”
1 year later, after taking a series of small but determined steps, she had engineered a major turnaround and was on her way to feeling better than ever. Here’s what she did:
Starting with a simple, personalized game plan
“Every year my cholesterol kept going up, kept going up. The doctor said they'd have to put me on some kind of medication. She told me to go on a bunch of different diets, but they really didn't fit with my lifestyle.”
Knowing she needed to make changes but wanting something that fit her life, she crafted a simple plan for shaking things up her way with three specific and manageable steps:
Cutting back on dairy – Instead of removing dairy wholesale, she focused on a main intake moment, the morning coffee. Pulling back from half-and-half to just milk.- Upping her intake of real, whole foods – On the food front, she focused on getting more of the good stuff into her weekly regimen with three Power Supply lunches each week.
- Changing her workout routine – Already a regular exerciser, Karen threw functional fitness into the mix with CrossFit, adding new movements for her body to respond to.
12 months, 20 points, and an impressed Doctor
“So I go to the doctor's on my 51st birthday, and I go back for my results, and the doctor comes in and says, "what did you do differently this year?!"”
In just a year, pursuing her three-part plan, Karen had knocked a full 20 points from her cholesterol, taking it from 219 to 190. Seeing those initial results added more logs to the motivation fire for Karen and she’s since taken things further.
“I have never ever felt better in my life. Once you get some positive results, it pushes you to want to do better too."
First steps, then a sustainable routine
For Karen the biggest thing was getting started, getting a taste of how much better you can feel and the results you can achieve. Those are the ingredients lasting routines feed on.
“Once I started on a routine, it was so easy. You just have to stick with the routine. The hardest part was getting onto a routine but the thing is, I didn't take big steps."
Here’s a look at the expanded routine Karen’s now working on to keep the momentum rolling:
- Cutting back caffeine
- Getting more conscious of portion size and balance on the plate
- Going off white flour and cutting back on bread
- Exercising more and starting to track
Kudos Karen. And thanks so much for sharing.
Share your small wins
This month at Power Supply we are celebrating our small wins, and we want you to join us. The first step is capturing when you make a small adjustment to your day — Did you walk up the metro escalator instead of ride it? Take one more push up? Cut soda intake during lunch? Take a photo of this sort of moment, post on Instagram or send us a tweet using the hashtag #mypowermoment and we’ll reward one changer per week with a $50 Power Supply gift card. Think of us as your accountability buddy!