I’m totally convinced that time is now officially moving at twice the speed it ever has before because it seems like yesterday I was telling you about my anti-aging plan for 2023 and yet here we are again.
I trust that you made it through the holidays, the food, the awkward family discussions and the insidious Christmas cookies with flying colors, and are craving a bit of silence and healthy routines.
I know I am!
To refresh your memory (because I know you’re waiting with baited breath to hear about an update from a woman you’ve never met, and only vaguely remember once a BOGO sale comes around) about the results of my anti-aging endeavors.
Here’s the RDV (Reader’s Digest Version):
In November of 2022, I purchased several beauty tools during the feeding frenzy known as Black Friday. Instead of just biting the bullet, going to a good dermatologist to assist me in my anti-aging endeavors, I opted to spend about a month researching things and then investing a small fortune.
January 2023 started off strong (well Jan 1st and 2nd did), then I got busy and packed away my beauty tools eager to get started once I had the time.
February 2023 as I was deep cleaning my bathroom, I found my beauty tools and said to myself “Oh shit, I should really start using these”. I remembered again with excitement why I decided to invest in them in the first place; because half a dozen Youtube beauty bloggers over 50 RAVED about them.
Note to self: when someone is offered affiliate commission on a product, actual results may vary.
My results with the beauty tools were negligible at best, especially the thing I wanted the most to work, the NIRA laser.
I felt very frustrated and duped and by August, I made a decision to change a lot of things in my life regarding my health and beauty routines.
Is the fountain of youth a myth? Are we really able to look and feel our best without shortcuts?
If you ask the right questions, the right answers will appear.
I started searching for something to shake up my tree and I found a video from Andy Frisella describing a mental toughness program called 75 Hard Challenge.
I started it on August 27th and ended it on November 24th (my birthday). You don’t know what you’re capable of until someone holds you 100% accountable.
It’s not a diet at all, but you do need to choose something that will work for you and commit to staying on it for 75 days. I chose carnivore and joined a private online community with Dr. Jeremy Ayres.
Regardless of what diet you choose, you cannot consume any alcohol or sugar and you must drink 1 gallon of water per day and do (2) 45 minute workouts every day (including weekends). One inside, one outside.
I lost a total of 26 lbs and came within 3 lbs. of my high school weight.
Every single thing about me changed; my skin condition (rosacea) vanished, my energy level went through the roof, my blood pressure was the lowest it had ever been (consistently), my house was never cleaner (lol) and I had an indescribable amount of mental clarity.
It’s fair to say that I have never felt so alive and happy and my self esteem soared. As the saying goes: happy wife, happy life.
The only downside (if there is one) is that it is a very lonely program unless you can get a friend or partner to do it with you. Humans socialize with food and drinks – and nobody wants to hear about your diet if they aren’t on one too.
I’m sure there are plenty of groups on social media but I’m not on social media.
The first two weeks were the hardest because of so many temptations and opportunities to go astray. Of course there are also the people that were concerned about my health just eating carnivore.
Had you asked me a year ago if I loved or even craved discipline, I would have laughed in your face but the discipline enabled me to achieve other goals I had too.
That’s how I discovered Block Therapy.
I started doing deep dives on anti-aging topics by searching for terms like “natural face lift” on Youtube. That’s when I discovered Deanna Hansen and her Block Therapy.
I listed to that one video and it resonated with me so much.
Most beauty experts (docs/injectors/estheticians) are treating symptoms of aging, but they never get to the root of the problem and that’s why the results are temporary.
I bought and read her books, then I listened to a webinar she did for estheticians and I was completely blown away with the knowledge she taught. I had never heard it before (and I study a lot about aging) but I knew it was truth.
I signed up for her Block University and bought the Face Lifter Program.
I started faithfully doing block therapy, rebounding, stretching and using my inversion board. All of these promote cellular health by increasing blood circulation, oxygen and eliminating toxic waste.
I was shocked by how quickly my entire physical body had changed. If you think about it, 75 days isn’t that long.
I adopted this as my new theme song (and thought of it every time I passed a mirror, lol.
For almost three months, I consistently showed up for myself.
So, you may be wondering, what happened after the 75 days?
What happened was I didn’t have a strategy to seamlessly transition, so I returned to my old habits as fast as Cinderella’s coach turned back into a pumpkin.
Within two weeks, I gained 5 lbs, my rosacea and high blood pressure returned.
Fail to plan, plan to fail.
Before it became a runaway train, I remembered a book someone raved about called Atomic Habits.
I quickly downloaded it on my Audible playlist and listened to the entire thing in one day. It was so compelling that I stopped what I was doing in the background, grabbed a spiral notebook and took notes.
Let me say that I read and research A LOT. This book is in my top 3 of any book I’ve read in my life as far as wisdom gained.
I put together my new strategies and on January 1st, I am doing the #75HardChallenge again, but will be incorporating additional daily tasks that I learned from studying the work of Dr. Jack Kruse; in bed by 10 pm, getting daily sunlight, staying off my phone (more than I already do) and grounding (walking barefoot on the ground) daily.
I have come to regard health and aging as a privilege. If I want to stay in the game of life, I have to have all my wits about me. Nobody is going to do it for me, nor will it be encouraged or welcomed by the masses or establishment.
Nothing in life is free. You just have to decide how much something is worth to you and pay the price. Everyday we either suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. I now know from personal experience that the latter is far more painful.